SERIES
BU leads the all-time series 26-10 heading into their 37th meeting with Macalester dating back to 1968. The Royals defeated the Scots 53-0 in their previous meeting on October 25, 2025 at Royal Stadium. BU is riding an 18-game win streak against Macalester, which began in 1989. Macalester rejoined the MIAC in 2001, when they faced BU for the first time since 2001.
COACHES
Bethel's Mike McElroy (3rd year at BU and as a head coach: 27-6) //Â Macalester's Phil Nicolaides (5th year at MAC and as a head coach: 14-32)
QUICK HITS
- The Royals are in the midst of back-to-back weeks on the road for the only time in 2026. The front end of their two-game road swing resulted in a school record for the Royals in points scored following an 82-7 victory over St. Olaf on October 17. The back end of Bethel's two-game road swing will pit them at Macalester on Saturday, October 24 at 7 p.m.
- The Royals moved from No. 17 on the Week 6 AFCA Coaches Poll, to No. 16 on the Week 7 Poll. BU stayed at No. 15Â from the Week 6 D3football.com Coaches Poll, to the Week 7 Poll. The standings occur following BU's 82-7 road victory over St. Olaf.Â
- Bethel has broke the single game points record twice in 2026. The first time was a 77-0 home victory over Hamline on September 26, and an 82-7 road win at St. Olaf on October 17.
- The Royals are now 26-2 in the month of October dating back to the 2019 season.
- Bethel's victory over St. Olaf snapped a three-game road losing streak that dated back to a 35-21 loss to North Central (Ill.) in the 2025 NCAA Division III Quarterfinal on December 13, 2025. All losses came against top-5 ranked teams.
- Both teams had a 20-year hiatus from facing each other prior to the Scots rejoining the conference in 2021, as the last time they met at that point was September 16, 2000. Bethel's last loss to Macalester was by a 19-7 margin in St. Paul on November 5, 1988.Â
ABOUT THE ROYALS
BU is in pursuit of their third-straight win, and are coming off a record-breaking 82-7 victory that snapped them a three-game road losing skid.
Running back David Geebli paces the MIAC and ranks fifth in the country with 7.73 yards per carry, while Taye Manns's 7.48 per carry is second in the MIAC and 11th in NCAA Division III. Geebli leads the MIAC with nine rushing touchdowns, 564 rushing yards, 94.0 rushing yards per game, 11 total touchdowns, and 66 total points scored. Manns comes in at No. 2 in the MIAC with 471 rushing yards and 78.5 yards per game. Manns and Geebli spearhead a BU ground game that is seventh in NCAA Division III with 277.7 rushing yards per game
Quarterback Cooper Drews has completed 123-of-207 (59.42%) passes for 1381 and 14 touchdowns over six starts. His 1,381 passing yards and 20.50 completions per game is second in the MIAC, while his 14 touchdown passes and 19.0 points responsible for is third in the conference.
Bethel's 540.3 yards of total offense per game ranks second in the country, while their 51.3 points per game is fourth nationally. The Royals offense have achieved 179 first downs, which leads the country.
Max Durgin, Nick Colyer, and Jake Borman each rank second in the MIAC with 0.30 interceptions per game. Jackson Braun, who is second on the team with 29 tackles, is second in the MIAC with 1.42 tackles for loss per game, while his 0.83 pass breakups per game is four in the conference. Max Durgin paced the defense with 30 tackles, two interceptions, and two breakups.
ABOUT THE SCOTS
They are coming off back-to-back losses that includes a 62-6 decision to St. John's on October 10, and a 27-17 decision to Augsburg on October 10. Linebacker Dylan Jeppe paces all MIAC players with 4.83 solo tackles per game, and 0.33 forced fumbles per game. Jeppe has 46 tackles on the season.
Wide receiver Paxton Boyd leads the MIAC with 622 receiving yards, 103.7 receiving yards per game, and 6.67 receptions per game. His quarterback Jack Scully has completed 103-of-171 passes (60.23%), 1220 yards, and 12 touchdowns.
