Beavers travel to Duluth to take on No. 13/10 Bulldogs Saturday
Bemidji State hopes to get back into win column during final road trip of the season
Bemidji State University Football heads on the road for the final time Saturday. The Beavers will face off against the No. 13/10 University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs with a 12 p.m. kickoff from James S. Malosky Stadium in Duluth, Minn.
Bemidji State enters the weekend at 3-6 overall with a 3-5 record in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. October hosted a three-game winning streak for the Beavers, but this streak came to a close last Saturday in Moorhead, Minn. when BSU fell to Minnesota State University Moorhead, 49-21, in the Battle Axe Rivalry Game.
The Beavers come in at 10th in the NSIC and fourth in the North Division with two North Division games left this season.
On the ground, the Beaver offense is led by quarterback Connor Carver who ranks seventh in the NSIC for rushing touchdowns, eighth in rushing yards and yards per game. This has helped the Beaver offense to rank 44th in the NCAA, seventh in the NSIC, for rushing offense.
Caden Bolte leads the defense this season, ranking 53rd in the NCAA for solo tackles and 149th in total tackles. Bolte is also 46th in the NCAA for passes defended with eight so far this season.
Drayton Lehman has shot to the top of the leader board for punt returns in the NSIC, averaging 8.9 yards per return. He is also 31st in the NCAA for this effort.
Connor Mantelli moved to 86th in the NCAA for field goals after his first missed kick of the season last weekend. On the other hand, Mantelli is now 28th in the nation for punting, averaging 41.1 yards per punt.
Quarterback Bart McAninch remains in 10th in the NCAA for completion percentage for the second week. McAninch has posted a .674 completion percentage with 95 completions on 141 attempts with seven interceptions. McAninch has thrown nine of the Beavers’ 13 touchdowns.
The Beavers close the regular season next week, hosting the University of Mary at Chet Anderson Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and is available on the NSIC Network and Beaver Radio Network.