St. Thomas heads into Pioneer League play, and four more things about Minnesota college football this week

St. Thomas opens Pioneer League conference play Saturday at San Diego against the preseason favorite Toreros.

The Tommies (2-1), who were picked to finish third in the Pioneer League preseason poll, have won their past three meetings with the Toreros. The Tommies won 34-14 last year in St. Paul and 20-14 in San Diego in November 2023.

Last week, the Toreros (2-2) won at Princeton 42-35. That victory and Dayton’s victory at Robert Morris last week gave Pioneer League teams eight victories against nonconference FCS opponents this season — the most for the league’s teams since 2009.

Toreros running back Adam Criter was named Pioneer League player of the week after rushing for 173 yards and scoring touchdowns on each of his team’s final three possessions of the game. San Diego trailed 35-14 midway through the second quarter.

After relying on starting quarterback Aaron Syverson for four seasons, St. John’s coach Gary Fasching has rotated quarterbacks during the Johnnies’ two games this season.

“Right now, things are working, and we’ll keep rotating until we have reason not to,” Fasching told reporters after a 59-0 victory over Hamline last week.

Fasching has been alternating junior Trey Feeney and senior Zander Dittbenner on a two-series-each basis. In the victory over Hamline, the Johnnies, ranked No. 4 in the D3football.com poll, scored on eight of their first nine possessions.

Feeney has completed 26 of 33 passes for 356 yards and four TDs with no interceptions, while Dittbenner has passed for 298 yards and two TDs and rushed for two TDs.

The Johnnies play host to Augsburg on Saturday.

NSIC teams begin division play with several key matchups.

In the North Division, Minnesota Duluth, No. 11 in the D2Football.com poll, plays host to Minnesota State Moorhead. The Bulldogs are 4-0 after a 34-17 victory at Sioux Falls last week. The Dragons (3-1) are coming off a 27-17 loss at home to Wayne State.

In the South Division, Minnesota State Mankato, ranked 14th,plays host to Sioux Falls. Both teams are 3-1. MSU is coming off a 37-7 victory at Jamestown.

St. Scholastica running back Jevon Williams leads Division III with an average of 311 all-purpose yards in two games.

Williams, a sophomore from Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City, has run for 456 yards in two games. Williams, who rushed for 406 yards in 10 games as a freshman, opened the season with 227 rushing yards and four touchdowns in a 41-27 victory at Wisconsin Lutheran. Last week he rushed for 229 yards in 24 carries and a TD in the Saints’ 30-23 loss to Augsburg. He has also caught five passes for 98 yards and a TD.

The Saints play host to Macalester on Saturday.

Crown quarterback Jamarrius Courtney leads Division III with 580 rushing yards.

Last week, Courtney, a sophomore from Minneapolis who played for three Twin Cities high schools, ran for a school-record 235 yards on 20 carries in the Polars’ 30-20 victory over visiting Minnesota Morris. Courtney, who also threw a TD pass, scored on runs of 58, 70 and 37 yards. He is averaging 10.4 yards per carry.