Concordia (St. Paul) QB starts fast, and four more things to know about area college football

In his first career start, Concordia (St. Paul) quarterback Lincoln Graf led the Golden Bears to their first victory of the season.

Last week, Graf threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns in the Golden Bears’ 27-21 victory at Minot State.

The 275 passing yards by Graf, a freshman from Boca Raton, Fla., are the most by a Golden Bears freshman in his first start since 2010 and the most by a Golden Bears quarterback since 2023.

After an incompletion on his first attempt of the game, he completed his next 13 passes.

Graf made his debut for the Golden Bears on Sept. 6, when he came off the bench and completed 10 of 17 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown in the Golden Bears’ 61-7 loss to Minnesota Duluth.

The Golden Bears, who opened the season with a 38-7 loss at Quincy, play at Northern State on Saturday.

Bemidji State, 39-13 over the previous four seasons, is off to an 0-3 start for the first time since 2015.

This week, the Beavers will play host to Augustana (3-0), which is ranked No. 13 in the D2football.com poll.

In addition to Augustana, NSIC teams Minnesota Duluth, MSU Moorhead and Sioux Falls have also opened the season 3-0.

Minnesota Duluth, ranked No. 11, plays at Sioux Falls on Saturday, and MSU Moorhead plays host to Wayne State.

MSU Mankato, ranked 14th, plays at Jamestown on Saturday. The Mavericks suffered their first loss of the season last Saturday on a 25-yard field goal by Minnesota Duluth’s Jadon Apgar as time expired.

Wisconsin-River Falls quarterback Kaleb Blaha and St. John’s receiver Dylan Gendreau were named to D3football.com’s Team of the Week.

Gendreau, a senior from Minnetonka, caught eight passes for 124 yards — the first 100-yard receiving game of his career — in the Johnnies’ 49-0 victory over Minnesota-Morris.

Gendreau moved into fourth place on SJU’s tight ends list with 100 career receptions and is fifth in receiving yards (1,300) and receiving touchdowns (13).

Bethel defensive back Devin Williams and St. John’s receiver Dylan Wheeler were named to AFCA Good Works Team on Tuesday.

The team, comprising 11 players from FBS teams and 11 players from FCS (I-AA), Division II, Division III and NAIA — recognizes college football players who have made a commitment to community service. The team will be invited to New Orleans to participate in a community service project before the 2026 Sugar Bowl and will be acknowledged on the field at halftime of the game.