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RECORDS: Both Minot State and Southwest Minnesota State University will enter their third game of the season with 1-1 records.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's head coach is Paul Rudolph, who is in his seventh season at the helm of the Beaver football program. Rudolph sports  a 32-32 record while at MISU and a career record of 75-79. The Mustangs are coached by Cory Sauter. Sauter is in his fourth season as head coach at SMSU, sporting a 12-23 overall record in his tenure. Sauter played six seasons in the National Football League with four different teams.

FOLLOW THE BEAVERS: The game is broadcast locally on KCJB 910-AM with Scott Kittell calling the play-by-play. Live audio can be accessed online at kcjb.com. MISU provides live video and live stats as well as links to the live audio at MSUBeavers.com. Minot State Athletics also is active on Facebook, Twitter and You Tube with all feeds accessible through the home page.

RANKINGS: Neither team received any votes in the Sept. 16 American Football Coaches Association Poll. In the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Mustangs were picked No. 12 while the Beavers were tabbed No. 14 out of the 16 teams in the league.

RECENT HISTORY: The Beavers played their first home game of the 2013 season and defeated Augustana College in a thrilling 23-17 triple overtime win. MISU showed commitment to the run, rushing the ball 40 times for 104 yards while the Vikings could manage just 93 yards on 49 attempts. SMSU won their first road contest of the 2013 season as the defeated MSU-Moorhead 27-20 in week two. The Mustangs had to battle back from a eight-point deficit with 14 minutes left to play.

OVERALL SERIES: Minot State and Southwest Minnesota State University have played each other four times in the history of their programs. The Mustangs have taken three of those four games. The last time the Beavers and Mustangs met in Marshall, Minn., however, MISU came away with a 36-12 win.

NOTING THE MUSTANGS: Southwest Minnesota State University needed nearly every second on the clock to escape MSU-Moorhead with a victory. During a 20-20 game, quarterback Charlie Kern hooked up with senior wide receiver Anthony Dean on a 23-yard pass and catch for a touchdown to give the Mustangs a 27-20 win. SMSU running back and current NSIC Offensive Player of the Week, Tyler Tonderum, racked up a school record 343 yards on 42 attempts as he found the end zone three times in the win. Through the first two games of the season, the Mustang offense has been superb totaling 970 yards of total offense.

LAST SECOND HEROICS: Both Minot State and Southwest Minnesota State University earned wins in week two on their final offensive play. Wayne Peters (Sr., WR, Carson, Calif.) caught a 22-yard tipped pass while flat on his back in the end zone giving the Beavers the 23-17 win. For SMSU, Anthony Dean caught a 23-yard pass from Charlie Kern with just three seconds left to give the Mustangs the 27-20 win over MSU-Moorhead. It's the first time in school history that Minot State and it's opponent will play after both winning on the final offensive play in the previous week.

WORKING OVERTIME: Just two weeks into the season, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference has seen three overtime games, including two triple overtime games. In week one, Bemidji State made a late comeback against Winona State, defeating the Warriors 34-27 in OT at Winona State. Also in week one, Wayne State and Northern State went to three overtime periods before the Wolves eventually won on their home turf, 29-27. In week two, Minot State and Augustana exchanged blows for three overtimes until the Beavers came away with a 23-17 win. In the 2011 and 2012 seasons combined, the NSIC has only seen five overtime games during the regular season.

CALIFORNIA LOVE: Senior wide receiver Wayne Peters has been the main target for quarterback Zac Cunha (So., Rocklin, Calif.) in 2013. Peters has 16 catches (T-No. 1 in the NSIC), 151 yards (No. 7 in the NSIC) and two touchdowns so far during his senior campaign. The California duo will be key if the Beavers hope to win the second game of the season.

MARSHALL MANIA: After totaling just four tackles in the season-opening game against Concordia-St. Paul, Chad Marshall (Sr., LB, Hazen, N.D.) let loose against Augustana College. Marshall led the Beaver defense with 13 tackles in the win, six of them being solo takedowns. He now has 237 career tackles, by far the most of any current Minot State player.

NO FLAGS, NO PROBLEM: Minot State has been the second least-penalized team in the Northern Sun to start the 2013 season. The Beavers have only seen flags come out for them seven times for 55 yards. The SMSU Mustangs, however, are the most penalized team in the NSIC in 2013 with 22 penalties for 148 yards.

STRENGTH VS. STRENGTH: The Beaver defensive unit has been a strong point for the team over the last two season. MISU currently sits No. 6 in the NSIC in total defense (332.0 ypg). The Beavers, however, will the face the Mustangs and the No. 2 offense in the NSIC. The SMSU offensive unit is averaging 485.0 yards per game.

BY THE NUMBERS
19.5: Minot State has averaged just 11.5 points per game this season, ranking them last in the Northern Sun. The Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs have averaged 31.0 points per game, a point differential of 19.5 points per game.

3: After not recording a single sack in the season-opener, the Beavers were able to get to the quarterback three times in their win over Augustana College. Putting pressure on SMSU quarterback Charlie Kern will be key for MISU but the Mustangs have only allowed Kern to be sacked three times in 2013.

100 PERCENT: The Southwest Minnesota State University defense has allowed opponents to score 100 percent of the time when they enter the Mustang "Red Zone". SMSU has allowed eight touchdowns in eight red zone opportunities, the worst "Red Zone" defense in the NSIC.