SETTING THE SCENE
The No. 4-ranked Minnesota State football team is excited to begin the 2026 home season at Blakeslee Stadium as it will entertain rival Bemidji State Saturday evening at 6 p.m. in a key Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference match up.  MSU enters with a 2-0 record following a 48-7 win at University of Mary last week in the conference opener for both teams.  Bemidji State garnered its first win of the season last Saturday in shutout fashion with a 38-0 thumping of Southwest Minnesota State.   
 
CALLING THE GAME / HOW TO WATCH
Aaron Worm and John Harrington will have the call of Maverick Football all season long on the official home of MSU Football The Fan KFSP 1230 AM and 103.1 FM, Mankato's #1 station for sports talk radio and local sports broadcasting.  Fans also can listen online at https://radiomankato.com. The game will be streamed live through Midco Sports Plus, the official streaming home of the NSIC this season and all Maverick football games will be streamed by Midco Sports Plus in 2026.  Play-by-play coverage of the game on the video stream will be provided by Kara Lyons, Jackson Jirik and Daniel Sawicki.  
 
HOME OPENER BLACK OUT MAVERICK FANS
All Maverick fans are encouraged to wear black for the game on Saturday evening for a Black Out at Blakeslee.  
 
THE NEW MIDCO SPORTS PLUS NETWORK
This fall a new era begins in streaming in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with Midco Sports Plus.  It will serve as the centralized home for NSIC digital content, delivering exclusive live and on-demand streaming coverage of all 16 member schools. Fans can get annual access starting at less than $7 per month, including full NSIC coverage plus the Summit League season. A monthly subscription is also available for $15.  The upgraded platform includes:
•    Real-time video clipping with the new My Clips feature, allowing fans to clip, save and share their favorite moments on social media
•    Improved navigation and scheduling tools, including sorting and favoriting capabilities
•    Expanded global access, making Midco Sports content available to fans around the world
•    Enhanced account management to create a more personalized experience
Fans can easily subscribe through:
•    MidcoSportsPlus.com
•    Midco Sports Plus mobile and tablet apps (iOS and Android)
•    Connected TV apps (Apple TV, Fire TV and Roku)
 
INSIDE THE SERIES WITH BEMIDJI STATE
In a series dating back to 1933, the Mavericks own a 36-15-2 record all-time and have won the last six meetings in the series.  The last four meetings have been decided by a combined 12 points.  The five meetings before that all were decided by double-digits.  MSU won 37-34 in overtime on Sept. 5, 2009, in the only overtime meeting, while the teams tied 13-13 in 1950 and 6-6 in 1939.  MSU leads the all-time series 19-6-2 in Mankato and has won the last three there, while BSU won 45-17 in Mankato on Sept. 10, 2016, for its last win in the series.  
 
RECAPPING UNIVERSITY OF MARY
Continuing its theme of early season road warriors, the Minnesota State football team logged its second longest trip of the season at University of Mary last Saturday.  Following a rare interception on the opening play from scrimmage, the Maverick "D" came up big with a missed field goal and then the offense put together four-straight touchdown drives en route to a 27-0 lead in the second quarter.  Junior Sam Backer took the first play from scrimmage 80-yards to the house for a 7-0 lead as he finished with a career-high 165 yards on the ground and two touchdowns for the game.  MSU ran the ball a season-high 327 yards on 35 carries for a 9.3 average per carry, while the team eclipsed 500 yards of offense for the game with 550 yards for an 8.9 average per play.  Defensively, the Mavericks held UM off the scoreboard, only a pick six by UM scored points.  The MSU "D" stymied the Marauder offense to the tune of just 47 yards on the ground and 202 for the game.  MSU picked off UM three times, with all three interceptions by the Spiyee brothers with Jamal Spiyee collecting two interceptions for 87 yards and a touchdown.  MSU improved to 9-0 all-time against Mary.  The 550 yards of total offense marked the most since 586 on Sept. 14, 2024, versus Wayne State, while the 327 yards on the ground was the most since registering 337 yards against Southwest Minnesota State on Nov. 1, 2025.  MSU forced UMary into four turnovers and three interceptions, marking the first three INT game for the Mavericks since also having three picks against Bemidji State on Sept. 1, 2023, in a game where MSU forced five turnovers.
 
SPIYEE SPIES
The Spiyee brothers came up huge against Mary last weekend with a combined three interceptions between the two.  Jamal Spiyee had two interceptions for 87 yards and a pick six, while his brother Emmanuel had six total tackles, four solo stops, one tackle for loss and one interception.  
 
