ST. PAUL, Minn. --
And then there was one.
The MIAC is left with one unbeaten team atop the standings - No.
3-ranked St. Thomas - after the Tommies took down then-No. 7-ranked
Bethel Saturday in St. Paul by the surprising score of 34-0. UST is
well-positioned now to make a run at both its third-straight MIAC
championship and an unprecedented third-straight 10-0 regular
season.
However, the Tommies' road to another title won't be without
serious speed bumps the rest of the way, as two of UST's top
contenders will square off in Saturday's most-intriguing MIAC
matchup, highlighting four exciting games on the Week 8 MIAC
schedule. No. 21-ranked Concordia will head to Minneapolis to face
(RV) Augsburg in a showdown of teams whose lone defeats both came
via one-point losses to Bethel. The symmetry sets up a can't-miss
affair in the Twin Cities.
On display will be two of the top offenses, and the top two rushing
attacks in the conference. Concordia leads the MIAC with 286.2
rushing yards per game, and Augsburg is right behind with 268.2
yards per game. The Auggies' average of 38.0 points per game leads
the league, while the Cobbers rank third at 36.0 ppg, and the two
are also in the top three in total offense, with Augsburg second
(469.8 ypg) and Concordia third (411.8).
However, the two teams get their yards and points in different
ways. Augsburg is led by dynamic dual-threat QB Ayrton
Scott, who leads the MIAC in rushing yards per game
(149.7) and touchdown passes (17). Meanwhile, Concordia leans on
its offensive line and bruising runner Brett
Baune, who ranks second with 123.5 rushing yards
per game. Defensively, the Cobbers' outstanding tandem of
Peter
Hvidston and Matt
Moenkedick will try to stifle the Auggies' attack,
while Bryce
Vee leads the Augsburg defense in its tough,
physical test.
Another of Saturday's intriguing matchups is the battle for
Northfield supremacy between cross-town rivals St. Olaf and
Carleton, held at the Knights field at 1 p.m. The Oles are coming
off a narrow loss to Augsburg, and will look to bounce back behind
star QB Dan
Dobson, who leads the MIAC in completion percentage
(68.2), passing yards (1,634), passing TDs (17) and TD-interception
ratio (4.25-to-1). St. Olaf WR Stephen
Asp and RB Michael
Thai are tied for the MIAC lead with nine TDs
apiece. Meanwhile, Carleton's secondary should be a formidable,
strength-vs.-strength matchup for Dobson's aerial attack. The
Knights have had the last two MIAC Defensive Players-of-the-Week in
conference tackles leader Mike
Elder (77 total tackles) and fellow defensive back
Paul
Hoffer (three INT, four breakups, 38 tackles).
Bethel - now ranked 15th - will try to bounce back from its loss to
UST in a trip to St. Peter to face Gustavus at 1 p.m. The Royals'
defensive ranks took a hit in the loss, though they're still tied
for first allowing just 15.3 points per game. However, Bethel is
ranked eighth in the league in rushing (117.0 yards per game) so
look for QB Erik
Peterson and running back Brandon
Marquardt to get the ground game back on track
against the Gusties, while Seth
Mathis (67 tackles) and Brett
Skoog (7.5 TFL) continue to lead the stout Royal
defense. Gustavus presents two significant threats on the ground in
RB Jeff
Dubose (90.4 rushing ypg) and QB Muresuk
Mena (80.2 rushing ypg), with Anthony
Boyce and his 45 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 4.5
tackles-for-a-loss leading the Gustie defenders.
The Tommies will head across town to try and take another step
towards the MIAC title Saturday when they face Hamline at 1:10 p.m.
LB Mike
Valesano (30 tackles, 4.5 TFL) and DE Ayo
Idowu (7.0 TFL) have been tremendous leading the
dominant Tommie defense, and Matt
O'Connell continues to direct and efficient
offense, leading the MIAC in passing yards per game (241.5) while
ranking seventh in rushing (71.8 ypg). Hamline will try to keep it
on the ground with talented freshman RB Austin
Duncan (83.7 rushing yards per game) and hope to
control the clock in its upset bid, while John-Michael
Vandenberg (58 tackles) and Patrick
Page (56) heading up the Piper defense. Hamline
punter John
Broback will be an asset in the field-position
battle, leading the MIAC with a 42.9 average.
The rest of the MIAC Football Week 8 Preview contains the complete
schedule and links to follow along with this weekend's action, as
well as a look at the MIAC in the various national polls, the
Athlete-of-the-Week award winners, the top performances in the
trenches and some of the top numbers from around the
league.
MIAC
FOOTBALL WEEK 8 - SCHEDULE AND LINKS
| Scoreboard &
Statistics | Standings
| Composite
Schedule |
NO. 21
CONCORDIA (5-1, 3-1) AT (RV) AUGSBURG (5-1, 4-1) -
Minneapolis, Minn. - 1 p.m.
