The Mavericks’ next big test and four other things to know about Minnesota college football

With four weeks left in the regular season, three teams — Augustana, Minnesota State Mankato and Wayne State — are tied for first place in the NSIC.

A stay atop the standings will be on the line Saturday when Augustana, ranked No. 20 in the D2football.com poll, plays the No. 9 Mavericks in Mankato.

It is Augustana’s first trip to Mankato since 2021. The Vikings (5-2, 5-1 NSIC) defeated the Mavericks twice last season — 28-10 in the regular season and 51-24 in the first round of the Division II playoffs.

The Vikings are coming off a 31-0 victory at home over Winona State. It was the Vikings’ first shutout of the season. Jarod Epperson, a senior from Omaha, rushed for 118 yards to become the Vikings’ all-time leading rusher with 3,483 yards.

The Mavericks (6-1, 5-1) were idle last week. Wayne State (6-1, 5-1) plays host to Sioux Falls on Saturday.

Here are four other Minnesota college football storylines this week:

Since joining the Pioneer League in 2021, St. Thomas has not lost a home conference game. The Tommies’ 13-game home winning streak against Pioneer foes will be tested on Saturday when they play host to the University of San Diego.

The Tommies (4-3, 3-0 Pioneer), who have won three consecutive games, return home after winning at Marist and at Valparaiso the last two weeks.

San Diego (4-2, 2-1 Pioneer) brings a two-game winning streak into the game. The Toreros are coming off a 34-6 victory at home against Marist last week. San Diego’s only league loss was to defending champion Drake, 30-28, on Sept. 28 in Des Moines.

The Tommies defeated the Toreros 20-14 in San Diego last season.

St. John’s, which is ranked No. 3 in the D3football.com poll, is the top-ranked team in the NCAA’s National Power Index (NPI) for Division III football.

This is the first season that the NPI is being used for Division III football. The NPI will be used to select 12 at-large teams for the expanded 40-team (up from 32) field for the D-III playoffs.

The Johnnies (6-0, 1-0 MIAC Northwoods), who defeated Carleton 48-7 in Northfield last week, play host to Gustavus Adolphus (4-2, 1-0 Northwoods) on Saturday.

The Gusties topped the Johnnies 38-35 last season in St. Peter. The victory was the first for the Gusties in the series since 2013.

Last week, the Gusties topped Macalester 36-7 in St. Paul as Caden Kleinschmidt had seven receptions for 228 yards and three touchdowns. The yardage was the fourth most in program history.

Joey Kidder had eight receptions for 148 yards in Bethel’s 73-8 victory over Augsburg last week to become the Royals’ leader in career receiving yards.

Kidder, a fifth-year senior from New Richmond, Wis., now has 3,067 receiving yards. Kidder has caught 46 passes for 559 yards and eight TDs this season.

Royals defensive back Matt Jung, a sophomore from Neenah, Wis., has six interceptions on the season and is tied for second most in NCAA Division III. Jung intercepted seven passes last season.

The Royals, who have outscored their last three opponents 175-8, play at Hamline on Saturday.

Crown linebacker Gabe Banks was named to the D3football.com team of the week after he intercepted three passes in the Polars’ 30-13 victory over Westminster last Saturday in Fulton, Mo.

Banks, a senior from League City, Texas, returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to give the Polars a 22-13 lead.

The victory ended a nine-game losing streak for the Polars dating to last season. This week, the Polars play at UMAC-leading Northwestern (St. Paul).