KICKOFF COVERAGE
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – A spot in the MIAC Championship game is on the line when No. 9 Bethel (7-1, 6-0 MIAC) crosses the mighty Mississippi into Minneapolis and Augsburg (6-2, 4-2 MIAC) Saturday afternoon. Both teams hold a 3-0 mark in the Skyline Division with the winner advancing to take on the Northwoods Division top seed on Nov. 12.
SERIES HISTORY
Series:Â BU leads 28-15-3
Last:Â BU won 45-14 (Nov. 6, 2021) in Arden Hills
• It will be the 47th all-time meeting between the Royals and Auggies Saturday in Minneapolis. BU has won the last six matchups against the Auggies and are 8-2 in the last 10 matchups. Last season's matchup also had the MIAC Skyline Division spot on the line. BU took a 21-7 lead into the break before opening it up in the second half.
Jaran Roste accounted for five of BU's touchdowns in that one, three passing and two rushing.
COACHES CORNER
ROYAL NOTES
• Senior QB Jaran Roste became the Royals all-time passing leader last week throwing for 186 yards against St. Olaf. That brought his career mark to 8,193 yards that surpasses Scott Kirchoff. On the ground he kept it 14 times rushing for 109 yards and two touchdowns, making it his first 100-yard rushing touchdown of the season and eighth of his career.
• Sophomore LB Jacob Holmen led the squad with a career-high 11 tackles last week. Senior DB Matthew Feldick had his third double-digit tackle performance of the season with 10 tackles, eight of which were solo.
• The Royals defense limited the St. Olaf ground game to an average 3.4 yards per carry. The Oles were limited to 99 rushing yards on 29 carries. It's the fifth time this season and second straight week BU has limited its opponent to under 100 yards rushing. Since 2018 the Royals are 24-0 in those games. This year BU ranks 28th nationally in rushing defense and leads the MIAC at 74.6 yards per game.
• In the polls, the Royals jumped up two spots to No. 9 in the D3football.com Top 25. It's the highest ranking since week 10 of the 2019 season where they were also ninth. BU also moved up and identical two spots to No. 11 in American Football Coaches Association Poll.
BY THE NUMBERS
40 – consecutive weeks of the Royals being ranked in the D3football.com Top 25 Poll. It's the second-longest in program history behind a 57-week streak that took place from week six in 2010 to week 10 in 2014.  Â
Â
71.3 – completion percentage for
Jaran Roste which is on pace for the single-season program record. It leads the MIAC and ranks seventh nationally.
Â
37 – yards ran on
David Geebli's second and final touchdown against St. Olaf. The 37-yard scamper into the endzone was a career-high carry. Â Â
DEFENSE KEEPING IT UNDER 300
• Holding St. Olaf to 294 yards of offense, it's the 29th time since 2017 BU kept an opponent under 300 yards of offense. In those games they hold a 28-2 record. It is the fourth straight week of holding the opened under that mark, matching the best streak since a six-game stretch in 2018 where that happened.
Â
CONTROLLING THE CLOCK
• Bethel has controlled the tempo this year averaging 32:55 in the time of possession department. That figure leads the MIAC and ranks 19th nationally. BU's opponents average 26:32 with the ball.
• The Royals have won the time of possession battle in the last three matchups including a season-best 40:11 against Concorida (compared to the Cobers 19:49). They started that matchup controlling the tempo in the first quarter handling it for 11:26 before finishing strong in the fourth at 12:36.
NO. 1 IS NUMBER 1
• Jaran Roste became the Royals all-time passing leader following a 186-yard performance against St. Olaf. His 8,193 career yards surpassed Scott Kirchoff and moved him eighth all-time in the MIAC. He is also the all-time leader with 44 rushing touchdowns, tied for sixth all-time in the MIAC, and 10,524 yards of total offense.
• A career-best performance of 423 yards, the second most in a single-game, on 34-of-39 passing yards, one completion shy of tying the single-game record, came against Hamline on October 8.
MR. RELIABLE
• Sophomore kicker Hugo Cifuentes has become automatic on PATs extending his make streak to 79 after splitting the up rights five times against St. Olaf. During the 2021 season with the Royals, he was a perfect 39-for-39 on extra points.
• At Gustavus Adolphus he was a perfect 3-for-3 in field goals splitting the uprights from 32 yards, 28 yards and 27 yards setting a program single-game record. At a 7-for-9 mark this year, his 77.8 percent mark ranks 18th nationally. He bested his previous career-long of 35 yards (week one against Pacific Lutheran) nailing a 39-yarder in the first half against St. Olaf
• This year he has been named MIAC Special Teams Player of the Week twice and became the second ever kicker for the Royals to be named to the D3football.com Team of the Week.
STATS DON'T LIE
• BU has scored 30 or more points in 29 of its last 34 wins.
• The Royals are outscoring their opponents 94-27 in the second quarter.
Â
SCOUTING THE AUGGIES
• Augsburg enters on a three-game winning streak after coming off a 38-35 victory against Concordia at home. A 41-yard field goal would stand as the game winner after Concordia scored with one second remaining to pull within seven. The Auggies totaled 467 yards of offense in a game that combined for 916 yards.
 • Sophomore quarterback Cade Sheehan was named MIAC Offensive Player of the Week having completed 24-of-35 passes for 273 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing for a score to lead Augsburg to its third straight win. Sheehan claimed his third four-touchdown passing game of the season and seventh game with four or more touchdown passes in his career with Saturday's effort. He also rushed 14 times for 63 yards and a four-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
• Statistically, Augsburg ranks atop the MIAC and third nationally at 2.75 tackle for loss allowed and have totaled five defensive TDs that ranks second nationally. Averaging 34.5 points per game they rank fifth in the conference while their defense gives up 24.8 a game ranking sixth. The lead the MIAC in rushing offense at 186.5 yards a game.
Â
