Area college football: Can UMD bounce back?
September 23, 2011 at 11:38AM
• The NSIC order was rocked by last week's upsets of UMD, which had been ranked No. 1 nationally, and No. 9 St. Cloud State. Bemidji State (3-0) is the lone remaining conference unbeaten and hosts UMD (2-1) on Saturday evening.
• Minnesota State, Mankato (2-1) is one of four NSIC teams with 2-0 conference records. The Mavericks face a stiff test on Saturday at Concordia-St. Paul (2-1 overall, 1-1 NSIC).
• St. Thomas (3-0) has a difficult road game at Concordia (Moorhead). Any hopes the Cobbers' (2-1, 0-1 MIAC) have of contending rest with a victory after last Saturday's home-field loss to St. John's.
• Augsburg (2-0, 1-0 MIAC) is in elite company with St. Thomas and Bethel as the only MIAC unbeatens overall. Whether the Auggies are for real will be answered Saturday at St. John's (2-1, 1-0).
• St. Scholastica faces Morris in its home opener a week after the biggest win in school history: a 30-26 victory at Greenville College (Ill.), which was the first UMAC loss for Greenville since joining the league as an associate member in 2009. Morris is 2-1 overall, but 2-0 in UMAC play.
BY THE NUMBERS
153 Yards needed by St. Thomas' Fritz Waldvogel to become the Tommies' all-time leader in all-purpose yardage. Waldvogel had punt returns of 40, 29 and 22 yards in last week's victory over St. Olaf, caught a 65-yard TD pass and ran nine yards for another score.
200.11 Passing efficiency rating for Scholastica QB Alex Thiry, ranking No. 3 nationally in Division III.
155 Total yards per game allowed by Bethel's defense, tied for No. 2 nationally.
5 Turnovers forced by Winona State's defense in St. Cloud State's seven second-half possessions. The Warriors upset SCSU 29-16, erasing a 16-12 halftime deficit.
13 Consecutive victories by St. John's over Augsburg.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
Tyler Maxwell, RB, Augsburg
What does Maxwell do for an encore after rushing for 173 yards and four TDs -- tying the school record -- in his college debut last week in a 28-20 victory over Hamline? The freshman from Prior Lake missed the Auggies' season-opener with an knee sprain.
Chris Schaudt, DE, Minnesota State, Mankato
The sophomore set a school single-game record with six tackles for losses (35 yards) in a 42-0 victory over Minnesota, Crookston. Schaudt recorded four sacks for losses totaling 32 yards. The sack total was No. 2 in MSU history behind Grant Smith's 4 1/2 in 2007.
Center Dawson Garcia played despite a groin injury, and starting guard Mike Mitchell Jr. and four others were absent for the Gophers. Among the results: a 14-point first half.
