gophers/ncaa

GAME OF THE WEEK

Winona State at Minnesota Duluth, 6 p.m. Saturday: Both the Warriors and the host Bulldogs opened the season with convincing victories. Winona, which has won 81 percent of its NSIC games over the past 16 seasons, kicked off the 2012 season with a 58-6 victory over Minnesota-Crookston. Minnesota-Duluth, which is ranked No. 2 in the Division II poll and has won 39 of its last 41 NSIC games, opened its season with a 45-20 victory at SW Minnesota State. The Bulldogs have won the past four meetings between the two -- including 24-6 in 2011.

WEEK 2 STORY LINES

•  Not wanting a repeat of 2011: Last year, after opening with a 34-0 victory over Northwestern (Roseville), St. John's played host to Wisconsin-Eau Claire in Week 2 and the Blugolds trounced the Johnnies, 47-19. The Blugolds led 31-0 at halftime. The Johnnies, who opened their season with a 52-7 victory over Northwestern last Saturday, travel to Eau Claire on Saturday. The Blugolds opened their season with a 27-24 loss to visiting St. Thomas.

• Consistency rewarded: Bemidji State coach Jeff Tesch, who has led the Beavers to at least seven victories in 11 of the past 13 seasons, was rewarded this summer with a contract extension through the 2017 season. The Beavers opened the season with a 25-23 victory over Upper Iowa last Friday. Lance Rongstad passed for 228 yards and a career-high four TDs -- including a 5-yard TD pass with 40 seconds remaining to rally the Beavers. The Beavers play at MSU Mankato on Saturday. The Mavericks opened the season with a 44-10 victory at Minot State.

• Record setter: Eureka (Ill.) will bring its record- setting offense to Minnesota the next two weekends (at St. Scholastica on Saturday and at Crown on Sept. 15). Eureka's Sam Durley passed for an NCAA Division III single-game record 736 yards last Saturday in a 62-55 victory over Knox. Durley broke the previous record of 731 yards set by Menlo's Zamir Amin on Oct. 7, 2000. Durley, a senior, completed 34 of 52 passes with five TDs.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Ayrton Scott, QB, Augsburg: The 5-11 freshman from Minneapolis Southwest accounted for 294 yards of total offense and three touchdowns in the Auggies' 41-20 victory over Concordia (Wis.). Scott rushed 22 times for 155 yards and completed nine of 18 passes for 139 yards and three touchdowns in his college debut.

Kevin Ackerley, QB, Hamline: In his first collegiate start, Ackerley, a sophomore from Tucson, Ariz., rushed for 167 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Pipers to a 37-31 victory over Minnesota-Morris. Ackerley scored on runs of 14, 24 and 54 yards and was named the MIAC's offensive player of the week.

BY THE NUMBERS

7-0 Won-loss record for MIAC teams last Saturday.

25 Consecutive regular-season victories for St. Thomas, which plays host to Wis.-River Falls on Saturday.

37 Points scored by Hamline in a 37-31 season-opening victory over Minn.-Morris. The Pipers, who ended a 16-game losing streak, scored just 41 points in 10 games last season while being held scoreless seven times.

JOEL RIPPEL