North Dakota carries the ball down the field against South Dakota State earlier this season page 15 son, falling to the Jackrabbits 35-28. Photo by Keisuke Yoshimura.

The UND football team will come into this weekend’s action off of a bye week and will look to even out its 1-2 record with a win against Montana State.

The Green and White will host the Bobcats on Saturday in the Alerus Center, which is Montana State’s first trip to Grand Forks since 1983.

The Bobcats (2-2) will come into Saturday’s match ranked No. 11 in the FCS and are the defending Big Sky Conference champions.

“Every team is beatable,” UND coach Chris Mussman said. “We’re playing at home, and we have an opportunity against a very good football team.”

The last time UND and MSU met was last year in Bozemanand the Bobcats ran away with the contest, 55-10, thanks in part to a big performance off of the legs of running back Cody Kirk, who rushed for 160 yards with three touchdowns.

Montana State will be the third consecutive nationally ranked team for the Green and White and their fourth home game in a row.

North Dakota will rely on its passing offense and expect big contributions from several players to upset the Bobcats. Senior receiver Greg Hardin began the 2013 campaign 489 yards shy of the UND all-time receiving record, and three games later, Hardin has hauled in 17 catches for 416 yards.

Saturday’s game could very well be an opportunity for North Dakota fans to witness Hardin break the receiving record, as he has averaged 138.6 receiving yards per game this season. The mark places him fourth overall in
the FCS and first in the Big Sky Conference.

UND also has a deep reception threat in Kenny Golladay, who heads into the weekend with 20 receptions for 281 yards and two touchdowns. Last year against the Bobcats, Golladay had a then-career high 84 receiving yards and this year he enters into Saturday’s game with two consecutive 100-yard receiving games.

North Dakota’s offensive charge will be led by the freshman quarterback duo of Joe Mollberg and Ryan Bartels. After splitting snaps this season, Mollberg has completed 46 of 73 passes for 613 yards and four touchdowns, while Bartels has completed 23 of 36 passes for 390 yards and two touchdowns.

UND’s ground attack will be led by senior running back Jake Miller, who has rushed for 170 yards this season on 33 attempts for three rushing touchdowns. The backfield will also be backed by Jer Garman, who has picked
up 69 yards on 18 attempts this season.

With a break from action this past weekend, the Green and White will be looking to upset Montana State this Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 2:35 p.m.

David Butz is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at david.butz@my.und.edu