GAME OF THE WEEK
Minnesota college football: St. John's heads to Bethel for MIAC showdown
The Johnnies edged Bethel by one point for the conference championship last season, and both teams enter this one ranked.
September 22, 2022 at 1:26PM
St. John's at Bethel, 1 p.m., Saturday: Both teams had a bye last week. St. John's (2-0) is ranked No. 2 in Division III, while the Royals (1-1) are ranked No. 20. The Johnnies have won the past eight meetings between the two, including 29-28 in the MIAC championship game last year. You can watch Saturday's game here.
WEEK 4 STORY LINES
- St. Thomas (1-1), which was idle last week, plays host to Lincoln (Calif.) on Saturday. Lincoln, a 101-year old school based in Oakland, is in only its second season of intercollegiate football. The Oaklanders (0-3), an independent, are playing all 11 of their games on the road. They lost at Grand Valley State 66-7 last Saturday.
- Southwest Minnesota State is 2-1 after a 31-28 victory over Mary on the road last week. It's the first time the Mustangs have had a winning record during a season since 2017. Jesse Sherwood is second in Division II with 553 rushing yards. The Mustangs play host to Minot State (0-3) on Saturday.
- Four WIAC teams are ranked in d3football.com's Top 25: Wisconsin-Whitewater (No. 4), Wisconsin-La Crosse (No. 10), Wisconsin-Oshkosh (No. 15) and Wisconsin-River Falls (No. 16). Wisconsin-Platteville, which was ranked No. 24 last week, dropped out of the poll this week.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Payton Eue, K/P, Northern State: The senior from Champlin kicked three field goals in the Wolves' 23-22 victory over Minnesota State Mankato last week and is second in program history in field goals made.
Alejandro Villanueva, QB, Hamline: The sophomore from Hayward, Calif., is second in D-III in completion percentage — 78.6 (33 of 42). He has thrown for 370 yards and five TDs.
BY THE NUMBERS
2 Victories — in 12 meetings — by Northern State over MSU Mankato after the Wolves' victory last week. The Wolves' first victory over the Mavericks was in 1971.
2 Victories — in 21 nonconference games — by UMAC teams so far this season. Greenville has both victories.
360 Receiving yards in two games for Macalester senior Rex Desso. He is tenth in D-III with an average of 180 yards per game.
