DULUTH, MN. – Even when some schools have started to separate themselves at the top, much parity still exists in the race towards the finish line amongst the NSIC collective. Within a logjam that makes up the current situation in the conference standings, Minot State football finds itself yet again in another unique set of circumstances on the gridiron.

The Beavers hit the trail out east to Minnesota for a date with the Duluth Bulldogs. This time around, something has to give with both teams entering the weekend on matching three-game losing streaks. The environment is alike as the Beavers look to rattle a skid of their own, while Duluth hopes to accomplish the same when they converge at James S. Malosky stadium.

Minot State (4-4, 3-4 NSIC) and Minnesota Duluth (3-4, 2-4 NSIC) will kick off on Saturday at noon in the last road game of the season for the Beavers.

As Minot State makes their way for another trip towards the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Head Coach Ian Shields says the defense has been playing well as of late. The offense just happened to run into the top scoring defense in the NSIC last weekend in Bemidji State.

"Everyone struggled against Bemidji, we were no exception, and we certainly did. There were opportunities though…it's a tight game and like I told the team; tight games are usually decided by 4 or 5 plays. That's the difference in tight football games and last week was no exception," Shields commented.

The focus shifts to the Bulldogs, who have some similarities to Bemidji.

"They are really thick up front. They are excellent. Our offensive line has a challenge up front, and we have to execute at a high level. We have to play a little better, crisper, and cleaner on the perimeter offensively, so that's a challenge," Shields said.

For this upcoming meeting with the Bulldogs, coach puts a bigger emphasis on the turnover battle, something that has partially gone away from the Beavers in their success earlier in the season. While hard to put a "favorable" tag on this one for the Beavers, the expectations are within striking distance.

"I think we're improving as a team in all phases, we're taking steps forward…I think the effort's there, we got to continue to play hard. And then, we have to do a better job in terms of the turnover battle. That is where we have struggled defensively of late. We haven't gotten any takeaways defensively for a while now," Shields noted. "Early in the season we were living off those and feasting off those."

As reiterated, last weekend did not favor the Beavers as they fell 21-9 to Bemidji State. That increased their losing streak to 3 games, which is also what Duluth faces. Sioux Falls got the best of Duluth in a 24-21 result on the road.

If history played a role in all this, the Bulldogs would be on track to win this game. Luckily, that is not the case. But it is something to make note of as Duluth has overcome the Beavers 11 tries out of 11 in the all-time series. Minot State will have an opportunity, just like in previous contests this year, to reverse that trend or cease the scoring put on by Duluth. Both teams last met at Herb Parker Stadium on October 21, 2023, a game that saw the Bulldogs flex their muscles in a 42-7 win over the Beavers.

Looking at Duluth's body of work, the offense starts with quarterback Kyle Walljasper. The dual-threat redshirt Junior commands 380 net yards on the ground with 3 rushing touchdowns to go with 1,273 yards over the air along with 13 touchdowns thrown.

DaShaun Ames is a threat when he lines up wide on the perimeter. The No. 1 option and red zone target for Walljasper carries with him 583 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Turning the attention towards the defensive side of the ball, Matt Weerts is everywhere on the field for the Bulldogs. Literally, like a bulldog unleashed, Weerts leads the team with 8.5 TFL and 4.5 sacks.

Jarrett Bennett draws a heavy load as the leading tackler. He has 31 for Duluth in 7 games played.

Minot State prides themselves on the run, so much so to the tune of being No. 1 in the NSIC stats book with 229.3 rushing yards per game. It begins with running back Evan Lovett. The Tucson, AZ Senior has netted 575 yards while averaging 71 per game. Combining strengths with Lovett, quarterback Carson Chrisman is behind him with 411 and leads the Beavers with 7 rushing touchdowns.

The defensive unit has done a good job keeping the Beavers in games, as was mentioned earlier by coach Shields. While Julian Kameristy has remained at the top in TFL (5.5) and sacks (2.5), there has been some movement from the Raetzman brothers. Cody Raetzman is the new tackling king with 41 in his name so far. Connor Raetzman has started to work his way up in tackles for loss, as he now sits at an even 5 in that category.

It will be interesting to see who comes out on top to snap their respective losing streak. Both the Beavers and the Bulldogs amid a three-game slide, one streak will end and the other gets extended to four games. The Beavers have their eyes set on being the one that flips the switch, but it starts with doing the things right internally once again.

"We need to take care of the ball, get lined up right, have our eyes, hands, and feet in the right places, and we need to play good football. We need to play good football in all three phases…we just need to be poised and ready for the opportunities when the opportunities present themselves," Shields remarked.

Minot State will finish out the road portion of the season before returning to the Herb to finalize the 2024 campaign with two straight at home.