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Collegeville, Minn.—Prior to Saturday's road contest against Saint John's University, the No. 10-ranked Bethel University football team had suffered just three fumbles all season long. Saturday was a different story, however, as the Royals lost three fumbles on the day and threw two more interceptions en route to an 8-31 loss at the hands of the No. 18-ranked Johnnies.
 
The defeat was Bethel's first in conference play since November 3, 2012—snapping a 15-game streak against MIAC opponents. Saturday also marked the first time since December 7, 2013 that the Royals had surrendered five turnovers in a game. The last time this happened was against North Central College in the 2013 NCAA quarterfinals.
 
Despite the 23-point spread in the final score, Bethel was still threatening with six minutes left to play. Sophomore wide receiver Bryce Marquardt hauled in a 62-yard pass from Erik Peterson and Jackson Canfield caught his second two-point conversion in as many weeks to make the tally 8-24 with 12:26 remaining the game.
 
The Johnnies were then forced to punt on their ensuing drive with 9:19 remaining in the fourth quarter, giving Bethel the ball back at the SJU 30-yard-line. A motivated Royal offense was driving down field with two first downs converted, but a block in the back penalty halted BU's momentum and the Royals were never able to acquire a first down throughout the rest of the drive.
 
With 6:04 left in the de facto MIAC Championship game, SJU took over on downs and completed a 50-yard pass to ice the victory in favor of the Johnnies.
 
The Royals rush for 123 yards on 29 carries, averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Marshall Klitzke led the way with 68 yards on 11 carries, resulting in a 6.2 yards per carry average.
 
Erik Peterson completed 20-of-37 passes for 229 yards and one TD, but two interceptions and two fumbles allowed the Johhnies to retain possession of the momentum throughout the majority of the day.
 
Bryce Marquardt recorded seven catches for 123 yards and one touchdown, while Drew Neuville caught four passes for 45 yards.
 
Leading the way defensively for Bethel was safety Daniel Leidall, who tallied 14 tackles, including one for loss, and one pass breakup. Josh Treimer, who came in ranked No. 5 in the country in passes broken up, collected three more, which increased his season total to 16. In addition to Leidall,  Zach Eenhuis and David Morgan both finished with double-digit tackles—totaling 12 and 10, respectively.
 
Despite the loss, Bethel still remains hopeful about the 2014 NCAA Playoffs. The Royals, who are 7-2 on the season and 6-1 in MIAC play, have losses against now No. 5-ranked Wartburg and No. 18-ranked Saint John's—both teams that are ranked among the Top 5 teams in the West Region.
 
BU is now in a must-win situation against Augsburg next weekend, however. The Royals can be crowned 2014 MIAC Co-Champions with the Johnnies, should they defeat the Auggies next Saturday. But because SJU was victorious in the head-to-head matchup, Saint John's will receive the conference's automatic qualifier with a win over St. Olaf next weekend.