While Minot State’s first win of the season has eluded head coach Mike Aldrich and his squad, the Beavers (0-2) hope to continue their optimism this weekend as they travel to Nebraska to take on Wayne State College on Saturday night at 6 p.m.

“We keep progressing to try to get offense and defense working together where we can build two good drives back-to-back and put positive things together,” Coach Aldrich said.

MSU looks to do that against a Wildcats (1-1) team that opened its season with a 34-27 win over North Dakota’s other NSIC team, the University of Mary, before falling 38-28 to Bemidji State last weekend.

Here is a quick look at this weekend’s matchup:

LAST TIME OUT (WSC): After scoring a 34-27 win in week one over the University of Mary, the Wildcats found themselves in a close game at Bemidji State last weekend until BSU came charging out of the locker room at halftime with two touchdowns in the first 5 minutes of the second half to break the contest open. A pair of fumbles sparked by Bemidji State’s scoring drives in the third quarter. Wayne State quarterback Tavian Willis tried to rally his team, throwing a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes to get the Wildcats close, but they couldn’t complete the comeback, falling 38-28.

LAST TIME OUT (MSU): Making their home debut, the Beavers gave their fans plenty to cheer about early on as 2019 NSIC Freshman of the Year Ali Mohamed took a screen pass on the third play from scrimmage 69 yards for a touchdown and Minot State’s first points of the season.

“By the end of the day Ali finished just under 150 all-purpose yards,” Minot State’s coach said. “We’re going to go as he goes so we need to be able to stay committed to him and being able to get him the lion’s share of the reps; whether it be through the air or on the ground, as long as he touches the ball because he can do great things, which he did show on Saturday.

Meanwhile, redshirt freshman kicker Dillon Fedor booted his first collegiate field goal in the second quarter, keeping Minot State as close as 21-10 down, but Sioux Falls pulled away from there with a touchdown in the final minute of the first half, and 3 more in the second half for the 49-10 victory. USF finished with 224 rushing yards in the win, a key factor in the outcome.

FACING THE WILDCATS: The Wildcats hold a 4-1 edge in the all-time series which dates back to the Beavers’ NAIA days when Minot State fell 20-14 in the two teams’ first meeting in 1989. After more than a 20-year hiatus, the head-to-head series resumed in 2012 with Wayne State picking up a 20-6 win. The Teams played in 2014, 2016, and 2018, with the Beavers lone win a 20-14 victory at Wayne State in 2016. The last meeting saw the Wildcats grab a 34-0 road victory back on Oct. 20, 2018.

COACH ALDRICH’S KEYS TO THE GAME: “(Defensively) they do enough to where they really try to confuse the eyes of the defense, a lot of misdirection stuff, a lot of quarterback carry stuff and reads, and those type of things,” the MSU coach stated. “We just have to play disciplined defensively and not get caught up into what we’re seeing and just be able to play with good reactions.

“We want to jump on the back of Ali and go as he goes. We’ve got to be committed to what Ali can do for us, but also just the run game in general. If you can start getting success on the run game, that can be demoralizing for the opposing defense.”

LOOKING AHEAD: Minot State returns home on Saturday, Sept. 25, to host No. 19-ranked Minnesota State, Mankato, at 6 p.m. at Herb Parker Stadium. The game against the Mavericks will be YMCA Youth Football Night.