What Lies Ahead:  The Minnesota State football team looks to bounce back this Saturday as it hosts St. Cloud State in Homecoming on the campus of Minnesota State University.  

What's in a Win:  A win would give MSU its 371st win in school history...A victory would be the 23rd victory for head coach Todd Hoffner at MSU and the 69th victory of his career...A win would give Minnesota State possession of the Traveling Training Kit...Finally, a win would mark the 21st win for the Mavericks in the NSIC.

A Little History Lesson: The 2010 season marks the school's 84th season playing football.  The Mavericks are 370-367-28 (.501) in 767 games since their inception as a varsity sport in 1922.  Minnesota State is in its third season in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and owns a 21-4 record in league action.  Over the course of its history, MSU has claimed 17 conference championships including 15 NIC titles.

Homecoming Info: Minnesota State’s longest homecoming win streak is 11 games (1966-78)...MSU’s snapped its longest homecoming losing streak (six) in 2008 with its 35-32 win over Winona State...The Mavericks have played the most homecoming games against Bemidji State (11) and holds an 6-4-1 record in homecoming appearances against the Beavers...The last homecoming game vs. Bemidji State was in 1968 in which MSU won 49-14...In 75 homecoming contests, Minnesota State has shut-out 13 opponents and has been shut-out four times themselves...MSU’s last shut-out of a homecoming opponent came in 1991 when the Mavericks prevailed by a 17-0 margin over Nebraska-Omaha...The last time Minnesota State was shut-out in a homecoming contest was in 1940 when Moorhead State won 26-0...Since MSU started playing at Blakeslee Stadium in 1962, they hold a 24-22 homecoming record...The Mavericks’ homecoming opponent this year is St. Cloud State...This will be the sixth time that MSU has hosted St. Cloud State in a homecoming tilt and the first since 1952...The Mavericks are 2-2-1 against St. Cloud State in their previous Homecoming tilts, the last of which was played in 1952, when Minnesota State lost, 19-8.

Tidbits on the Kit:  Saturday's match-up against St. Cloud State means that the Traveling Training Kit...The winner of Saturday's game will earn the kit until the next game between the two schools...The Kit currently resides in St. Cloud where it has been since SCSU's 26-21 win last year over Minnesota State.

Scouting St. Cloud State: St. Cloud State enters this weekends game owners of a 4-1 record, with all four victories coming at the hands of NSIC opponents.  Last week, SCSU earned a 42-10 win over Northern State,  The Huskies raced to a 2-0 lead thanks in part to four touchdown receptions by senior wideout Fred Williams.  Williams finished the game with nine catches for 170 yards and four touchdowns.  Redshirt freshman Phillip Klaphake completed 14-of-19 passes in the win for 218 yards and four touchdowns.   The Huskies ran 50 plays for 403 yards in the victory.

For the season, the Huskies are averaging 32.2 points per game while allowing 18.4 per contest.  The Huskies are averaging 188.6 yards per game on the ground and 231 in the air for an average of 419.6 yards per game.  Klaphake leads the offense in passing, completing 77-of-117 passes for 1,155 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 231 yards per game.  Williams has 34 receptions – 26 more than the next highest on the team – averaging 136.8 yards per game and 20.1 yards per catch.  He has eight touchdown receptions this year.

Redshirt freshman Chad Peterson leads the squad in rushing with 55 attempts for 305 yards.  Peterson – who has not been tackled for a loss this season – is averaging 61 yards per game and 5.5 yards per carry.  Defensively junior defensive back Tony Kubes leads the team in tackles with 34 – including four for a loss – to go with two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.  The Huskies are coached by Scott Underwood who is in his third year with the program.

Weather Report:  According to www.weather.com, Saturday's forecast in Mankato calls for a high of 70 degrees, sunny with no chance of rain.

To view a .pdf of the notes, click HERE