By Don Stoner
Augsburg Sports Information Director

MINNEAPOLIS - I grew up in western Wisconsin, a lifelong fan of the "Green and Gold," the Green Bay Packers. As I grew up, I always believed that the biggest rivalry in the NFL was the twice-annual meetings of the Packers and the Minnesota Vikings. Those were the games I lived for all through my childhood.

Then I moved to the eastern part of the Badger State to pursue my undergraduate degree at Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and learned that there is only ONE rivalry if you're a Packer fan. That's the Packers against the Chicago Bears. Now, I don't even care anymore about the Packer-Viking games. It's the two meetings of the year between the Packers and Bears that always excite me. The Packers and Bears meet this Sunday.

There are similar huge rivalries and big games on this weekend's calendar in the Midwest. Three games, in particular, will go a long way in deciding conference championships and the valued postseason playoff berths.

St. John's (3-0) at St. Thomas (2-1), 1 p.m. Saturday, St. Paul
In the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, there is no bigger game in any season. More than 5,000 fans are expected to attend the game at UST's O'Shaughnessy Stadium. And while it's still early in the season, the winner of this game will have a huge advantage in the race for the MIAC title, though unbeaten Bethel still looms in the sights for both teams in the final three weeks of the year.

St. John's is an experienced and deep team that has dominated in scoring its first three wins of the season to build to a No. 8 ranking in the AFCA national polls this year. Quarterback Tom Linnemann is an experienced team leader, and the Johnnies excel at every part of the game. Through three games, St. John's is outscoring their opponents by an average of 43 to 9.

But one of the keys to the Johnnies' success is the fact that their opponents have to play a nearly perfect game to beat them. Consider last week's game against Augsburg. The Auggies dominated in time of possession (43:14 to 16:46) and offensive plays (83 to 46), and the teams were close in total offensive yards (SJU's 253 to Augsburg's 211). 

So how did St. John's win 40-7? The Johnnies took advantage of virtually every Augsburg mistake and turned them into points. One interception was returned for a touchdown, and two other Auggie turnovers were later converted into Johnnie scores. The Johnnies' special teams and defense were dominant, putting the offense in great field position all day long.

Does St. Thomas have a "perfect" game in it to beat the Johnnies? Perhaps. 

The Tommies have won games on the ground this year, mostly behind the play of sophomore Jake Barkley, who is fourth in the nation in rushing (176.7 yards per game) and 17th in all-purpose yards (192.0 per game). Marcus Ludtke, a senior who played at Concordia his first two years, is also a solid runner.

In order to win, the Tommies have to make the game a defensive battle and hope for as few mistakes as possible against a St. John's squad that will pounce at every turn.

Ripon (3-0) at St. Norbert (3-0), 1:30 p.m. Saturday, De Pere, Wis.
The "Battle on Broadway" is a fitting title to this one, as the winner will be on the inside track to the Midwest Conference title and the automatic qualifier to the NCAA playoffs.

The defending Midwest Conference champion Green Knights have won 12 league games in a row behind a dominant offense; in head coach Jim Purtill's 14 games at St. Norbert, his team has scored 28 or more points in 13 of them. St. Norbert is averaging 435 yards per game for junior quarterback Luke Ott. Mike Lynn is averaging 93.3 receiving yards per contest.

St. Norbert is also strong on defense, with eight turnovers this year and an average of 313.7 yards allowed per game to lead the conference in total defense. Last week, in 29-0 shutout at Lawrence, the Green Knight defense held Lawrence's rushing attack -- which had entered the game averaging 195 yards per game -- to 47 yards on 47 attempts.

Meanwhile, Ripon has scored three impressive wins against tough competition leading up to the showdown in the Fox River Valley, including a 31-28 overtime win against Carroll last Saturday. Troy DeVoe had two touchdowns, rushing 44 times for 129 yards in the victory for the Red Hawks. He is averaging 110.5 rushing yards per game in league play. Brock Bauer is averaging 230 passing yards per game.

UW-Stout (3-0) at UW-River Falls (1-2), 1 p.m., River Falls, Wis.
This is a classic game of an "irresistible force" meeting an "immovable object." Stout's rushing defense, the top-ranked unit in the nation (minus-7.3 yards per game) meets River Falls' wishbone offense, a rushing offense that is rated seventh in the nation (287.7 yards per game). Which force will prevail?

Stout, rated 13th in the nation in the latest AFCA national poll, shocked many with a 16-8 victory at two-time defending WIAC champion UW-Stevens Point last week, while River Falls was humbled 38-13 by UW-La Crosse. The teams have faced each other 85 times since 1911, with River Falls holding a 64-21 edge in the series. 

The game will definitely be a rushing battle. Stout is a ground force as well, averaging 238.7 rushing yards per game, mostly on the shoulders of freshman Luke Bundgaard, who is averaging 100 rushing yards per contest. River Falls balances the rushing in the wishbone, with five players with over 100 rushing yards after three games.

"There is no one in this league that I respect more than River Falls, from top to bottom. This is good team. Any one of their running backs can hurt us. It's like we have to tackle them all at once," said Stout coach Ed Meierkort. "We must adjust to the wishbone, but we have worked on the wishbone for the last six weeks. We are not going to change what River Falls does. We just have to try to slow them down and keep it out of the red zone. We will try no magical play. We will just line it up and have to have the confidence to get it done."

Around the region
How about the performance of Bethel cornerback Ben Matthews? The senior tied an NCAA single-game, all-divisions record with five interceptions as Bethel remained unbeaten with a 14-13 win against Gustavus. He also had six solo tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass break-up. Three of his interceptions stopped Gustie drives in the end zone, including a pickoff in the closing seconds as Gustavus was driving for a possible game-winning score. Matthews leads the nation with nine interceptions.

So which conference is the best in the region this season? Judging by the AFCA's Top 25 poll, it might be the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Three teams are ranked -- Central (No. 6), Wartburg (No. 11) and now Coe (No. 25), who broke into the Top 25 after a 56-13 triumph over Cornell. But 4-0 Coe has a serious test this week hosting 3-1 Simpson. The game will feature the two top offenses in the conference; Coe is averaging 465 yards and 42.5 points per game, while Simpson is averaging 418 yards and 32 points per game. The scoreboard operator in Cedar Rapids is going to get a workout on Saturday.

Of course, that operator could trade places with the scoreboard operator in Decorah, where 0-4 Dubuque plays at 0-3 Luther. Dubuque has been shut out in three games and scored just 12 points in the other; Luther is averaging just nine points per game and has been shut out once.

The beat goes on for Gustavus junior middle linebacker Brian Bergstrom, who accumulated 10-plus tackles for the 10th straight game in last week's loss to Bethel. He had 18 tackles (11 solo) in a losing effort, and now has 45 tackles on the season (21 solo). He now has 197 tackles on his career; the school career mark is 307.

Monmouth (0-3) gives cybercasting a try this week with what should be an entertaining game, as 3-0 Illinois College, perhaps the surprise team in the Midwest Conference early in the season, visits Monmouth, Ill., to face the Scots. It's the first time for Monmouth to broadcast its games on the web, joining an increasing roster of Division III schools giving the web a try to reach more and more people. Of course, you can find links to just about every webcast available for Division III football on this site, thanks to the efforts of my ever-faithful editor, Pat Coleman (he should thank me for the shameless plug!).

This column is drawn from a variety of sources, including the outstanding work and research of sports information directors from Division III schools all over the Midwest.