Taye Manns ran for a 23-yard touchdown to lift Bethel past St. John's in the MIAC clash of Top 15 teams. Photo by Caleb Williams, d3photography.com | More photos from this game

Bethel handed St. John's its first points allowed on the season and later its first loss, while UW-La Crosse won at UW-Whitewater in double overtime and UW-Oshkosh scored with 10 seconds left to knock off UW-River Falls on a busy day among Top 25 teams. Check out more in the Week 5 Top 25 recap.

A pair of thrillers in the WIAC headlined a banner day of Division III football.

No. 5 UW–La Crosse rallied from a 17–0 second-half deficit to force overtime at Perkins Stadium, where Michael Stack hit the second walk-off field goal of his career against the Warhawks in a 23–20 win over No. 9 UW–Whitewater. The announced crowd of 20,167 was the second most for an on-campus game in the recorded history of Division III football.

Nolan Wulf recovered a wayward Warhawk punt snap for a touchdown with 4:49 left in the third quarter to give the Eagles their first points of the game. La Crosse rode that momentum to 17 unanswered points to tie the game. After trading field goals in the first overtime, Ben Moore made the defensive play of the day, forcing Whitewater quarterback Justin Klinkner to fumble. The Eagles gained nine yards on three plays in their half of the second overtime — just enough to set up Stack’s 36-yard game-winner.

In Oshkosh, the lead changed hands twice in the final 81 seconds, with Clayton Schwalbe’s seven-yard touchdown catch with 10 seconds remaining lifting No. 15 UW–Oshkosh to a 21–17 win over No. 11 UW–River Falls. Kaleb Blaha’s two-yard touchdown run with 1:21 to play had given the Falcons a 17–14 lead, but Quentin Keene led the Titans 66 yards in eight plays for the decisive score.

No. 12 Bethel scored the first points all season against No. 4 St. John’s and scored the only points of the second half to knock off the Johnnies, 17–10. Freshman running back Taye Manns burst through the St. John’s defense on a 23-yard touchdown run with 6:20 remaining to break a 10–10 tie. Manns finished with 127 rushing yards.

Five North Central ballcarriers combined to go for 279 yards on 45 carries as the top-ranked Cardinals blanked No. 14 Wheaton 35-0 to retain the Little Brass Bell trophy in front of a crowd of 6,500 at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium. The last time North Central shut Wheaton out was in 1964, when the Cardinals won 13-0. Garret Wilson completed 15 of 16 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns, while Donovan McNeal ran for 113 yards and Sean Allen added 79 yards and two touchdowns. 

No. 23 Christopher Newport tied Rowan on Connor Barry’s 14-yard touchdown run with 41 seconds left, then outlasted the Profs 49–41 in double overtime in the opening weekend of NJAC play. Barry threw for 434 yards and five touchdowns, adding his late rushing score in the winning effort. Noah Martin sealed the game with an interception in the end zone on Rowan’s second overtime possession.

Mike Rescigno rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns from his quarterback position to lead No. 22 Cortland to a 28–13 win over Utica. The Red Dragon defense forced three Pioneer turnovers, including two interceptions of Utica quarterback Tyler Szalkowski.

No. 8 Wartburg extended its dominance in American Rivers Conference, cruising past Luther 36-3 on the road to notch its 29th consecutive conference victory. The win ties the all-time conference record for consecutive league victories, matching Central's mark set from 1983–1987. Defensively, the Knights stifled Luther's offense, allowing just 126 total yards, 26 on the ground, while tallying three sacks, an interception, and a safety.

No. 21 Mary Hardin–Baylor trailed East Texas Baptist 28–21 at halftime, but the Crusaders dominated the second half on their way to a 42–28 win. Asa Osbourn ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns, while Kamerin Ferguson added 100 yards on the ground.

No. 16 John Carroll dominated early and held on late as the Blue Streaks remained unbeaten in their first NCAC season. John Carroll led Wabash 28–3 at halftime before the Little Giants rallied with 22 fourth-quarter points, but the Blue Streaks recovered an onside kick with 1:46 to play to seal a 31–28 win.

At the half, No. 18 Trinity (Texas) was locked in a 16-14 battle with visiting Southwestern. Spurred by a 100-yard Luke Sams kickoff return to start the third quarter and Judson Crockett’s second fumble return touchdown of the game, the Tigers handily defeated the Pirates 65-14. Southwestern’s leading receiver Graydon Thompson was held 120 yards shy of his average with only 24 yards on three receptions. Trinity improved to 4-0, 1-0 SAA; Southwestern fell to 2-2, 0-1 SAA.

Central had a huge second half, especially on the ground, as the No. 19-ranked Dutch scored 31 points after halftime to defeat Loras on the road, 45-27. Central (5-0, 3-0 ARC) had 13 rushing attempts for 102 yards in the first half and 96 of those yards came on two big runs from Jase Grunder. In the second half, 33 of Central's 36 offensive plays were on the ground for 242 yards. Grunder finished the day with 241 yards on 28 carries with three touchdowns. As a team Central had 46 rushes for 344 yards and five scores. Grunder's rushing total was the sixth most by an individual in program history.

Washington & Lee rolled up 351 yards on the ground as the Generals upset No. 24 Hampden-Sydney in Farmville, 42-34. The Generals rolled up 351 rushing yards on the afternoon in front of an announced crowd of 7,542. Anthony Crawford found the end zone four times for Washington & Lee. The Generals (2-3, 2-1 ODAC) stopped the Tigers with an interception at the W&L 5-yard line with 1:53 remaining and then ran out the clock for the road win.