On the
web: Augsburg Web
cast | Live
stats |
ST. OLAF
(5-2, 3-2) AT CARLETON (3-3, 1-3) - Northfield,
Minn. - 1 p.m.
On the
web: Carleton Web
cast | Live
stats | Carleton Radio: KQCL 95.9 FM | St. Olaf Radio: KDHL 920
AM |
NO. 15
BETHEL (5-1, 3-1) AT GUSTAVUS (2-4, 1-3) - St.
Peter, Minn. - 1 p.m.
On the web: Gustavus Web cast
| Live
stats | Gustavus Radio: KNUJ 860 AM (New Ulm); KRDS 95.5 FM
(New Prague) |
NO. 3
ST. THOMAS (6-0, 4-0) AT HAMLINE (1-5, 0-5) - St.
Paul, Minn. - 1:10 p.m.
On the web: Hamline Web
cast | Live stats |
Radio: WCCO 830 AM (Listen
Live) |
IDLE:
SAINT JOHN'S (3-4, 1-4)
MIAC
IN THE POLLS
The Tommies used their win over a fellow top-10 foe to retain their
spot as the third-ranked team in the latest AFCA Division III
Coaches' Poll. Bethel's loss to St. Thomas sent the Royals from No.
7 down to No. 17, and Concordia used its win over Hamline to jump
four spots. The Cobbers now sit at No. 21. The MIAC nearly got a
fourth team into the Top 25, as Augsburg received 40 points, and is
the sixth team featured in the "Others receiving votes"
category.
In the D3football.com Top 25, St. Thomas used its big win over
Bethel to retain its top-five ranking, holding strong at No. 4. The
Royals slid six spots - from No. 9 to No. 15 - following its first
loss of the season, and a pair of MIAC teams appeared in the
"Others receiving votes section. Concordia inched closer to the Top
25 as the third team outside the rankings with 37 points, and
Augsburg also received one vote.
| AFCA
Division III Coaches' Poll | D3Football.com Top
25 |
ATHLETES-OF-THE-WEEK
The MIAC Football Offensive Player-of-the-Week was claimed by an
Augsburg player for the third week in a row and fourth time in five
weeks as running back Jerise
Washington ran for a school record 245 yards and
four TDs in a big win over St. Olaf. Defensive honors went to a
Carleton player for the second-straight week as Mike
Elder racked up 18 total tackles - 11 solo - in a
loss to Saint John's. Concordia's Seth
Lage received the Special Teams award after taking
a kick back 84 yards for a score and returning three punts into
Hamline territory to set up three more Cobber touchdowns in his
team's win on Saturday. Elder was also named to the D3football.com
Team-of-the-Week for his performance Saturday.
| MIAC
Football Athletes-of-the-Week | D3football.com
Team-of-the-Week |
IN
THE TRENCHES
It was a record-setting day on the ground for Augsburg, with the
line doing a tremendous job of opening holes all day. RB
Jerise Washington set or tied Auggie records with
245 yards on the ground and four rushing TDs, and Augsburg ran for
a total of 387 yards (8.4 yards per carry) and six touchdowns in
the 45-37 win over St. Olaf. The Auggies allowed just three
negative plays - one sack and two TFLs - for a total of three
yards. The Augsburg starters along the line were center
Chad
Thompson, guards Jake
Gagne and Zach
Swingen and tackles Eric
Dooley and Brian
Rud.
In a showdown of Top 10 teams, the St. Thomas defensive line
certainly asserted itself against Bethel Saturday, as the Tommies
shutout the Royals en route to a big win. UST allowed just 160
yards of offense, including a paltry 31 yards on the ground, as
Bethel averaged just 1.8 yards per carry. St. Thomas generated a
sack, four tackles-for-a-loss and three turnovers as well to remain
undefeated. The Tommies' starters up front were defensive tackle
Riley
Dombek and ends Ayo
Idowu and Derek
Vonnahme.
BY
THE NUMBERS
0
- Points allowed by No. 3 St. Thomas in
its 37-0 win over then-No. 7-ranked Bethel Saturday in a matchup of
the MIAC's two remaining unbeaten teams.
245
- Rushing yards by Augsburg's Jerise Washington in
Saturday's win over St. Olaf - a new Auggie single-game record. He
also equaled another school record with four rushing TDs.
1
- St. Olaf QB Dan Dobson's rank in the MIAC in
completion percentage (68.2), passing yards (1,634), passing TDs
(17) and TD-interception ratio (4.25-to-1).
100
- Percent of PATs made by Saint John's Jimmie
Mattson (31-for-31) and Concordia's Benjamin
Wagner (30-for-30).
2
- Carleton players leading MIAC defensive statistic categories.
Mike Elder has a MIAC-leading 77 total tackles,
and teammate Caleb Hyde leads the league with 8.5
tackles-for-a-loss.