MOORHEAD -- The Minnesota State Moorhead football team is 3-0 for the first time in 10 years.
That includes a 2-0 start in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. While it's still early in the NSIC gauntlet, the potential for the Dragons this season seems limitless.
"It's definitely exciting," senior quarterback Jack Strand said. "I think the main thing for us is going to be that we've got to focus on each week as its own week. Go 1-0 every week. We've got to focus on winning this week, beat Wayne (State) and then we've got to keep going from there."
MSUM (3-0, 2-0 NSIC) hosts Wayne State College (1-2, 1-1 NSIC) this Saturday, Sept. 20, with kickoff slated for noon at Scheels Field at Alex Nemzek Stadium.
The Dragons are coming off a rout of Winona State in their home opener last weekend. In the Dragons' pass-heavy fashion, MSUM finished the contest with 472 yards of offense -- 372 of which came through the air.
Strand finished the game 27 of 46 passing with four touchdowns with three going to senior receiver Brady Perryman, who last week eclipsed the 2,000-career yard mark and tied the school record for career receiving touchdowns with 31.
Strand and Perryman came up through the program together from the same freshman class.
"His development has just been really special," Strand said of Perryman. "Just seeing the amount of work that he's put in in the weight room and on the field, just getting better at his craft and getting more mature as a player too."
MSUM will look to Strand, Perryman and the rest of its playmakers to overcome a Wayne State program it hasn't defeated since 2018. The Wildcats have won four straight in the series, including a 44-17 triumph in Moorhead last season.
"These guys took it to us last year in the home opener," Dragons head coach Steve Laqua said. "I think we definitely want to play better. I think that chip is still on the shoulder and the sour taste is still in the mouth. Our guys have been focused. We've just got to make sure we carry that focus into a great start Saturday."
The Achilles heel against the Wildcats over the years, Laqua said, has been a little bit of everything.
"Our special teams have bit us in the last few years," Laqua said. "We haven't been able to generate very much stuff offensively, they've really held us down to not very many points.
"And then, they've established a consistent running game. We haven't been able to get off the field and they've done a good job designing some explosive plays that have gotten us for touchdowns."
For the Dragons, being at home in consecutive weeks has been a nice change of pace after two road trips to open the 2025 campaign.
"Playing at home is always nice after being on the road a couple of weeks to start the season," Laqua said. "It's nice to be back-to-back at home. You get into a little bit of a routine and a little bit of a rhythm, especially with an older, veteran crew. It kind of removes some of the distractions, some of the unknowns, and you can just have a real consistent game day."
MSUM has garnered some national attention as well. For the first time ever, the Dragons are receiving votes in the American Football Coaches Association Division II football poll. The NSIC currently has four teams in the Top 25 including Augustana (No. 9), Minnesota State (No. 14), Minnesota Duluth (No. 16) and Sioux Falls (No. 25).
The Dragons visit the Bulldogs on Saturday, Sept. 27, and also end the regular season with a road trip to Mankato to face the Mavericks on Saturday, Nov. 15.
"Hopefully we're able to just continue what we're doing," Laqua said. "It's a difficult schedule in the conference and if you start looking beyond one week, you're going to find yourself in trouble."
For now, the focus is Wayne State.
"We've got to come out and start fast," Strand said. "Sustain drives on offense and get off the field on defense. Special teams have been playing a huge role for us, making field goals and tipping punts, which is really big for field position. Letting us start a little bit closer to the end zone on offense is huge. So I just think just all three facets of the game and playing together, it's going to be good for us."