BY JOHN KIPPER, CONTRIBUTING WRITER

After starting the season 3-1, Augsburg Football faced the top two perennial powers of the MIAC (St. Thomas and St. John’s) in back-to-back weeks, dropping to 3-3 overall with a 1-3 conference record.

Against St. Thomas, the Auggie offense managed to put up 25 points against a defense that allows only 13 points per game including two shut-outs. This is particularly impressive considering that St. Thomas’ front seven dominated the Augsburg run game resulting in the Auggies having a -27 net rushing yards. Defensively, the Auggies were steamrolled. They gave up 267 yards on the ground (5.9 per carry) and 247 yards through the air, and they ultimately ended in a 57-25 final.

The following week saw the Auggies travel to St. Cloud to face a stellar St. John’s squad that has only lost to St. Thomas. After a Tyler Hanson field goal in the first quarter, Augsburg’s offense was nonexistent and failed to put points up for the rest of the game.

The Auggies only had possession of the ball for 23 minutes, which resulted in the defense being on the field for a grueling 37. Dusty Krueger led the St. John’s rushing attack that wore down Augsburg and scored three of the Johnnies four rushing touchdowns as he averaged 6.9 yards per carry. The fatigue was well apparent with St. John’s recording 35 second half points, 21 of them coming in the 4th quarter.

This week is homecoming, and the Auggies will take on St. Olaf, a 2-3 team that has struggled considerably this season. It will be a welcome relief after facing the two best teams in the MIAC.

This article first appeared in the Friday, October 13, 2017, Edition of The Echo.