BEMIDJI, MN. – It is a dogfight in the NSIC standings. Despite two-straight defeats, Minot State football is keeping steady in the middle of the pack as they look to make more lemonade after a 4-1 start.

It was not until last Saturday, October 12, that the Beavers suffered their first loss at home. Yet, to keep within reach of No. 20 and defending NSIC champion Augustana was no small feat as this program continues to pioneer a unique season never seen before in the D2 era.

Coach Shields was pleased with some areas of the game, but a slow start and some self-inflicted negatives (SIN) were tough to overcome.

"We hurt ourselves really for the first time all season…we were the least penalized team in the country heading into that game, well now we're not. That really stopped drives. We moved the ball offensively, we had about 350 yards of offense and about 150 left on the field with the penalties. You lose drives and you lose possessions," Shields said.

The Beavers will have to focus on getting back to their identity and winning formula when they head to Bemidji, Minnesota for another rendition of the 'Battle of the Beavers.'

Minot State (4-3, 3-3 NSIC) squares off with the other Beavers, that is Bemidji State (4-2, 3-2 NSIC) for a showdown on the gridiron. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Saturday at Chet Anderson stadium.

"They are really talented. They do a nice job. Offensive line, offense does a nice job. Their quarterback distributes it, and he uses his legs as well, so that's always a challenge…defensively, there's another set of problems. They're top 20 in the country in scoring defense. They're giving up just under 15 points a game, and anytime a team is doing that, it is just about as good as it gets," Shields said crediting the Bemidji defense.

Minot State draws in with an even record in the conference after the 20-7 loss to Augustana last weekend, but still one game above .500 in the overall record. The Beavers of Bemidji look to come in ready to play, as they lost a 14-13 contest to Northern State in heartbreaking fashion.

As far as the all-time series goes, Minot has been riding the struggle bus when it came to facing Bemidji. BSU owns the series with a 22-1 record. Just like how most other games turned out this season, this version of the Beavers (Minot) will look to alter the scoring and result. Bemidji has given Minot all kinds of problems on offense, having scored 40 points or more since 2017. The previous matchup resulted in a 59-14 defeat for Minot at Herb Parker Stadium back on October 1, 2022.

The talented Bemidji offense is led by dual-threat quarterback Sam McGath. Through 6 games, he has thrown for 1,310 passing yards and 14 touchdowns. He also amassed 218 yards on the ground. The kicker, however, is that McGath has 7 interceptions on the year, which is something that the Minot State defense can look to take advantage of in the turnover battle.

Guiding the rushing attack for Bemidji, Jayden Washington carries the rock to the tune of 390 yards with 2 touchdowns added on. While those numbers are solid, he does have a favorable yards-per-carry average of 5.4.

Over the air, it is best to watch out for Brice Peters. He is the bona fide No. 1 target for McGath. He has been busy with 612 receiving yards and has reached the end zone 8 times.

On the defense, there exists a two-headed monster of Marcus Hansen and Stephen Hoffman. Both players for Bemidji have been game wreckers everywhere. Hansen has sacked the quarterback 3.5 times along with getting 5.5 TFL. Hoffman is no different, his 3 sacks and 6 TFL makes for a dynamic duo on that front seven. Colton Hinrichs handles tackling duty well, with 37 total tackles to pace the team.

Ground and pound run style continues to be the name of the game for Minot State. It begins with Evan Lovett, who as the starting running back has netted 518 yards to this point of the campaign. For quarterback Carson Chrisman, he had no problem reaching 300 yards rushing on the year. He did add himself another touchdown to bump his total to 7. For all the combination of skill position talent, this collective group rides yet another 1^st place spot for rushing yards and rushing yards per-game in the Northern Sun Conference.

The No. 5 scoring defense in the NSIC does not see too many significant changes on the front seven. Julian Kameristy stands pat with 5.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks as the leader in both statistical categories. Kevin Speed, who was a recent guest on the 'Inside the Dam' podcast, leads the way in tackles with 35 for Minot State.

Minot State and coach Shields are not worried about who stands in their way, even if Bemidji comes in hungry for a bounce-back effort after a bad loss on their part.

"Our focus needs to be on us. We need to not get penalized 7 or 8 times, that's what we need to do. We need to keep our poise. We need to have our eyes where they're supposed to be. We need to have our feet where they're supposed to be. We need to know what to do when the ball is snapped, and then be able to execute."

It is all about taking care of things in-house as Minot State marches to face the other Beavers in the conference looking for another tally in the win column.