University of St. Thomas Athletics
Saturday, September 7
St. Paul, Minn.
1:00 p.m. CT
vs
Northern Iowa
The Tommies celebrate a touchdown in the second half of Thursday's game vs. USF.
Photo by: Kylie Macziewski
Tommie football to host (RV) Northern Iowa on Saturday
9/3/2024 4:58:00 PM | Football
First Missouri Valley Football Conference team to travel to O'Shaughnessy Stadium
ST. PAUL, MINN. – It's a big weekend for the University of St. Thomas football team, perhaps the biggest of the Division I era. The Tommies will host a Football Championship Series (FCS) power for the first time in program history this upcoming weekend, as they prepare to host the University of Northern Iowa. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at O'Shaughnessy Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Consistently a top-25 ranked team in head coach Mark Farley's tenure, Northern Iowa received votes in the most recent AFCA top-25 poll after a dominant win over Valparaiso. St. Thomas, meanwhile, is looking for its first victory of the 2024 season on Saturday, and what a historic victory it would be. A win over the Panthers on Saturday would be the first for the Tommies over an FCS scholarship program and would avenge their 2021 loss in Cedar Falls.
Tickets are still available for Saturday's contest and can be purchased online at www.tommiesports.com/tickets. Fans who are unable to attend in person can now watch St. Thomas football through Midco Sports Plus and the Midco Sports Plus App. The subscription-based service will provide a digital streaming platform for regular season home St. Thomas football games along with exclusive Tommie and Pioneer Football League (PFL) content, including replays, highlights, interviews, and special feature stories. Subscriptions cost $9.99 per month or $79.99 for an annual plan. Fans can also listen to the call on 1500 ESPN and the Varsity Network App and follow Live Stats on TommieSports.com.
PREGAME FESTIVITES: St. Thomas will once again host Purple in the Plaza before all home games in 2024 and will kickoff at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The Tommie men's and women's hockey teams will be signing autographs in the Plaza from 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., and there will be plenty of prizes and giveaways from St. Thomas sponsors.
LAST TIME OUT: St. Thomas season did not get off to the start either team, head coach Glenn Caruso or fans were hoping for. Despite scoring the opening touchdown of the game, the Tommies fell to upset-minded Sioux Falls 34-13 in their first night game of the Division I era. St. Thomas could not have asked for a better start, as Branden Smith intercepted Cougar quarterback Camden Dean on the third play of the game, eventually leading to a Jacob Wildermuth touchdown and 7-0 lead. However, Sioux Falls scored 11 unanswered points, resulting in an 11-7 halftime lead for the Cougars before extending that lead to 20-7 early in the third quarter. The Tommies never recovered, falling by a final score of 34-13.
THE OPPOSITION: Mark Farley has made Northern Iowa a household name in FCS football. Consistently ranked in the AFCA Top-25, the Panthers kicked off 2024 with a resounding 35-7 win over Valparaiso, outscoring the Beacons 28-7 in the first 30 minutes of play. In fact, Northern Iowa held Valparaiso to just five first downs in regulation, one of which was gained on a penalty. The Beacons only mustered 16 net rushing yards against the Panthers stingy defense and 108 passing yards, showing Farley's team has not missed a step after a disappointing 2023.
WHOLE LOTTA WINNING: Saturday's showdown will feature two of the winningest coaches in football history. When Caruso and Farley square off on Saturday, they will have won a combined 338 games and have lost just 144 games in their 24 years as head coaches. Caruso holds a slight edge with a .793 career winning percentage compared to Farley's equally impressive .637 percentage.
HAPPY 120th!: Thursday kicked off the 120th season of Tommie football, according to available records. St. Thomas played its first intercollegiate football game in 1904 and won its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) title in 1922. Since then, the Tommies have won 22 total conference titles, including their first Pioneer Football League (PFL) title in 2022.
TOP-3 EXPECTATIONS: For the third consecutive season, the Tommies are expected to finish top-3 in the Pioneer Football League (PFL) standings. St. Thomas was picked to finish second, receiving 87 total votes, including one first place vote, from the PFL coaches. Since joining the conference in 2021, the Tommies have only lost three games in PFL, going undefeated in 2022 and losing just one game to Drake in 2023.
NINE IS JUST FINE: The Tommies saw nine student-athletes receive Preseason All-Conference honors, either from the PFL or Phil Steele. Seniors Hope Adebayo and Alec Rasmussen were the only two players named to both teams, as they both garnered First Team honors from the PFL and Phil Steele.
