Bemidji State settles in, and three other things to know about Minnesota college football this week

Before 2021, Bemidji State had not played in the NCAA Division II football playoffs. Since then, it has been an annual occurrence.

The Beavers, in the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, have advanced to the second round in each of those appearances.

Last week, the Beavers defeated Angelo State 24-14 in San Angelo, Texas, to secure a second-round matchup Saturday with Western Colorado, in Gunnison, Colo.

The host Mountaineers (11-1), who have set a program record for victories in a season, defeated Central Washington 28-21 last week at home to advance. The Mountaineers’ only loss this season was 44-34 to Colorado State Pueblo, at home Nov. 2.

It’s the first meeting between the Beavers and Mountaineers.

The Beavers rushed for 231 yards in the victory over Angelo State and are averaging 182.1 yards per game on the ground. The Mountaineers are allowing just 86.1 rushing yards and 18.2 points per game.

Here are three other Minnesota college football story lines this week:

After a dramatic, come-from-behind, 20-19 victory at Augustana in the first round, Minnesota State Mankato will play at Colorado State Pueblo on Saturday.

The Mavericks (9-3), who had lost to Augustana three times in the past two seasons, topped the Vikings 20-19 on a 34-yard field goal by Matthew Jaeger as time expired.

The host Thunderwolves (10-1), who went 9-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and have won 16 consecutive games in the RMAC, had a first-round bye.

The Thunderwolves, whose only loss this season was 24-21 to Grand Valley State on Sept. 14 in Pueblo, are averaging 41.7 points and 311.7 passing yards per game. Receiver Reggie Retzlaff has 64 catches for 1,169 yards and 12 TDs this season.

It is the fifth meeting between the two programs — each in the postseason. The Mavericks have won the past three, including 35-7 in 2019. The Thunderwolves’ only victory in the series was 13-0 in the Division II championship game in 2014 in Kansas City, Kan.

After a first-round bye, St. John’s, the top overall seed in the Division III playoffs, will play host to Wisconsin-La Crosse on Saturday.

It’s the first meeting between the Johnnies and Eagles since 1996 and the first time the Eagles have played in Collegeville since 1968, the year the series began.

The Johnnies lead the all-time series 5-1, but the Eagles won the most recent meeting — 37-30 in La Crosse in the second round of the playoffs in 1996. The Eagles trailed 30-8 in the third quarter of that game, before scoring the final 29 points.

The Eagles (8-3) defeated UMAC champion Northwestern (St. Paul) 59-14 in the first round.

The Johnnies, who are averaging 513.4 yards of total offense per game, seventh best in Division III, have been led by quarterback Aaron Syverson, who was named the MIAC offensive player of the year. Eagles QB Kyle Haas has passed for 2,021 yards and completed 66.4 percent of his passes while throwing just four interceptions.

Bethel, which defeated Coe 31-26 last week in its first Division III playoff home game since 2018, will play host to Midwest Conference champion Lake Forest in the second round Saturday.

The Royals (9-2) had a season-high 10 sacks in the victory over Coe. Cade DeWall, named the MIAC’s top lineman, had 3½ sacks to give him a school single-season record 19 sacks this season. Royals defensive back Matt Jung was named the MIAC defensive player of the year.

The Foresters (10-0) are back in the playoffs after being left out of the field last season. They reached the playoffs in 2021 and 2022 but lost in the first round in both seasons — including 41-14 at St. John’s in 2021.