St. Thomas looks to bounce back from 64-0 drubbing as Pioneer League play opens

St. Thomas opens its fourth season of Pioneer League play on Saturday in St. Paul against Stetson, looking to extend several streaks.

The Tommies, who were picked second behind defending champion Drake in the conference preseason poll, have won all 12 Pioneer League contests that they’ve have played at O’Shaughnessy Stadium. They are looking to improve to 4-0 against Stetson.

Since joining the Pioneer League in 2021, the Tommies have gone 21-3 in conference games. That is the best record in Pioneer League contests among the 11 conference teams. The Tommies have not finished lower than third in the conference.

The Tommies (1-3) and Stetson (2-2) were both idle last week.

But two weeks ago, the Tommies lost to Lindenwood 64-0 in St. Charles, Mo. The Tommies were missing six starters — three on offense and three on defense — because of injuries.

Stetson opened the season with victories over Ave Maria (41-3) and Warner (35-0). The Hatters then lost to Furman 48-7 and Harvard 35-0.

In the three previous meetings between the Tommies and Hatters, the Tommies have not allowed more than seven points — winning 38-7 at Stetson in 2021, 23-0 in St. Paul in 2022 and 38-6 last year at Stetson.

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

Last week in St. John’s 45-20 victory at Bethel, Johnnies receiver Dylan Wheeler became the first athlete in program history to have 100 or more receiving yards in each of the first three games of a season.

Wheeler, a junior who played for Mounds View High School, had nine receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns against Bethel.

In three games, Wheeler has 30 receptions for 357 yards and five touchdowns. He ranks fourth in Division III in receptions per game and is 16th in receiving yards per game. Last season, Wheeler was second on the team with 55 receptions for 762 yards and eight touchdowns in 10 games.

The Johnnies (3-0), ranked No. 5 in the D3football.com Top 25, play host to Augsburg (1-2) on Saturday.

NSIC-leading Minnesota State Mankato remained No. 4 while second-place Bemidji State climbed five spots to No. 16 in this week’s d2football.com poll.

The Mavericks (5-0, 4-0 NSIC) play host to Sioux Falls on Saturday. The Mavericks defeated the Cougars 54-26 in Sioux Falls last year.

Bemidji State (4-1, 3-1), which has won three in a row since a 31-29 loss to the Mavericks in Mankato on Sept. 7, plays Northern State on Saturday in Aberdeen, S.D. The Beavers have won the past eight meetings with the Wolves.

Minnesota Duluth defeated Southwest Minnesota State 62-0 last Saturday in Duluth to give coach Curt Wiese his 100th victory as the Bulldogs coach.

Wiese, in his 12th season at UMD, has a 100-24 record with the Bulldogs, including 92-18 in NSIC play.

The shutout was highlighted by 10 sacks by the Bulldogs defense. That tied the program’s single-game record set in 2007 against Bemidji State.

Minnesota Morris opens defense of its UMAC conference title against Martin Luther on Saturday in New Ulm, Minn.

The Cougars are 1-2 while the Knights are 2-1. Both teams were idle last week.

Izayah Boss has rushed for 426 yards (7.3 yards per carry) to lead the Cougars. Boss is 10th in D-III in rushing yards.

The Cougars’ conference title in 2023 was their first since 2006.