First Team All-Conference honorees:
Hope Adebayo (PFL, Phil Steele)
Alec Rasmussen (PFL, Phil Steele)
Luke Herzog (Phil Steele)
Second Team All-Conference honorees:
Langston Robinson (Phil Steele)
Brock Stanek (Phil Steele)
Third Team All-Conference honorees:
Landon Reed (Phil Steele)
Matthew Rink (Phil Steele)
Nick Hand (Phil Steele)
CJ Warren (Phil Steele)
ALL GOOD THINGS...: Must come to an end. With Thursday's loss, Sioux Falls snapped St. Thomas' NCAA-leading home field win streak. Entering the contest, the Tommies had won 31 consecutive games at O'Shaughnessy Stadium, having not suffered a loss since the 2016 Division III NCAA Tournament. It was an even longer streak counting just regular games. Before Thursday, St. Thomas won 42 consecutive regular season games on its home field, a streak dating back to October 11, 2014
DON'T CRY BECAUSE IT'S OVER: Smile because it happened. The Tommies 42-regular season game home field win streak was nothing short of impressive. In 42 games, St. Thomas outscored its opponents 2019-499 and averaged 48.1 points per game while holding opponents to just 11.9 points per game. Additionally, the Tommies recorded eight shutouts during their impressive streak, including a 36-0 win over Butler for their first home field win of the Division I era.
THE AVENGERS: St. Thomas is a very different team than Northern Iowa faced back in 2021. The Tommies suffered a 44-3 loss to the Panthers in 2021 with a roster composed primarily of Division III recruits and players. Only eight current St. Thomas student-athletes played in the game: Grif Wurtz, Hope Adebayo, Branden Smith (as a quarterback), Luke Herzog, IBK Mafe, Landon Reed, Nick Flaskamp and Aiden Carlson. In total, only 20 current players were on the roster in 2021. In addition to the eight student-athletes who appeared in that contest four years ago, David Ayeni, Nick Hand, Jacob Wildermuth, Caden Nelson, Seth Hopkins, Noah Friedt, Langston Robinson, Jason Laliberte, Alec Rasmussen, Shea Albrecht, Brock Stanek and CJ Warren were members of the Tommies roster.
STOP THE RUN!: St. Thomas' defense will have its hands full Saturday afternoon. UNI running back Tye Edwards rushed for 174 yards against Valpo last weekend, a performance which ranked fourth in all of FCS. Somehow, Edwards individual performance paled in comparison to the Panthers team performance. UNI led all the FCS in rush yards gained last weekend, tallying 365 total against the Beacons.
Consistently a top-25 ranked team in head coach Mark Farley's tenure, Northern Iowa received votes in the most recent AFCA top-25 poll after a dominant win over Valparaiso. St. Thomas, meanwhile, is looking for its first victory of the 2024 season on Saturday, and what a historic victory it would be. A win over the Panthers on Saturday would be the first for the Tommies over an FCS scholarship program and would avenge their 2021 loss in Cedar Falls.
Tickets are still available for Saturday's contest and can be purchased online at www.tommiesports.com/tickets. Fans who are unable to attend in person can now watch St. Thomas football through Midco Sports Plus and the Midco Sports Plus App. The subscription-based service will provide a digital streaming platform for regular season home St. Thomas football games along with exclusive Tommie and Pioneer Football League (PFL) content, including replays, highlights, interviews, and special feature stories. Subscriptions cost $9.99 per month or $79.99 for an annual plan. Fans can also listen to the call on 1500 ESPN and the Varsity Network App and follow Live Stats on TommieSports.com.
PREGAME FESTIVITES: St. Thomas will once again host Purple in the Plaza before all home games in 2024 and will kickoff at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. The Tommie men's and women's hockey teams will be signing autographs in the Plaza from 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., and there will be plenty of prizes and giveaways from St. Thomas sponsors.
LAST TIME OUT: St. Thomas season did not get off to the start either team, head coach Glenn Caruso or fans were hoping for. Despite scoring the opening touchdown of the game, the Tommies fell to upset-minded Sioux Falls 34-13 in their first night game of the Division I era. St. Thomas could not have asked for a better start, as Branden Smith intercepted Cougar quarterback Camden Dean on the third play of the game, eventually leading to a Jacob Wildermuth touchdown and 7-0 lead. However, Sioux Falls scored 11 unanswered points, resulting in an 11-7 halftime lead for the Cougars before extending that lead to 20-7 early in the third quarter. The Tommies never recovered, falling by a final score of 34-13.
THE OPPOSITION: Mark Farley has made Northern Iowa a household name in FCS football. Consistently ranked in the AFCA Top-25, the Panthers kicked off 2024 with a resounding 35-7 win over Valparaiso, outscoring the Beacons 28-7 in the first 30 minutes of play. In fact, Northern Iowa held Valparaiso to just five first downs in regulation, one of which was gained on a penalty. The Beacons only mustered 16 net rushing yards against the Panthers stingy defense and 108 passing yards, showing Farley's team has not missed a step after a disappointing 2023.
