MINOT, N.D. – As it played out, a road contest against Wayne State did not fortune Minot State football. Close but to no cigar, yet it is in the past and head coach Ian Shields was pleased with how the Beavers handled their side of the field against a talented group.

"It was a hard-fought game down there in Wayne…thought we had acquitted ourselves quite nicely," Shields said.

Following the 2^nd loss of the season, there is no better time for the Beavers getting the opportunity to come back to the Herb in front of the hometown fans, especially when the home cooking has been working wonders for Minot State.

A new week calls for new opportunities, as Minot State finds themselves getting ready to play host to No. 20 Augustana. It is another unique challenge that the Beavers face head on, especially with the game being in Minot. Having three home wins in their back pocket already, something about playing at the Herb will give MSU some confidence against the defending NSIC champs.

Minot State (4-2, 3-2 NSIC) takes on the Augustana Vikings (3-2, 3-1 NSIC) at First Western Bank Field at Herb Parker Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. For the Beavers, it is also Beach Day and Cancer Awareness Day.

"It's a big game. The fact that it's Augie, one of the better perennial powers in our league, and conference champions a year ago, this team is a loaded team, and they deserve to be ranked where they're at," Shields mentioned.

Minot State sits with a winning record at the halfway point of the season despite the 27-21 loss to Wayne State last week. Augustana comes in after a 28-24 victory over Minnesota Duluth.

The Beavers will have the task of ending a losing streak to the Vikings. Augie has won the past 4 games against Minot dating back to the 2015 season. This will be the first time that both the Beavers and Vikings square off since September 4, 2021, a matchup that saw Augustana shut out the Beavers 49-0 in Sioux Falls.

The Vikings are represented with some excellent skill position players, especially in the passing game. At quarterback, Gunnar Hensley carries 1,179 yards passing, including 12 touchdowns on 88 completions. He averages 294.75 passing yards per game.

His top targets feature a double threat of Jack Fisher and Isaiah Huber. With Fisher, he paces the team with 404 yards and 5 touchdowns. Huber is not far behind him with 340 yards receiving and 4 scores.

While the offense does some good things, the defensive front is a whole other story. The Beavers will have to be on top of their game in the trenches, as Augustana as a group has collected 18 total sacks to this point of the season. Will Davis, Myles Taylor, and Kade Lynott each have at least 3 sacks. Lynott and Davis are also able to disrupt plays in the backfield with 6 and 5 TFL respectively. Haden Wallace leads the tackling efforts, with 35 of them including 26 solos.

Minot State continues to emphasize the run game. The feature back Evan Lovett has run for 477 yards thus far, including 3 touchdowns. Quarterback Carson Chrisman needs 2 yards to surpass 300 on the ground this season, but his 6 rushing touchdowns leads the team. As a collective unit, the Beavers own 1,530 rushing yards to their name which remains 1^st in the NSIC.

Not much has changed on the Beaver defensive side of the field. Kevin Speed is tops on the list in tackles with 32 (22 solo). Julian Kameristy will look to keep up his impressive play as the leader in both TFL (5.5) and sacks (2.5).

For the Beavers, the mindset and approach remain the same in preparation for another big-time matchup on the Herb Parker gridiron.

"We just play good football. That is what we have got to do. Last week I thought offensively there were some real positives. As a team we were only penalized 2 times for 20 yards last week," Shields remarked as the team showed some discipline.

Capitalizing on turnovers will be another factor, but the Beavers must focus on being themselves.

"Be us. We don't need to have an out-of-body experience. We don't have to hit a home run; we just need to play solid football. Occasional double in the alley will be great," Shields stated with an epic baseball analogy. "Play together, play smart, play hard, and if we play with tremendous effort, that gives us a fighting chance."

Coach Shields leads the charge once again when the Beavers take the field against the 2023 conference champs in the biggest home test of the season.