Minnesota Duluth climbs seven spots in D-II football rankings, travels to Winona State

GAME OF THE WEEK

Minnesota Duluth at Winona State, 1 p.m. Saturday: UMD (2-0) moved up seven spots in the AFCA Division II Top 25 to No. 13 after a 30-10 victory over then-No. 2 MSU Mankato. Winona State (2-0) is coming off a 27-13 victory at MSU Moorhead. The teams last met in 2018, with the Bulldogs winning 37-18 in Winona.

WEEK 3 STORYLINES

• Only three of the 10 MIAC teams — Carleton, Hamline and St. John's — are in action on Saturday. The conference portion of the MIAC schedule begins Sept. 25.

• St. John's, which was idle last Saturday, fell one spot — to No. 7 — in this week's d3football.com Top 25. Bethel moved up two spots to No. 15. Two WIAC teams are ranked in the Top 10 — Wisconsin Whitewater (No. 2) and Wisconsin Oshkosh (No. 9). Wisconsin La Crosse is No. 24.

• MSU Mankato, whose 36-game NSIC winning streak ended in the loss at UMD, will play host to Bemidji State on Saturday. The Mavericks and Beavers last played in 2018, with the Mavericks winning 47-20 in Bemidji.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Onte Burns, LB, SW Minnesota State: The junior from Plymouth leads the NSIC and is tied for 12th in D-II nationally with 24 tackles in two games. Burns has 15 solo tackles.

Tanner Dubois, QB, Concordia (Moorhead): The senior from Fargo, N.D., has thrown for 704 yards in the Cobbers' first two games — the first in program history to throw for more than 300 yards in back-to-back games.

BY THE NUMBERS

16 Victories (in 18 nonconference games) by WIAC teams. Eight teams have started the season 2-0. Wisconsin Platteville (0-2) is the only WIAC team with a loss.

36 Pass completions — a school record — by Dubois in the Cobbers' 55-14 victory over Presentation.

8,713 Career passing yards — the most in school history — for Gustavus Adolphus senior Michael Veldman.