Football | 10/10/2018 1:26:00 PM

Live Video/Audio
Live Stats
Game notes (pdf)
The Minnesota State University Moorhead is back on the road this week to face Wayne State (Neb.) in an NSIC matchup. Kickoff is 1 p.m. on Saturday in Wayne, Neb.

MSUM is 4-2 overall while Wayne State is 1-5.

The game will be broadcast live at msumdragons.com. Live video, stats and audio can be found at msumdragons.com.  

An MSUM win over Minnesota State would...
— give the Dragons their first 5-2 start since 1999
— give the Dragons their third straight win over Wayne State
— give the Dragons a 2-1 mark against NSIC South teams this season

Series History
MSUM and Wayne State will meet for a 24th time in a series dating back to 1960. The Dragons lead the series 14-9. The Dragons have won the last two meetings in 2014 and 2016.

Previous meetings:
2016-MSUM 41, Wayne State 24 (in Moorhead)
2014-MSUM 40, Wayne State 36 (in Wayne)
2012-Wayne State 49, MSUM 6 (in Moorhead)
2009-Wayne State 41, MSUM 0 (in Moorhead)
2008-Wayne State 28, MSUM 21 (in Wayne)

The Head Coaches
Steve Laqua is in his eighth season as MSUM's head coach with a record of 33-50 at the school. Dan McLaughlin is in his 14th year as the WSC head coach with a record of 73-78.

About MSUM
MSUM suffered a 42-20 loss to No. 1 Minnesota State on Saturday. The Dragons fell behind 28-0 early and battled back to within 28-14 but came up short.

Sophomore running back Zach Simons has rushed for 311 yards and six touchdowns for the Dragons while sophomore Ty Jochim has rushed for 223 yards and three scores. Sophomore quarterback Jakup Sinani has thrown for 1,042 yards and eight scores while only being intercepted twice. Sophomore receiver Grady Bresnahan has 36 catches for 344 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Jake Richter has 32 catches for 540 yards and six touchdowns. MSUM scores 28 points per game and records 373.3 yards per game of total offense.

MSUM allows 28.8 points per game and 391.2 yards per game of total offense.  Senior safety Aaron Doan has 53 tackles, including a team-high 27 solos. Junior cornerback Deiondre Taylor has 42 tackles, including four tackles for loss, to go with three interceptions and six pass breakups, all team highs. Sophomore Darius Woods-Steichen has five sacks to lead the team.

About Wayne State
The Wildcats are 1-5 after losing to St. Cloud State, 23-17 on the road last week. They have lost four games in a row since a Week 2 23-14 win over Southwest Minnesota State.

Marlon Warren leads WSC with 349 rushing yards and two scores.  Junior Aaron Bleil has thrown for 978 yards and eight scores but has missed the past two games with an injury; freshman Alex Thramer has started the past XX games at quarterback and has thrown for 360 yards and a score.Nate Rogers has 48 catches for 631 yards and six scores to lead the receiving corps. As a team WSC scores 17.7 points per game and records 328.0 yards per game of total offense.

The Wildcats allow 26.8 points per game and give up 337.5 yards per game of total offense. Tyler Thomsen has 60 tackles while Ian Ailts has 46. Jacob Protzman leads with 6.5 sacks while Odessa Clark has two interceptions.

More about the Dragons
National Rankings
MSUM ranks in the top 50 in several categories as a team and individually:
Team
--MSUM is ranked 19th in Division II in fewest penalty yards per game at 47.0 yards per game, which is also third best in the NSIC; the Dragons are 18th in fewest overall penalties
--MSUM is seventh in the nation in fewest passes intercepted with two
--The Dragons are sixth in punt return defense, allowing 1.0 yards per return
--The Dragons are 33rd with eight tackles for loss per game
Individuals
--Sophomore receiver Grady Bresnahan is seventh in the nation at 7.2 receptions per game
--Sophomore receiver Jake Richter is 16th in the nation with six receiving touchdowns and is 30th in receiving yards and 33rd in receiving yards per game
--Zach Simons is 29th with six rushing touchdowns
--Junior cornerback Deiondre Taylor is 26th in the nation at 1.5 passes defend per game and is 32nd in interceptions per game (0.5).
--Sophomore defensive tackle Darius Woods-Steichen is 31st in sacks per game at 0.83.

Fast Start
MSUM started 4-1 on the season for the first time since 1996. It is the best start in the Steve Laqua era. If MSUM is able to beat Wayne State on Saturday, it will be the first 5-2 start for the Dragons

Doan Gets It Done on D
Senior safety Aaron Doan tied a career-high 14 tackles in the win at Upper Iowa, and leads the Dragons with 46 tackles on the season. He is fourth in the NSIC at 8.6 tackles per game. His 21 solo stops also lead the Dragons.

Grady's Grabs
Sophomore receiver Grady Bresnahan tied a season-high with 11 catches in the win at Upper Iowa. He is second in NSIC at 7.2 receptions per game, which is also seventh-best in the nation, and leads the Dragons with 36 on the season (he missed Week 2 with an injury).

Woods-Steichen Sack Party
Sophomore Darius Woods-Steichen added another sack in the win over Upper Iowa and now has a team-best five on the season. Woods-Steichen's sack total is tied second-most in the NSIC this season. He leads MSUM with 7.5 tackles for loss.

Simons Says
Sophomore Zach Simons was recruited to MSUM as a quarterback but made the switch to running back last season and has been an important part of the MSUM ground game this season. He leads the Dragons with 311 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

Deiondre's Defense
Junior cornerback Deiondre Taylor is off to a strong start for the Dragon defense. He leads the team with three interceptions, including a key one in the end zone to end a Northern scoring threat in Week 3, and is tied for fifth in the NSIC in that category.  

Youth Movement
Nearly half of MSUM's roster is freshmen, as 48 are on the roster this year. That does not include nine redshirt freshmen from a year ago.

Home Grown
A total of 69 players on MSUM's roster are from Minnesota and North Dakota as the Dragon coaching staff continues to emphasize recruiting locally. A total of 38 players are from Minnesota.  There are 16 players from Wisconsin and 12 from Illinois.

Week 7 Under Laqua
The Dragons are 1-6 in Week 7 games under Laqua. They lost to Bemidji State, 35-10 in 2011, beat Minnesota Crookston, 35-13 in 2012 and lost to Minnesota Crookston on the road, 20-14. In 2014, the Dragons fell to St. Cloud State, 55-27 and in 2015, lost to Bemidji State 42-28. MSUM's comeback was spoiled in a 41-38 loss to St. Cloud State in Moorhead in 2016, and last year, the Dragons were belted 31-7 by SCSU.