St. John's and Bethel open a new era in MIAC football

GAME OF THE WEEK

Bethel at St. John's, 1 p.m. Saturday: Bethel (2-0), ranked No. 13 in Division III, was idle last week. The Johnnies (2-0), ranked No. 6, defeated Martin Luther last Saturday. The Johnnies have won the last six meetings with Bethel.

WEEK 4 STORYLINES

• The MIAC unveils its new football schedule format Saturday. This week's games are the first of three "crossover" games for the 10 teams, which are split into two five-team divisions. The teams will follow those three with four games against division foes. The final week of the regular season will have teams playing the same-place team from the other division.

• Three MIAC quarterbacks are ranked in the top 10 in D-III for completion percentage — Bethel's Jaran Roste (80.6), Hamline's Connor Leavens (75.0) and Tanner DuBois of Concordia-Moorhead (73.3).

• St. Scholastica will play its first game of the season and its first MIAC game when it plays host to Augsburg on Saturday. The Saints' season opener on Sept. 3 was called off due to COVID-19 protocols. The Saints and Augsburg have never met in football.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Jonathan Singleton, QB, Carleton: The junior from San Martin, Calif., has passed for 634 yards and eight touchdowns in the Knights' first two games. He has thrown 27 TD passes in 10 career games.

Kaleb Sleezer, RB, MSU Mankato: The sophomore from Aurelia, Iowa, has rushed for 292 yards in the Mavericks' three games. He is averaging 6.3 yards per carry and is third in the NSIC in rushing yards.

BY THE NUMBERS

3 NSIC teams ranked in the the D2football.com Top 25 poll — Minnesota Duluth (No. 11), Minnesota State Mankato (No. 14) and Augustana (No. 21).

192 Career victories for Winona State coach Tom Sawyer — the highest total of any current Division II coach who has spent his entire career at a single institution. Sawyer is in his 25th season at Winona.