BEMIDJI, Minn. – RV/24 Bemidji State University Football travels to No. 10 Western Colorado University this weekend for the second round of the NCAA Playoffs. The game is available for streaming on ESPN+ and will be broadcasted on the Beaver Radio Network.
 
Bemidji State Notes

• The Beavers, who are now 9-3 this season after last weekend's first-round win, are meeting the Mountaineers for the first time in the history of the two teams.
• Bemidji State advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II Football Championship Playoffs last Saturday after defeating No. 16/15 Angelo State University 24-14 in San Angelo, Tex. 
• The Beavers' run game and defense dominated the Rams with BSU taking 231 yards on the ground and allowing just 93. 
• Bemidji State earned two of its three touchdowns from its rushing efforts, including a 59 yarder from Connor Carver, the first touchdown of his career.
• Hitting 1,000 yards this season, Brice Peters caught three passes from Sam McGath to grab 31 yards and propel himself over the 1K receiving-yards milestone. 
• Kicking specialist Connor Mantelli tied his career longest field goal kick at 47 yards, giving Bemidji State a 17-7 edge over Angelo State early in the fourth quarter.
• The Beavers are led defensively by a bevy of student athletes with 40 or more total tackles. Colton Hinrichs leads the defensive front with 66 total tackles, followed by Marco Cavallaro, Jacob Drietz and Marcus Hansen each with 52. 
• Hansen leads the team in tackles for a loss and sacks with 13.5 TFL (65 yd) and 7.5 sacks (46 yd). He has also marked the team high in quarterback hurries with 18.
• The leading rusher for BSU is Jayden Washington with 744 yards and four rushing touchdowns. In just his sophomore season, Washington is just one yard away from hitting the 1,000 career-rushing-yards mark.
• Connor Mantelli leads Beaver kicking specialists in points scored with 36. He is in third place on the team behind starting wide receiver Bubba Peters and quarter back Sam McGath. 
• The winner of this match will go on to the Elite 8 quarterfinal round and take on the winner of the Colorado State University Pueblo versus Minnesota State University Mankato game. Those that advance past the quarterfinals will be reseeded ahead of the semifinal round.

 
Western Colorado Notes 

• The Mountaineers advanced to the second round of playoffs by taking down No. 19/23 Central Washington University last Saturday. They now sit at 11-1 this season and finished the regular season at 8-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
• As a team, the Mountaineers average 35.58 points cored per game. They have marked a total of 427 points this season and have held opponents to just 224.
• Western Colorado averages 171.3 rushing yards per game and has grabbed 22 touchdown runs over 2056 net rushing yards.
• Averaging 8.07 yards per play through the air, the Mountaineers are averaging 254.08 per game with 31 total touchdowns. They've also thrown seven interceptions and are marking a combined quarterback rating of 154.87.
• WCU's leading rusher is Braeden Hogan with 622 yards on 130 attempts and six touchdowns. He is followed by Drew Nash with 489 yards and six touchdowns on 108 rushing attempts. 
• Nash is also the Mountaineers' top quarterback with a 63.13 completion percentage, hitting 202-320-6 this season with 25 passing touchdowns. 
• On the receiving end, Josiah Ayon leads the team with 610 yards and nine touchdowns on 40 receptions. He averages 38.58 yards per game and is the top target for WCU quarterbacks. 
• Defensively, the Mountaineers have three top defenders with 60 or more total tackles each. Ricky Freymond leads the team with 66 of 32 solos and 34 assisted. He is followed by Cameron Cooper at 63 and Cy Shope at 61. 
• Freymond also leads in tackles for a loss with 22.5 and sacks with 11.
• Kicker Adam Tasei is 10-15 on field goals this season and has marked three blocked kicks with a longest kick of 49 yards.
• Kicking specialist Zac Grable averages pints of 40.75 yards and kickoffs of 63.1 yards with 32 KO touchbacks and just one kick going out of bounds.

For more information on the Bemidji State Football program, tickets or schedules, visit BSUBeavers.com, follow the Beavers on X (@BSUBeaversFB), like them on Facebook (facebook.com/BSUBeavers) and like them on Instagram (@BSUBeaversFB).
 
Located on the shore of Lake Bemidji, Bemidji State University sponsors 15 varsity athletic programs with NCAA Division I men's and women's hockey membership in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and Western Collegiate Hockey Association, while its 13 NCAA Division II programs hold membership in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).