KICKOFF COVERAGE
ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – Skyline Division play continues Saturday as the Bethel University football team hosts Augsburg at Royal Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. The Royals (4-1, 2-1 MIAC) are coming off a dominant 59-0 victory over Macalester at home while Augsburg (2-3, 1-2 MIAC) earned their first conference victory with a 37-27 decision, hosting Hamline last Saturday.
SERIES HISTORY
Series:Â BU leads 30-15-3
Last:Â Bethel won 38-7 (Oct. 14, 2023) in Minneapolis
• The Royals and Auggies clash in Arden Hills for the first time since 2021 after the previous two meetups were in Minneapolis. It will be the 49th all-time meeting with Bethel currently holding a seven-game winning streak in the series. BU enjoyed a 38-7 victory last year after jumping out to an early 17-0 lead backed by a defense that had four interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
ROYAL NOTES
• Cooper Drews and Albert Rundell threw for a combined 365 yards against Macalester making it the second-most passing yards in a game since 2018 for the Royals.
• Amassing 596 yards of offense, it's the 13th time in the last five seasons the Royals surpassed the 500-yard mark in a game. It's the most yards in a game since Oct. 23, 2021 when they had 651 against the Scots.
• With two rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown against the Scots, David Geebli was the fourth Royal in the last four seasons to record at least one of each in a game. Teammate Aaron Ellingson did it twice during the 2023 season.
• Matt Jung added a 43-yard punt return touchdown to his scoring list against Macalester. Jung now has a TD in all facets of the game with a 69-yard TD reception and 84-yard pick-six against Saint John's. It's the first non-blocked punt return for the Royals since Oct. 27, 2012 when Landen Strilzuk returned it 70 yards to the house.
• Micha Niewald's season-high 119 receiving yards moved him into fourth all-time with 2,715 career yards. He surpassed Bryce Marquardt's (2013-17) 2,712 yards and is 88 away from tying Mitch Hallstrom (2010-13).
BY THE NUMBERS
13 – Since the MIAC moved to divisions in 2021, Bethel has won all 13 Skyline Division matchups and is the only school in the conference with a perfect all-time divisional record.
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35 – Bethel's 35 points in the opening quarter against the Scots were the most since BU scored that many in the second quarter against St. Olaf on Sept. 18, 2004.
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4 – Four different receivers caught a touchdown for the Royals versus Macalester. It's the most TD passes thrown in a BU game since Oct. 7, 2017, which came against Carleton.Â
SHOUTOUT FOR THE SHUTOUT
• With a 59-0 victory over Macalester, Bethel recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2018 when they shut out Gustavus on 9/22 (31-0) and Carleton on 9/29 (48-0).
• Bethel now has 12 shutouts in the last 10 seasons and four in the last two.
• BU's shutout of Eau Claire in 2023 was the first since 2019. It was one of two shutouts last season.
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STOPPING THE RUN GAME
• Bethel leads Division III in rushing defense giving up a minimal 11.6 yards per game.Â
• Allowing -22 rushing yards to the Gusties was the third time this year that BU held its opponent in the negative rushing range.
• In 2023 BU held its opponents under 100 yards rushing in seven games.
• Since 2022, the Royals are 15-1 when holding their opponent to less than 100 yards on the ground.
• In nine games last year, BU kept its opponent under its season-average rushing mark.
• In all five games this season, the Royals have held their opponent below their season average.
DREWS DROPPING DIMES
• Sophomore quarterback Cooper Drews shinned in his second collegiate game through for 294 yards on 30-of-41 passing against UWEC. Drews aired out five TD passes and rushed in for two scores himself.
• With a 71.1 completion percentage this season, Drews ranks 12th nationally and second in the MIAC.
• Drews has 11 TD passes on the year ranking third in the MIAC and 34th nationally.
STRONG SECONDARY
• For the second time this season, Bethel had three interceptions on Saturday at Gustavus Adolphus. With 10 picks on the year Bethel ranks third nationally behind Rochester (11) and Ohio Wesleyan (10).
• The Royals started the 2023 season with seven interceptions in the first three games. That matched the seven in the first three games of the 2024 season, the most in that stretch since 2004 when the Royals had nine.
• Finishing with 21 INTs in 2023, Bethel finished fifth nationally.
• Matt Jung led the team with seven INTs, the most by a Royal since 2007, finishing the season with the second most in Division III. For the 2024 season, Jung has five.
JUMPING FOR JUNG
• Sophomore Matt Jung leads the Bethel defense with five interceptions on the year, two coming in each of the first two games.
• He is second in the nation with five INTs and his biggest of the season so far came against UWEC picking off a potential game-tying pass in the endzone late in the fourth as the Blugolds had it first and goal from the two.
• He added an 84-yard pick-six against the Johnnies in the third pulling BU within 35-20. It was his third career pick-six for the Royals.
• Adding a 43-yard punt return touchdown to his scoring list against Macalester. Jung now has a TD in all facets of the game including a 69-yard TD reception against Saint John's. It's the first non-blocked punt return for the Royals since Oct. 27, 2012 when Landen Strilzuk returned it 70 yards to the house.
A HISTORIC TRADITION
• Bethel football is playing in its 76th season, as the program began in 1947 under the direction of head coach Arch Skalbeck. The Royals have amassed a 372-338-7 record (.524) since the program's inception, which includes a 228-80 mark (.740) since 1994. BU has won six MIAC championships, appeared in 12 NCAA Playoffs and won two NCAA region titles.
>>>Â READ BETHEL'S COMPLETE GAME NOTES BY CLICKING HERE.
