KICKOFF COVERAGE
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – Bethel hits the road for the for opening round of the NCAA Playoffs traveling to No. 5th-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater for a noon kickoff. The Royals, 8-2 on the year, earned the MIAC's automatic bid into the postseason with a 31-7 victory over Gustavus Adolphus last Saturday at home. The Warhawks, who are 9-1, are coming off a 59-0 win at Wisconsin-Eau Claire and earned one of the four at-large bids into the 32-team field.
FAN INFO - TICKETS & PARKING
Advance Ticket Purchase:Â
Click Here. Tickets will also be available for purchase on Saturday at Perkins Stadium.
Parking: All parking is cashless this season. To purchase in advanceÂ
click here. Fans can purchase on the day of, but must go through the online purchasing portal to do so and will not be allowed into a lot until purchase is complete.
SERIES HISTORY
Series:Â BU trails 0-1
Last:  Bethel loss 26-12 (Dec. 1, 2018) in Whitewater • NCAA Quarterfinals
• It will be just the second all-time meeting between the Royals and Warhawks. The only meeting came in the NCAA quarterfinals in 2018 where UWW came out on top 26-12 on an extremely windy and rainy day in Whitewater.
COACHES CORNER
ROYAL NOTES
• The winner of Saturday's game will face the winner of Wheaton versus Mound St. Joseph in the second round.
• Bethel is appearing in its 12 NCAA Playoff and is the third consecutive trip. BU holds a 13-11 all-time record in playoff games and is 0-1 against the Warhawks in the postseason.
• The Royals rushed for 320 yards against Gustavus marking the second time this season with 300-plus rushing yards and sixth time in the last four seasons.
• The Royals captured their sixth MIAC Championship title and first since 2013 last Saturday.
• Running back Aaron Ellingson tallied his first career 200-plus yard rushing game going for a career-high 224 yards on 27 carries against the Gusties. Ellingson added three touchdown scores including a 76-yard fake punt on 4th-and-10 from BU's own 24-yard line. Ellingson was also named the MIAC Offensive Player of the Week.
• For the third straight week, Matt Jung was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week. He is the first Royal in the award's history to be named to the national team three times. Jung had 10 tackles, two tackles for loss and one interception.
• Matt Jung's seven interceptions this season are the most by a Royal since 2007 when Brandon Carr had the same figure.
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BY THE NUMBERS
11 – During the current seven-game winning streak, Bethel has allowed an average 11 points per game.
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251 – career wins for head coach Steve Johnson who is in his 35th season and is the all-time wins leader among DIII active coaches. He is 30th all-time among all NCAA Divisions.
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21 – The Royals defense have been "ball hawks" with 21 interceptions this year ranking 3rd nationally.
TOUGH COMPETITION
• Bethel had the 8th-best strength of schedule in NCAA Division III heading into the postseason.
• This season, BU has faced off against five teams that finished the regular season with top 20 SOS. They are Saint John's (2nd), Wis.-Eau Claire (10th), Wis.-Whitewater (12th), Carleton (14th), Wartburg (16th).
MAKE WAY FOR ELLINGSON
• Aaron Ellingson has tallied a rushing touchdown in five straight games after strutting into the endzone for a career-high three times in the MIAC Championship game.
• A career-high 224 yards against Gustavus on championship Saturday was the most by a Bethel running back since Marshall Klitzke had 228 yard on October 31, 2015. Â
• Two times this season he has recorded a rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game. Against the Knights, it started with a 51-yard rushing touchdown, the longest of his career at the time, as the offensive line opened up a hole right up the middle. Later in the second quarter, Bolt hit Ellingson in the flat around the Royals' 20-yard line before Ellingson raced 80-yards down the Carleton sideline.
• He's the third Royal in the last three season to have both a rushing and catching touchdown in a game.
• His 902 rushing yards ranks second in the MIAC and 37th nationally while his 5.9 yards per carry leads the MIAC and 39th nationally.
