St. Thomas aims for Pioneer League peak, and four more things to know about Minnesota college football

St. Thomas can move into first place in the Pioneer League with a victory over Presbyterian on Saturday in St. Paul.

The Tommies (7-3, 5-2 Pioneer League), who have a five-game winning streak going into their conference finale, and Presbyterian (8-2, 4-2) are playing for the first time since 2022.

Last week, the Tommies handed league-leading Drake (6-3, 5-1) its first league loss of the season. A victory by the Tommies over Presbyterian and a loss by Drake at Dayton (6-3, 4-2) on Saturday would put the Tommies in the league lead going into the final week of the regular season.

Presbyterian started the season 7-0 but has lost two of its past three games, including 14-13 last week at Davidson.

The Tommies close the regular season with a nonconference game at North Dakota State, the top-ranked team in FCS, on Nov. 22.

NSIC North Division leader Minnesota Duluth and NSIC South Division leader Minnesota State Mankato complete the regular season Saturday.

Minnesota Duluth (9-1, 4-1 NSIC North) travels to Minot State (3-7, 3-2), and MSU Mankato (8-2, 5-1 NSIC South) plays host to MSU Moorhead (7-3, 4-2 NSIC North) in an NSIC intradivision game.

Augustana (9-1, 4-1 NSIC South), No. 8 in the regional rankings, plays at Wayne State (6-4, 4-1 NSIC South) on Saturday.

The 32-team Division II playoff bracket will be announced at 5 p.m. Sunday. The field includes 16 automatic bids and 16 at-large bids.

Bethel, which has clinched at least a share of the MIAC title and the conference’s automatic berth in the Division III playoffs, can complete an unbeaten regular season with a victory at St. Scholastica on Saturday.

The Royals (9-0, 8-0 MIAC), No. 5 in the D3football.com poll and winners of 15 consecutive regular-season games, have a one-game lead over second-place St. John’s (8-1, 7-1) going into the finale. Bethel defeated St. John’s 17-10 on Oct. 4.

St. John’s, ranked No. 8, plays host to St. Olaf (4-5, 3-5) on Saturday.

St. John’s is No. 6 in the region rankings.

The 40-team Division III playoff field will be announced at 4 p.m. Sunday. The field includes 27 automatic and 13 at-large bids.

Going into its regular-season finale, Crown (6-3, 5-1 UMAC) has a one-game lead over second-place Northwestern (4-5, 4-2) as it attempts to win its first UMAC title and the conference’s automatic spot in the Division III playoffs.

The Polars will be conference champions with a victory at Greenville (4-4, 3-3). Even with a loss to Greenville, the Polars will claim the title if Northwestern loses to visiting Westminster (3-6, 1-5).

A Polars loss and a Northwestern victory would create a tie for first place and Northwestern would represent the UMAC in the Division III playoffs.

Carleton (6-3, 6-2 MIAC) can clinch third place in the MIAC with a victory over Concordia (Moorhead) (6-3, 5-3) on Saturday in Northfield. Carleton quarterback Jack Curtis, who is eighth in Division III with 2,776 passing yards, is questionable. Curtis, a senior, suffered a broken finger on the Knights’ first play of the second quarter in their 49-7 loss Saturday at Bethel.

Bethel wide receiver Albert Rundell, who caught a MIAC single-game record 21 passes (for 214 yards) and tied the MIAC record with five TD receptions in the Royals’ victory over Carleton, leads all levels of college football with 1,279 receiving yards.

Southwest Minnesota State safety Parker Knutson, a sophomore from Sartell, Minn., leads all levels of NCAA football with eight interceptions, a school single-season record. He has 13 interceptions in his career, tying the program career record.