SETTING THE SCENE
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play begins in Week 1 this season with the No. 4-ranked Minnesota State Mavericks traveling to University of Mary for a 5:30 p.m. matchup Saturday afternoon at MDU Community Resources Bowl in Bismarck, N.D.  The Mavericks enter following a dominating 38-14 win at Colorado Mesa, while Mary downed Rocky Mountain College 23-10 in Week Zero.   
 
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.  
 
EARLY ROAD WARRIORS
Last week's game at Colorado Mesa marked the first time MSU has opened on the road out of the Midwest since 1995 when it played at Portland State.  The Mavericks logged 1,058 scenic miles to Grand Junction, Colo., last week, while they will log 464 miles this week in their trip to Bismarck.  MSU, along with Winona State, Wayne State and Augustana are the only four schools in the league to begin with back-to-back road games to start the season.
 
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)
 
RECAPPING COLORADO MESA
The Mavericks came out of the gates on fire against CMU last week, stopping CMU on its opening drive with a turnover on downs and then MSU scored long touchdowns on its first two drives of the game for an early 14-0 lead. MSU quarterback tandem of junior Mitchell Thompson and sophomore Maximus Sims scored early with Thompson throwing a long strike to senior Jackson Owens for the first score and Sims scored with his feet for the second.  CMU wouldn't go away, quietly, however, as it pulled within 14-7 late in the first half, but Sims found Owens who climbed the ladder for a beautiful 48-yard touchdown pass as time expired in the first half for a 21-7 MSU lead to regain the momentum.  Junior Connor Fournier kicked a 47-yard field goal on the opening possession of the second half for MSU and the Mavericks then scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter for a 38-7 lead, before CMU added a late score for a 38-14 final margin.  The defense played well also, as it recorded two interceptions in the second half on back-to-back possessions leading to two touchdowns for MSU.  Senior Amaun Williams and senior Antoine Johnson, Jr., each had interceptions, while sophomore Sam Bossman and junior Ian Burau combined on one sack.
 
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 UNIVERSITY OF MARY
The Marauders won 23-10 over NAIA foe Rocky Mountain College last week in Glendive, Mont., for a neutral site contest.  Mary was led by Karsyn Jablonski who had eight receptions for 91 yards and two touchdowns.  Defensively, by Christopher Federico with a staggering 16 total tackles and 14 solo, along with a fumble return against Rocky Mountain College, while Travis Biery finished with six total tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble earning NSIC Defensive Player of the Week honors.  Punter Carter Henke downed three punts inside the 3-yard line, while registering a long punt of 68 yards and all five of his punts were over 50 yards as he earned College Football Network D2 Special Teams Player of the Week honors. The Marauders finished the 2025 season with a 4-7 record overall and a 3-7 mark in NSIC play.  Mary was picked 11th in the Preseason NSIC Poll, while it was selected sixth in the Northern Division.  Both Jablonski and Federico were announced as players to watch for the Marauders this season in August.  Head coach Shane Schillinger enters his fourth season and is 9-25 at the helm of the program.  Schillinger is 0-1 against MSU with a 49-21 loss in Mankato on Nov. 9, 2024. Schillinger had a standout career at the University of Montana as a player and was a sixth round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2010, where he played four seasons from 2010 to 2013 with the Falcons and the Tennessee Titans.  He coached at both Montana and Nebraska before getting the head job at Mary in 2023.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES WITH UNIVERSITY OF MARY
MSU leads the all-time series with Mary 8-0 and are 3-0 all-time in Bismarck, N.D.  The teams have not played in Bismarck since a 35-7 win on Aug. 31, 2017.  The last three meetings have all been in Mankato in 2019, (74-17), 2022 (31-28) and 2024 (49-21). MSU posted a pair of shutouts in the series with a 40-0 win in 2008 in the first meeting and a 48-0 win in 2015 - both in Mankato.  MSU has outscored Mary 346-108 in the series. 
 
STRONG START FOR FOURNIER
Minnesota State junior kicker Connor Fournier went 5 for 5 in extra-points and kicked a 47-yard field goal in the win at Colorado Mesa last week.  He scored eight points in the win and moved into a tie for tenth all-time in program history in career scoring among kickers with 133 points.  He is 36 points from catching Herb Healey (1970-73) with 169 points.  Fournier was one of 39 student-athletes selected to the 2026 Fred Mitchell Award Watch List before the season began. Last season, Fournier earned Don Hansen Second Team All-America honors and was a D2CCA All-Region Second Team selection, while earning first team all-conference honors.
 
100TH YEAR
The 2026 season marks the 100th playing season of Maverick football dating back to 1922.  The Mavericks are 528-408-28 (.561) 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 return home for the 2026 home-opener on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. versus rival Bemidji State at Blakeslee Stadium.
 
FIVE THINGS A WIN OVER UNIVERSITY OF MARY WOULD DO . . .