THIS WEEKEND IN UIU FOOTBALL... Upper Iowa football is nearly 700 miles from home this weekend looking to hunt down their first win of the season at Minot State University. Both the Peacocks and Beavers enter the contest with identical 0-7 records this season. Upper Iowa averages 110.6 rushing yards and 218.3 passing yards while scoring 14.9 points a contest. Minot State is averaging 127.9 yards on the ground and 201.4 yards in the air per game to score 15.3 points per game. Both teams have recorded three interceptions, while Upper Iowa has a slight advantage in fumble recoveries 2-0. The difference in the game may come to Upper Iowa's ability to get into Minot State's backfield. UIU is sixth in the Northern Sun in sacks with more than 2.5 per game and the Peacocks have registered 56 tackles for loss, while MiSU has only notched 5 total sacks and 11 tackles for loss on the season. Minot State has been flagged less than any other team in the Northern Sun with just 31 penalties enforced against the Beavers this season.
 
THE SERIES... The Peacocks have won all four of the matchups with the Beavers. Upper Iowa won the first meeting 26-22 in Fayette in 2012 and followed it with a 49-3 win in Minot in 2014. Four years ago, the Peacocks defeated their guests at Harms-Eischeid Stadium 35-7 behind a three-touchdown, third quarter and a trio of 100-yard rushers. UIU owned the ground game in 2016 racking up a 338-110 advantage in rushing yards. In their last meeting, the Peacocks dominated in Minot to the tune of a 44-9 victory fueled by 290 rushing yards. Through their four games, Upper Iowa has averaged nearly 39 points per game while allowing just over 10 points per contest.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET... The Peacocks posted a 44-9 victory over Minot State University after executing in all three phases of the game in 2018. The Peacock offense racked up 452 yards thanks to 162 yards in the air and a new season-high 290 yards on the ground. The UIU defense limited the Beavers to 280 yards of offense and intercepted three MiSU passes including one for a defensive touchdown by Mitchel Siech. On special teams, the Peacocks converted three field goals in the opening quarter and a half.
 
LIVE OPTIONS... The game can be streamed through most mobile devices at NSICNet-work.com/UIUPeacocks or through the NSIC Network app on Roku and Amazon Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android televisions. Live stats and a webcast are all available online at UIUPeacocks.com/Live.
 
WINNING IS HARD... Upper Iowa and Minot State have taken their swings at victory this season, but have come up on the wrong end of the score each time. UIU dropped a five-point decision (33-28) at Minnesota State University Moorhead and a six-point affair (20-14) in the waning moments at home against Southwest Minnesota State University. MiSU is coming off their closest loss of the season; last Saturday the Beavers came up short in a 36-35 game at Northern State University. The Beavers led 35-23 heading to the fourth quarter, but the Wolves scored 13 unanswered points to rally and keep Minot State winless. A win for UIU would end a 10-game slide that dates back to the team's upset of the University of Minnesota Duluth on Oct. 26, 2019.
 
GROUND AND POUND… The Peacock defense has played well against the rush this season allowing just 81.7 yards per game to opponents, which ranks eighth in all of NCAA Division II and second in the Northern Sun Conference. Minot State has averaged 129.6 yards per game, while Upper Iowa is gaining 110.6 yards per game from their running backs. A huge difference between the two teams is how teams are attacking them. The Beavers are allowing 242.9 rushing yards per game (155^th NCAA DII/14^th NSIC) while the Peacocks are giving up 344.1 passing yards per game (163^rd NCAA DII/14^th NSIC).
 
BLOCK PARTY... The Peacock special teams has posted four blocked kicks this season, which ranks fifth in the nation and leads the NSIC. Ben Houselog, Isaac Pope, DJ Green Jr. and Kyle Domin all have gotten their hands on opponents kicks.
 
GETTING DEFENSIVE... Linebacker Brody Bazile leads the defense in tackles with 45 including 24 solo stops. Safety Joey Rattin took over second place on the UIU tackles list with 41 on the season and 28 solo stops. Erik Hansen has 37 tackles this season from his defensive line position, while DJ Green Jr. has registered 35 tackles and a team-high 30 stops on his own. Hansen has been a terror across the line of scrimmage with 16.5 tackles for loss, which ranks as the third-best mark in all of NCAA Division II and leads the conference, including 6 sacks, which ranks 18^th nationally and is second in the NSIC, through the first seven games. Kyle Domin has notched 6 tackles for loss, while Bazile has 5.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage. 
 
OFFENSIVE LEADERS... The Peacocks are getting good production in the running game and tallied their highest rushing total of the season last week against No. 24 Minnesota State. The trio of Willy Camacho, Keontae Luckett and Desean Phillips combined for 169 yards on 42 carries. Luckett leads the backs with four touchdowns, while Camacho's lone score came in the passing game. Receiver DJ Emsweller has caught seven touchdowns and registered 409 receiving yards this season. His three-game, two-touchdown streak came to an end a yard shy of paydirt on UIU's opening possession last Saturday. Emsweller caught a pass on a crossing route and ran toward the end zone but was tackled at the one. 
 
NEXT UP... The Peacocks will return to Fayette and Harms-Eischeid Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 30 for the final home game of the 2021 season. Upper Iowa will host Youth Day and honor their seniors prior to the game against the Wildcats. Kickoff is slated for 12 p.m.