Winona State-Mankato matchup highlights Minnesota college football schedule

Winona State takes on No.3 Mankato

GAME OF THE WEEK

Winona State at MSU Mankato, 1 p.m., Saturday: Winona State (2-1, 2-1 NSIC South) is coming off a 28-0 victory over Upper Iowa. MSU Mankato (3-0, 3-0), ranked No. 3 in Division II, defeated Concordia (St. Paul) 29-3 last week for its 27th consecutive regular-season victory. MSU Mankato defeated Winona 31-21 last year.

WEEK 4 STORY LINES

• St. Scholastica is off to its best start since 2014. After opening with three home games, the Saints (3-0, 1-0 UMAC) travel to Fulton, Mo., this week to play Westminster (1-2, 1-0).

• Three MIAC teams are ranked in the Top of the D3football.com Top 25 — St. John's at No. 4, St. Thomas at No. 6 and Bethel at No. 8. All three play on the road this week — St. John's at Carleton and Bethel at Gustavus and in a nonconference game, St. Thomas at Wis.-Eau Claire.

• Jack Leius, who spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons in the Gophers program, is the second-leading tackler (18) for MSU Mankato. Leius, the son of former Twins infielder Scott Leius, redshirted with the Gophers as a freshman and saw no action last season. He was named the Gophers' special teams scout player of the year in 2017.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

T.J. Liggett, LB, Augustana: The sophomore from Rosemount leads the Vikings with 16 solo tackles and 22 total. He had seven solo tackles and forced two fumbles in the Vikings' 26-13 victory over Wayne State last week.

Danny Pietruszewski, LB, St. John's: The junior from South St. Paul leads the MIAC (in all games) with six tackles for loss and is tied for the MIAC lead with three sacks.