GAME OF THE WEEK
Bethel at Augsburg, 1 p.m. Saturday: Bethel (7-1) and Augsburg (6-2) are tied for first place (with 3-0 records) in the MIAC Skyline Division. The winner advances to next week's MIAC championship game against the winner of Saturday's Northwoods Division game between St. John's and Carleton. Last week Bethel, ranked No. 9 in Division III, defeated St. Olaf 38-17 while Augsburg edged Concordia (Moorhead) 38-35. The Auggies have their most victories in a season since they went 7-3 in 2012.
WEEK 10 STORY LINES
• Bethel and St. John's were included in the first D-III regional rankings, which were released Wednesday. The other teams listed in Region 6 were three WIAC teams (La Crosse, Platteville and Whitewater) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Linfield. In this week's rankings, teams were listed alphabetical. Next week, the teams will be ranked.
• Five NSIC teams are ranked in this week's D-II Super Region Four rankings. Angelo State is the top-ranked team, followed by Colorado Mines, Winona State, MSU Mankato, Sioux Falls, Wayne State and Bemidji State. The top seven teams in the region advance to the 28-team D-II playoff field.
• St. Thomas (7-1), which leads the Pioneer League with a 5-0 conference record, plays at Valparaiso (4-4, 3-2 Pioneer) on Saturday. Three teams — Butler, Dayton and Davidson — are tied for second in the Pioneer with 4-1 records.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Jariel Lopez-Barrera, LB, Augsburg: The junior from Minneapolis leads the MIAC with three fumble recoveries. Only two D-III players — with four each — have recovered more this season.
