Bemidji State University football is set to open the 2021 season Thursday, Sept. 2 with a 6 p.m. start time at the University of Sioux Falls in Sioux Falls, S.D., at Bob Young Field. Beaver Football will look for back-to-back wins in the series as the Cougars enter the season with votes in the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 Poll.

Live audio is available through the Beaver Radio Network online or on 92.1 FM radio, led by play-by-play Brian Schultz.

Sioux Falls leads the all-time series, 4-2. BSU won the most recent meeting, 25-21, Oct. 6, 2018 in a comeback victory on Homecoming. The win was the ninth straight on Homecoming for BSU, which has now been extended to 10.

The Cougars won the most recent meeting hosted in Sioux Falls, 37-36, as the Beavers failed on a last-second two-point conversion.

The series first began Sept. 4, 1982, a 14-12 win by USF in Sioux Falls.

Thursday’s game is the earliest the two teams have ever met, previously meeting in season openers during the 1982 (Sept. 4) and 1983 (Sept. 3) seasons.