MANKATO, Minn. – In front of an announced crowd of 6,911, the No. 4 Minnesota State football team posted a 30-13 victory over visiting Bemidji State Saturday evening in the 2026 home opener for the Mavericks.
The 6,911 fans marked the fifth-largest crowd in program history for a home game and the largest for a home opener in program history. The previous largest home-opener crowd was 6,387 against Minnesota Duluth on Sept. 3, 2015. The Mavericks improved to 3-0 on the season and 2-0 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play, while Bemidji State fell to 1-2 overall and 1-1 in league play.
The Mavericks raced out to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter and held a 23-13 advantage at halftime. For the game, the Mavericks ran 76 plays for 435 yards, including 48 carries for 278 yards, while going 12-of-28 passing for 157 yards. The Maverick "D" held BSU to 220 yards on 51 plays, including 61 rushing yards on 29 carries and 139 passing yards on 10-of-22 passing.
After Bemidji State gained some momentum in the second quarter, scoring all 13 of its points, the Mavericks put a stop to it in the second half, allowing just 54 total yards over the final 30 minutes. MSU finished the game 8-of-15 on third down and 1-of-1 on fourth down, while holding BSU to 5-of-12 on third down.
MSU junior quarterback Mitchell Thompson went 5-of-12 passing for 71 yards and a touchdown while carrying the ball 13 times for 84 yards and two rushing scores. Junior Carter Henderson finished with 13 carries for 88 yards to lead the Mavericks.
Sophomore Maximus Sims went 7-of-15 passing for 86 yards while carrying the ball six times for 45 yards. Sophomore El Staley finished with three catches for 45 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, the Mavericks registered four sacks for 29 yards while recording six tackles for loss for 35 yards. Senior Nathan Drumm paced the team with eight tackles. Senior Tanner Olson finished with five tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss for 10 yards and 1.5 sacks for 10 yards, while also recording a forced fumble on a strip sack and a quarterback hurry.
Following a three-and-out by the Maverick "D," the Mavericks moved down the field and, on third-and-16 from the BSU 20, Thompson hit Staley for a 20-yard touchdown reception to give MSU a 7-0 lead with 8:32 remaining in the first quarter.
The defense came up big again, as senior Amaun Williams recorded a huge sack that forced an 18-yard punt by BSU. Starting in plus territory, the Mavericks settled for a 46-yard field goal from junior Connor Fournier to push the lead to 10-0 with 5:47 left in the first quarter.
Bemidji State mustered one first down, but Jason Dandridge came up with a big pass deflection on third-and-five to force the second punt of the game by the Beavers. MSU moved to the BSU 37, keeping the drive alive with a hard run by Henderson on third-and-six.
On fourth-and-one from the BSU 28, Thompson called his own number and broke containment for a 28-yard touchdown run to give the Mavericks a 17-0 lead with 13:32 left in the half.
On a third down for BSU, quarterback Bart McAninch, a Mankato native, hit Hudson Omoke for 37 yards down to the MSU 28. The Beavers moved to the MSU 17 before converting another third-and-short to reach the MSU 10. A pass interference penalty on MSU gave Bemidji State first-and-goal from the MSU 2. BSU's Jayden Washington scored from two yards out to cut the deficit to 17-7 with 7:17 remaining in the half.
A pass interference penalty on BSU, followed by a nice pass from Sims to junior Ishmael Emmanuel-Holloway for 20 yards, moved the Mavericks to the BSU 24 with 4:48 to play in the half. Fournier buried a 41-yard field goal to give MSU a 20-7 lead with 4:39 remaining in the first half.
Some nice passing from BSU moved the Beavers to the MSU 9 with one minute remaining in the half. Following an MSU timeout, McAninch called his own number for a nine-yard touchdown run to make it 20-13, as the extra-point attempt was fumbled.
Trying to go for the two-for-one in the closing seconds of the half, the Mavericks used a pair of nice runs from Thompson to reach the BSU 42 with 22 seconds remaining. Thompson then hit Staley for 21 yards to the BSU 21 with 14 seconds left.
Thompson's pass was out of reach of Staley in the end zone on second down with nine seconds remaining. Thompson then hit Jackson Owens in the back of the end zone, but Owens was ruled out of bounds. The Mavericks challenged the call, but after a lengthy review, the ruling was upheld.
Fournier connected on a 38-yard field goal to give the Mavericks a 23-13 lead at halftime. It marked Fournier's most field goals in a game since he went 3-of-4 at Jamestown on Sept. 20, 2025, while the three makes matched his career high. The Mavericks also recorded their third straight game with a score in the final seconds of the first half.
For the half, MSU ran 37 plays for 219 yards, including 20 carries for 133 yards, while going 6-of-17 passing for 86 yards. Thompson had seven carries for 67 yards and a score while going 4-of-10 passing for 60 yards and a touchdown. Staley had two receptions for 40 yards and a score.
The Beavers had 166 total yards on 30 plays, including 22 carries for 76 yards, while going 4-of-8 passing for 90 yards. McAninch had 10 carries for 50 yards and a score, while Omoke had one catch for 39 yards.
A muffed kickoff return by MSU had the Mavericks starting at their own 2 to begin the second half. Sophomore Connor Stauff caught a big pass on third down to get MSU out of the shadow of its own end zone and to the 16 for a first down.
MSU faced a third-and-seven from the 19, but Sims scampered 24 yards for a first down at the 43. Sims used his feet again for another third-down conversion, moving the ball to the BSU 31. Junior Sam Backer then caught a nice pass out of the backfield to move the Mavericks to the BSU 8.
Fournier came out for a 23-yard field goal attempt, but the kick sailed wide left as the Mavericks drove 92 yards and came away without points to open the second half.
With a chance for BSU to regain some momentum following the missed field goal, sophomore Sam Bossman came up with a huge tackle for loss, and the Beavers were forced to punt with 6:37 remaining in the third quarter.
The Mavericks used some strong runs from Henderson to move to the BSU 31 on the ensuing drive. Another pass interference penalty on the Beavers moved the Mavericks to the BSU 14 with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Thompson called his own number for a three-yard touchdown run to give MSU a 30-13 lead with 1:28 remaining in the third.
The Mavericks then made their first punt in eight quarters, dating back to the third quarter of the Colorado Mesa game. Senior Matt Maldonado had a great 61-yard punt, and a personal foul penalty moved the Beavers back inside their own 10 with 10 minutes to play.
On third-and-five from the BSU 11, Bossman and Olson teamed up to sack McAninch as the Mavericks forced another punt with 8:41 remaining.
On the fourth sack of the game for the Mavericks, Olson came up with a strip sack and fumble at the MSU 31, and Ian Burau recovered to turn the Beavers away with just over four minutes remaining in the game.
The Mavericks continue at home next week in a battle of the final two unbeaten teams in the NSIC, as Northern State visits next Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Blakeslee Stadium.
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