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The Minnesota State University Moorhead football team face a big test to open their home season when the Dragons host No. 4-ranked Minnesota State, Mankato on Saturday at 1 p.m.  It is the highest-ranked opponent MSUM will have faced in the Steve Laqua era.

Live audio, with Dragon broadcasters Steve d'Eustachio and Larry Scott on the call, can be heard at msumdragons.com. Live video can be accessed as well. For those unable to attend the game, it can be found on WDAY'Z XTRA channel. That is available on channel 6.3 over the air, 596 for Midcontinent Communications customers, and on WDAY.com.

MSUM is 0-1 overall and in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference while Minnesota State, Mankato is 1-0 both overall and in the league.

The game will feature the No. 1-ranked offense, in terms of yards per game (MSUM at 709 yards) against the No. 2-ranked defense in Minnesota State (235 yards allowed per game).

The Dragons will be looking for their third straight home win, dating back to 2013 when they won their final two home decisions.

Series history
The Dragons and Mavericks will meet for a 35th time with MSU leading the series 21-13.  The Dragons will be looking for their first win in the series since 1981 when they prevailed, 45-0 in Mankato. There was a gap of 27 years between meetings.

Last five meetings
2012-MSU Mankato 24, MSUM 0 (in Mankato)
2009-MSU Mankato 59, MSUM 14 (in Mankato)
2008-MSU Mankato 45, MSUM 0 (in Moorhead)
1981-MSUM 45, MSU Mankato 0 (in Mankato)
1980-MSUM 22, MSU Mankato 6 (in Moorhead)

The Head Coaches
Steve Laqua is in his fourth season as MSUM's head coach with a record of 7-27 at the school, while Todd Hoffner is in his fifth season as MSU Mankato's head coach with a record of 35-13 at the school.

About MSUM
The Dragons are coming off of a 44-36 loss to Upper Iowa to open the season. MSUM gained a school-record 709 yards of offense -- fourth best of any Division II team in the nation -- in the defeat.

Junior running back Zayne Medhaug rushed for a career-high 188 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries for MSUM. Junior quarterback Jake Hodge had 80 rushing yards and a touchdown while throwing for 331 yards and a score. Junior wide receiver Adam Jiskra caught nine passes for 135 yards and a touchdown while sophomore wide receiver Dan Grande had four catches for 109 yards and a score. Junior wide receiver Preston Prince had six catches for 91 yards.

Sophomore linebacker Aaron Bohl had 13 tackles to lead the defense, while junior linebacker Chris Lee had nine tackles, including a game-high four tackles for loss (which leads the NSIC). Junior cornerback Chris Binford had an interception, while sophomore cornerback Sheldon Jones and redshirt freshman safety Abe Roehrich added sacks.

MSUM had 295 rushing yards and 414 passing yards against Upper Iowa. On defense they allowed 524 yards to the Peacocks during the game.

About Minnesota State
The Mavericks opened the season with a 31-0 win over then No. 12-ranked St. Cloud State on Sept. 4 in Mankato, Minn. MSU led 17-0 at halftime and added two more touchdowns in the second half to secure the win.

The Maverick offense posted 393 yards of total offense, including 270 on the ground.  Andy Pfeiffer rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries to lead MSU, while Connor Thomas rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown. Ricky Lloyd was 8-of-10 passing for 91 yards and two scores. Bryce Duncan caught two passes for 35 yards and a score for the offense.

The MSU defense kept St. Cloud State off the scoreboard and also held the Huskies to 235 yards of offense, including just 67 yards on the ground.

Tyler Henderson led the Maverick defense with nine tackles, while Cory Brent and Justin Otto both had interceptions.

Minnesota State was ranked No. 5 in the AFCA preseason coaches poll and moved up to fourth in the latest poll.

More about the Dragons
Picking Up Where They Left Off...
Offensively, the Dragons set eight records a year ago, and they picked up right where they left off in 2013 in their opening game at Upper Iowa. The Dragons set a new school record with 709 total yards of offense, topping the previous mark of 685 set in 2013 against Minnesota Duluth. MSUM also tied a school record with 100 offensive plays, tying the mark set against Southwest State in 1971.

Week 2 Under Laqua
MSUM is 0-3 in Week 2 games under Laqua and will look to change that against Minnesota State.  In 2011, MSUM lost to Winona State, 48-10 and lost to Sioux Falls, 45-10 in 2012. Last year at Nemzek Stadium, in a game-long downpour, the Dragons lost to Southwest Minnesota State, 27-20.

Ranked Nationally…and in the NSIC
The Dragon offense is ranked fourth nationally in total offense per game at 709.0 yards. MSUM's passing offense is ranked sixth at 414 yards per contest and 11th in first downs at 30. Junior linebacker Chris Lee is third in the nation in tackles for loss (four). Junior quarterback Jake Hodge is ranked eighth in the nation in total offense per game (411.0), while junior running back Zayne Medhaug is ninth in rushing yards and rushing yards per game (188.0). Junior wide receiver Adam Jiskra is 15th in receptions per game (9.0) and 19th in receiving yards per game nationally.
Medhaug leads the NSIC at 188.0 yards per game rushing while Hodge leads the NSIC at 411.0 yards of total offense per game. Lee leads the NSIC in tackles for loss at four.

All-NSIC returners
The Dragons had seven players who earned All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference honors a year ago, and all seven return.

That includes junior wide receiver Adam Jiskra, who was a first-team selection a year ago. Also returning for the Dragons are junior quarterback Jake Hodge (All-NSIC second team), junior running back Zayne Medhaug (All-NSIC second team),  sophomore wide receiver Cory Ambrose (All-NSIC second team), junior linebacker Chris Lee (honorable mention), junior offensive lineman Troy Peterson (honorable mention) and defensive lineman Ryan Dahleen (honorable mention).

2014 Captains
MSUM's senior linebacker Lomumba Ismail and sophomore linebacker Aaron Bohl are the Dragons' 2014 team captains.

No Place Like Home
Nearly half of the Dragons' 2014 roster is from Minnesota, as 43 players hail from the Land of 10,000 Lakes.  The next state is neighboring North Dakota with 18 players.

Another 100 for Jiskra
Junior wide receiver Adam Jiskra recorded the eighth 100-yard receiving game of his career during the loss at Upper Iowa. Jiskra had nine catches for 135 yards. He is now fifth all-time in school history with 117 career receptions.

Stalwarts Up Front
Senior Kasey Groettum and juniors Bennen Bierman and Troy Peterson have each started all 23 games over the past two-plus seasons on the offensive line -- combining for 69 starts during that time. Their play is among the keys to the Dragon offense's growth over the past two seasons. Groettum is in his fourth year as a starter after starting in five games as a freshman in 2011.