Northwest Missouri State football prepping for an improved Washburn team for home opener

MARYVILLE, Mo. (KQTV) - The Northwest Missouri State Bearcats football team, now the 5th ranked team in all of Division II, prepares for the team's home opener on Saturday, September 12th against Washburn.

This game opens MIAA Conference play for both teams. The Bearcats are coming off a bye week this past weekend after opening the season with a 48-3 road thrashing over Texas A&M Kingsville back on August 29th. Now Northwest has its home opener by hosting a Washburn team that just finished in a tie with Colorado School of Mines this past weekend.

The Bearcats know the Washburn Ichabods are well improved and will not overlook its opponent.

"They're efficient, that's for sure. Their quarterback gets the ball off well and on time. The run game has improved as well and they got some athletes at receiver," said Northwest junior defensive back Holden Zigmant. "I would say they're balanced in that sense. I think us just being smart football players on the fly is what we need to focus on. They threw some new stuff in last week and so we're guessing they're going to throw some new stuff in this week. So just being ready to adjust to that."

"Unfortunately (Washburn is) better than they were last year and Coach (Zach) Watkins is doing a good job with them and they're building it the right way," said Northwest head coach John McMenamin. "We're excited to have a great week of practice and go take on this challenge."

Washburn and Northwest Missouri State will kickoff on 1:35 pm on Saturday, September 12th at Bearcat Stadium for Military Appreciation Day.