WHOLE LOTTA WINNING: Saturday's showdown will feature two of the winningest coaches in football history. When Caruso and Farley square off on Saturday, they will have won a combined 338 games and have lost just 144 games in their 24 years as head coaches. Caruso holds a slight edge with a .793 career winning percentage compared to Farley's equally impressive .637 percentage.
HAPPY 120th!: Thursday kicked off the 120th season of Tommie football, according to available records. St. Thomas played its first intercollegiate football game in 1904 and won its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) title in 1922. Since then, the Tommies have won 22 total conference titles, including their first Pioneer Football League (PFL) title in 2022.
TOP-3 EXPECTATIONS: For the third consecutive season, the Tommies are expected to finish top-3 in the Pioneer Football League (PFL) standings. St. Thomas was picked to finish second, receiving 87 total votes, including one first place vote, from the PFL coaches. Since joining the conference in 2021, the Tommies have only lost three games in PFL, going undefeated in 2022 and losing just one game to Drake in 2023.
NINE IS JUST FINE: The Tommies saw nine student-athletes receive Preseason All-Conference honors, either from the PFL or Phil Steele. Seniors Hope Adebayo and Alec Rasmussen were the only two players named to both teams, as they both garnered First Team honors from the PFL and Phil Steele.
First Team All-Conference honorees:
Hope Adebayo (PFL, Phil Steele)
Alec Rasmussen (PFL, Phil Steele)
Luke Herzog (Phil Steele)
Second Team All-Conference honorees:
Langston Robinson (Phil Steele)
Brock Stanek (Phil Steele)
Third Team All-Conference honorees:
Landon Reed (Phil Steele)
Matthew Rink (Phil Steele)
Nick Hand (Phil Steele)
CJ Warren (Phil Steele)
ALL GOOD THINGS...: Must come to an end. With Thursday's loss, Sioux Falls snapped St. Thomas' NCAA-leading home field win streak. Entering the contest, the Tommies had won 31 consecutive games at O'Shaughnessy Stadium, having not suffered a loss since the 2016 Division III NCAA Tournament. It was an even longer streak counting just regular games. Before Thursday, St. Thomas won 42 consecutive regular season games on its home field, a streak dating back to October 11, 2014
DON'T CRY BECAUSE IT'S OVER: Smile because it happened. The Tommies 42-regular season game home field win streak was nothing short of impressive. In 42 games, St. Thomas outscored its opponents 2019-499 and averaged 48.1 points per game while holding opponents to just 11.9 points per game. Additionally, the Tommies recorded eight shutouts during their impressive streak, including a 36-0 win over Butler for their first home field win of the Division I era.
THE AVENGERS: St. Thomas is a very different team than Northern Iowa faced back in 2021. The Tommies suffered a 44-3 loss to the Panthers in 2021 with a roster composed primarily of Division III recruits and players. Only eight current St. Thomas student-athletes played in the game: Grif Wurtz, Hope Adebayo, Branden Smith (as a quarterback), Luke Herzog, IBK Mafe, Landon Reed, Nick Flaskamp and Aiden Carlson. In total, only 20 current players were on the roster in 2021. In addition to the eight student-athletes who appeared in that contest four years ago, David Ayeni, Nick Hand, Jacob Wildermuth, Caden Nelson, Seth Hopkins, Noah Friedt, Langston Robinson, Jason Laliberte, Alec Rasmussen, Shea Albrecht, Brock Stanek and CJ Warren were members of the Tommies roster.
STOP THE RUN!: St. Thomas' defense will have its hands full Saturday afternoon. UNI running back Tye Edwards rushed for 174 yards against Valpo last weekend, a performance which ranked fourth in all of FCS. Somehow, Edwards individual performance paled in comparison to the Panthers team performance. UNI led all the FCS in rush yards gained last weekend, tallying 365 total against the Beacons.
Players Mentioned
RB
/ Football
OL
/ Football
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
LB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
OL
/ Football
LB
/ Football
OL
/ Football
RB
/ Football
TE
/ Football
OL
/ Football
DB
/ Football
OL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ FootballPress Conference: Tommie Football Postgame v Lindenwood 08/28/25
Friday, August 29
Tommie Football Intro Video 2025
Thursday, August 28
Press Conference: Tommie Football Postgame vs Dayton
Saturday, November 23
Press Conference: Tommie Football Postgame vs Drake 11.09.24
Tuesday, November 12