THE CAREER DAY FOR BACKER
Junior running back Sam Backer had arguably one of his best games as a Maverick with a career-high 165 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns in the 48-7 thumping of University of Mary last week.  Backer got the scoring started early in the first with an 80-yard scamper for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage following an interception by the Mavericks and a missed field goal from the Marauders.  It marked the longest rush for the Mavericks since 2023.  The 165 yards on the ground surpassed his previous best of 159 yards at Wayne State in 2024. 
 
BACK AT THE BLAKE
The Mavericks make their home debut for 2026 on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. versus Bemidji State.  The Mavericks are 299-172-16 all-time at home for a .614 winning percentage, while they are 222-117-5 all-time at Blakeslee for a .652 winning percentage.  
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING
MSU enters third nationally in passes intercepted (5), while it is fourth nationally in turnovers gained (6) and 14th in scoring defense, allowing just 10.5 points per game and allowing just 246 yards per game for 18th nationally. The Mavericks, who didn't register a punt at Mary, are 27th nationally in net punting at a 41.0 clip.  Offensively, the team is eighth nationally in third down conversion at a 60.0 clip, while 18th nationally in scoring offense (43.0), 17th in total offense (487.5), 20th in passing efficiency (170.52), 11th in turnover margin (2.00) and 16th in first downs gained (47).  Individually, senior Jackson Owens is ninth nationally in touchdown receptions with two for second in the league.  
 
OWENS BIG DEBUT
The Mavericks had a big debut from senior wide receiver Jackson Owens who caught five balls for 137 yards and two long touchdown receptions, bookending 21 points for the Mavericks in the first half of the 38-14 win at Colorado Mesa last week.  Owens had TD receptions of 43 yards and 48 yards.  Owens is ninth nationally and tops in the NSIC in both receiving yards and receiving yards per game.
 
QUALITY DEPTH
MSU took 65 players to Colorado last week and all 65 players played in the game, including freshman running back James Engle who had a team-high 11 carries for 38 yards and a touchdown in his Maverick debut. Engle scored the final touchdown of the game for MSU on third and goal from the 2 with 4:46 to play in the game.  He tallied 29 of his 38 yards on the scoring drive.  
 
ABOUT BEMIDJI STATE
The Beavers are coming off a 38-0 win over Southwest Minnesota State last weekend, following a heartbreaking 31-29 loss to Michigan Tech in the season-opener.  Against SMSU, the Beavers dominated the game and held a 22-7 advantage in first downs, while holding the Mustangs to just three (3) rushing yards and held a 456-57 advantage in total offense.  Bart McAninch is 18 of 33 passing for 341 yards, three touchdowns and one interception this season under center.  He is sixth nationally in yards per completion (18.94), while he is 22nd nationally in passing efficiency at a 165.3 clip for second in the league.  Antonio Brown leads the team with 71 yards on the ground and a touchdown, while Zavery Guerra has 140 receiving yards on six catches to lead the team.  Lucas Peterson has a team-high two touchdown receptions on eight catches for 92 yards.  The defense for the Beavers has been stout this season as it is 11th nationally in 3rd Down defense, holding teams to a .185 clip on the pivotal down.  BSU has three fumble recoveries this season, while it sixth nationally and tops in the league in sacks at a 4.50 clip per game.  BSU is ninth nationally in total defense holding teams to 200.5 yards per game. Head coach Brent Bolte is 76-34 in his 11th season and is 1-6 against MSU.  
 
100TH YEAR
The 2026 season marks the 100th playing season of Maverick football dating back to 1922.  The Mavericks are 592-407-27 (.562) all-time.  MSU did not play during World War II from 1943-1945, along with not playing in 1976 and then again in 2020 for COVID.  
 
COMING UP NEXT
The Mavericks continue at home on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 1 p.m. versus Northern State at Blakeslee Stadium.
 
THINGS A WIN OVER BEMIDJI STATE WOULD DO . . . 

• Give MSU a 3-0 record on the season and the sixth 3-0 start since 2017
• Give MSU a 2-0 start for the 13th time under head coach Todd Hoffner
• Give MSU a 11-4 record all-time at Blakeslee Stadium versus Bemidji State
• Be the 300th home victory in the history of MSU Football (299-172-16)
• Give head coach Todd Hoffner his 155th victory (154-41) at MSU and his 197th victory overall (196-69) in 25 seasons of coaching
• Be the 530th victory all-time in the history of the program (529-407-27)