Deshawn Carter, Jacob Drietz, Denzel Miller and Anfernee Crawford had the picks for the Spartans. Amaurien Robinson forced a fumble and JoQuez Sanders recovered the ball.
The Spartans scored 32 straight first half points and led 32-8 at halftime. Rondarius Gregory capped a 5 play, 67 yard scoring drive at 11:37 of the first quarter with a 48 yard touchdown run. Carsen McKnight tacked on the extra point for an early 7-0 lead. Marquez Hurst caught an 8 yard TD pass from KJ Cooper with 7:08 to play in the first quarter and McKnight booted the PAT for a 14-0 Spartan lead. With 2:49 to play it the quarter McKnight nailed a 38 yard field goal attempt to increase the M State lead to 17-0. Second quarter scores came on a one yard run by Drietz, followed by a McKnight extra point kick and a 48 yard pass from Cooper to Eustace McGowan, followed by a 2 point conversion pass to Hurst. The Spartans added 17 unanswered points in the second half, including a 27 yard field goal by Cheo Trotter, an 84 yard punt return by Denzel Miller, and a 39 yard TD pass from Cooper to McGowan.
M State had a total of 327 yards (204 passing, 123 rushing), while holding Minnesota West to 141 (68 passing, 73 rushing).
Gregory ran for 79 yards on 12 carries and Cooper completed 12-of-23 passes for 204 yards. Leading receivers were McGowan (2 catches, 87 yards), Tony Friends (3 catches, 53 yards) and Rick Groce (3 catches, 37 yards).
With the win M State will receive a first round bye in the MCAC Playoffs. They will host a playoff game on Sunday, October 30 in Fergus Falls.