7 IN A ROW
• Bethel extended its winning streak to seven games with the win over Gustavus.
• It marks four times since the 2013 season BU had a seven-game winning streak during the year doing so in 2022, 2018 and 2014 previously.
• The program's longest winning streak was 14 games that began in the 199 season and carried over into 2000.
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RUSHING FOR 300+
• With 320 yards on the ground in the MIAC Championship game, it marked the second time BU rushed for 300-plus yards this season. The other game coming against Macalester with 335 yards.
• Dating back through the 2004 season, Bethel is 33-1 when rushing for 300-plus yards.
TURNOVER MARGIN DOMINANCE
• Bethel is +19 in the turnover margin department this season, second best in the nation with Alma leading at +25. The 1.90 average ranks 3rd nationally.
• The defense has gained 31 turnovers this season, ranking 3rd nationally. Ten have come via fumble recovery and 21 by interceptions.
• On the other side of the ball BU has lost six fumbles and thrown six interceptions.
STRONG SECONDARY
• The Royals started the year with seven interceptions in the first three games. Their six in the first two games was the most to start the season for BU since 2004.
• Now with 21 INTs on the year, Bethel ranks 3rd nationally and leads the MIAC.
• Matt Jung leads the team with seven INTs, the most by a Royal since 2007, which leads the nation with Mt. St. Joseph's Deshawn Starks.
• BU's four interceptions at Augsburg was the most in a game since Oct. 9, 2021 at Hamline. BU matched that with four against Gustavus on Nov. 11.
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PROTECTING THE RED ZONE
• The Royals have the second-best red zone defense in the country, only behind Trinity (CT), with its opponents scoring only 40.9 percent of the time when inside the 20.
• Bethel's foes have only scored on nine of the 22 red zone trips. Four passing TDs, two rushing TDs and three field goals.
• In the last five games, BU has allowed its opponent inside the red zone a total of four times with Concordia being the only one to score.
• In the MIAC Championship game, Gustavus only entered it once and threw an interception in the end zone to Nate Farm.
LAST TIME THEY MET
• In the quarterfinals of the 2018 NCAA Playoffs, then No. 4th-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater took a 26-12 decision from the No. 11th-ranked Royals on a rainy and windy day in Whitewater, Wis. BU's 12 points all came in the second quarter both on Roste runs.
• UWW built a 23-12 lead at halftime before being held to a 22-yard field goal early in the fourth. Two interceptions by Bethel in the second half, one being in the endzone, deflated the comeback hopes.
• The Warhawks outgained Bethel by a 238-221 margin with BU dominating in the air 156-8 and UWW dominating on the ground 230-65.
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SCOUTING THE WARHAWKS
• Wisconsin-Whitewater enters on a five-game winning streak and holds a 9-1 record.
• The Warhawks last two wins have come in shutout fashion, 48-0 and 59-0, making it since Oct. 28 that an opponent has scored on them.
• UWW opened the season against five nationally ranked opponents where they were 4-1 with the lone loss coming to eventual WIAC Champions, Wisconsin-La Crosse.
• Averaging 259.4 rushing yards per game, that mark ranks the Warhawks 8th nationally.
• A 33:32 time of possession mark for Whitewater ranks 11th nationally.
• UWW is top 20 nationally averaging 464.3 yards of offense this season.
• Quarterback Alec Ogden has thrown for 1,525 yards this year with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. His top target is Tommy Coates who has 43 catches for 400 yards and four touchdowns. Nine difference receivers have caught a touchdown pass this year for UWW.
• On the ground, Tamir Thomas is 28th nationally with 992 rushing yards on 136 carries. He ranks seventh nationally at 7.29 yards per carry. Splitting carries with him is Alijah Maher-parr who has 100 carries for 615 yards.
• Thomas and Ogden each have 12 rushing touchdowns on the year.
>>>Â READ BETHEL'S COMPLETE GAME NOTES BY CLICKING HERE.
