MINOT, N.D.- The Minot State football team (0-8) will head on the road to square off against the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (5-3). The Beavers will look for the upset against one of the top teams in the conference at James S. Malosky Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon on Saturday Oct. 29th. 

Last Outing: The Beavers took their longest road trip of the year to face the Peacocks of Upper Iowa, only to fall short by a 33-22 setback dashing the hopes of MSU's first win. The Beavers allowed 20 points in the second quarter, after taking a 3-0 lead after the first quarter. The Beavers weren't ever able to recover, even after putting up 12 more points in the second half. The Beavers finished with 291 total yards, while also outgaining the Peacocks in time of possession by over ten minutes, and the Beavers converted their lone 4th down attempt. 

Dawson Macleary was a gunslinger again going 14 for 33 completions for 197 yards. Ali Mohamed had another solid day on the ground putting up 75 yards and one touchdown, with Evan Lovett tacking on 36 yards and the other touchdown for MSU. Nathan Young was the leading target for Macleary racking in four receptions for 48 yards, however, Lovett was right behind with 39 yards and corralling the longest reception of the day of 31 yards. 

The defense had themselves a day led by Carson Cayko with 10 tackles, including two tackles for loss. Lane Schall, Logan Krueger, Caleb Ness, and Lafayette Bade all added on a solo tackle for loss, while Jordan Sanford and DJ Schneibel combined for a tackle for loss. Kruegers' tackle for loss was a sack. JT Snow added in the lone pass breakup for MSU. Dillon Fedor tacked on two field goals at 32 and 34 yards, respectively, while also going two for two on points after touchdowns. 

Series: The Bulldogs own a convincing 9-0 record over MSU. The last meeting was last season on Oct. 30th, 2021 when the Bulldogs came into town and got a scare going into halftime tied 7-7 with MSU. However, 17 third quarter points by UMD made it 24-7, but the Beavers came storming back adding on 10 fourth quarter points, before two back-to-back scores by the Bulldogs sealed the deal for UMD 34-21. Last years matchup was by far the best performance for MSU against UMD as the next highest point total for the Beavers came back in 2015 when the Beavers put up 10 points in a 36-10 defeat in Duluth. 

The Opponent: The perennial NSIC contender UMD Bulldogs started off the year a little slow going 2-2 with the two losses coming at the hands of Mankato and Sioux Falls who are arguable two of the best teams in the conference. The Bulldogs then rattled off three straight wins over cellar dwellers MSU Moorhead, Mary, and CSP before falling on the road to Bemidji State last weekend by a 41-16 score. 

The Bulldogs offense has been a consistent producer as they are averaging 31.75 points per game so far this season, while also gaining 176 first downs. UMD has put up 1825 yards rushing and 19 rushing touchdowns, and 1472 yards passing and 15 passing touchdowns for a total of 3297 yards and 35 touchdowns. UMD special teams has convered 50 percent of their field goals going four for eight total, however they are currently 100 percent in PAT's going 30 for 30. UMD also has had good control of the game in terms of possession as they have averaged 36:43 per game compared to their opponents 23:17. UMD is also converting 47.46 percent of their third downs and 55.56 percent of their fourth downs. 

The Bulldogs have used a dual QB approach as both Garrett Olson and Logan Graetz have each played significant amount of time so far this season. Olson has gone 52 for 78 completions good for 66.67 percent and 642 yards on the year and five touchdowns. Graetz has completed 36 of his 70 attempts good for 51.43 percent, but one interception. Graetz has thrown for 516 yards and five touchdowns. UMD uses two running backs primarily in Wade Sullivan and Kyle Walljasper. Sullivan has attempted 107 rushes while Walljasper has attempted 95, however each has over 500 yards rushing on the year as Sullivan is just edging Walljasper 565 to 526. Walljasper is leading the touchdown department eight to three. Three Bulldogs have been the QB favorites as Armani Carmickle, Byron Bynum, and Zach Ojile all lead in receptions with 24, 21, and 18, respectively. Carmickle has accumulated 331 yards, while Bynum and Ojile have each added on over 200 yards in 298 and 239 each, respectively. Bynum does lead in touchdowns with five. 

Defensively the Bulldogs also have another solid group led by Brad Dati with 42 total tackles to lead the Bulldogs, while also contributing four tackles for loss, a sack, and three QB hurries. Drew Hennessey has been a force against any QB, leading the Bulldogs with 6.5 tackles for loss, with six of those being sacks. The UMD defense has forced nine interceptions this year, led by Dayvia Gbor forcing four interceptions. They have also made 13 pass breakups, led by Jonny Jensen with six. Nine different Bulldogs have totaled a forced fumble adding to the depth. Curtis Cox has been the only kicker for UMD to see action, and while only going 50 percent on the year has a long of 48 yards that has been made. 

The Beavers: The Minot State Beavers are coming off a hard-fought setback at the feathers of the Upper Iowa Peacocks in Fayette, Iowa this past weekend. However, the game definitley helped MSU stats-wise, as their total points per game this season is now at 12.50. The Beavers have accumulated 505 rushing yards on the year and six touchdowns rushing while on the passing side of the offense the offense has been successful in 1442 yards and five touchdowns. The Beavers have combined for a total of 11 touchdowns and 1947 yards. The Beavers are edging their opponents in time of possession as MSU has averaged 30:14 while their opponents have averaged 28:36 per game. MSU is converting 25.20 percent of their third downs and 44.44 percent of their fourth down attempts. 

Macleary has been the steadying presence at QB starting every game for the Beavers while completing 53.36 percent of his passes, but tossing up nine interceptions. Macleary however, has made 1401 yards passing and five touchdowns. Mohamed has picked up where he left off last year, following a slower start from his standards to the year. He leads the rushing attack for MSU with 476 yards and four touchdowns. MSU also has a trio of receivers that lead the way, led by Young with 344 yards on 31 receptions and one touchdown. Peyton Lamoureux isn't far behind making 24 receptions for 337 yards and one touchdown. Erik Palmquist is the other leading receiver creating 31 receptions for 295 yards and three touchdowns. 

The duo of Cayko and Isaiah Bigby has become quite the tandem on defense for the Beaves as both of them lead the defense with 48 tackles. Bigby has 3.5 tackles for loss, while Cayko has five tackles for loss to lead the Beavers in that category and a sack. Bigby has two interceptions and pass breakups while Cayko has one of each, but Bigby does have three QB hurries and a safety. Caleb Ness has also tacked on four tackles for loss, a sack, and a QB hurry. All six of the Beavers sacks have come from different players as Cayko, Ness, Bade, Krueger, Chase Doty, and Jonathan Leon have all tacked on a sack. Bigby is tied with Knylen Miller-Levi, each with two interceptions while Miller-Levi has also added on one pass breakup. Charlie Raetzman has been the biggest passing disrupter adding four pass breakups out of the 17 the Beavers have accumulated. MSU has made the QB scramble seven different times for a QB hurry. Five different Beavers have forced a fumble and the Beavers have two safeties to their team name this year. Fedor has gone six of eight on field goals so far this year with his long being 47 yards. 

Looking Ahead: The Beavers will head back home for their final home showdown of the year and for senior day. The Mary Marauders (1-7) come to town with a trophy the Beavers would LOVE to have back. The Battle of Big Lake comes to Minot on Saturday Nov. 5th at the First Western Bank Field at Herb Parker Stadium with kickoff set for 2 p.m.