-This will be the first game in program history not in the central time zone.
-The Saints are coming off of their second consecutive NCAA playoff appearance, a 55-10 defeat to eventual national semifinalist UW-Oshkosh.
-St. Scholastica received last year's UMAC Automatic Qualifying bid after winning the conference tiebreaker when the team's name was selected by random draw by the UMAC commissioner.
-CSS returns 13 starters from last year's squad. 
-On offense junior QB Tyler Harper (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) returns and will look for All-UMAC wideout and senior, Cory Gebhard (St. Croix Falls, Wis./St. Croix Falls HS).  Look for 6-4 WR Spencer Specht (Ramsey, Minn./Anoka HS) to make a difference in the passing game this year. Harper will also have the opportunity to hand off to senior RB Jake Jensen (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul HS) and sophomore RB Chris Gassert (Moose Lake, Minn./Moose Lake HS).  Four offensive lineman return to anchor down the trenches which include Chris Lambach (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul HS), Matt Evans (Andover, Minn./St. Francis HS), Luke Scharrer (St. Paul, Minn./Mahtomedi HS), and All-UMAC center Pete Stanley (Rogers, Minn./Rogers HS).
-On the defensive side of the ball the Saints lost three starters on the defensive line due to graduation, but do return All-UMAC defensive end Blake Cedarleaf (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi HS).  Seniors Keaton Rush (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) and Tyler Zurn (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park HS) return and captain a very deep and talented linebacking core which include Paul Olson (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) and Alex Mangan (Eagan, Minn./Eagan HS).  The most experienced secondary in all of the UMAC returns as All-UMAC safety Alec French (Isanti, Minn./St. Francis HS) and All-UMAC cornerback Mike LaValley (Superior, Wis./Superior HS) as well as seniors Jake Turkowski (Superior, Wis./Superior HS) and Sherome Milon (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) return.
-Junior place-kicker Mike Theismann (St. Cloud, Minn./St. Cloud Apollo HS) returns after being selected as a Beyond Sports Network (BSN) First Team All-American as a kicker.  Theismann was 12-for-13 on field goal attempts and 35-for-37 on extra point attempts.  Theismann was named a preseason All-American by BSN.
-The Saints are 2-3 in season openers.

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-Whitworth is coming off of 7-3 year including a 5-0 record to start the year. The Pirates were unbeaten vs. non-conference teams in 2012.
-Whitworth has more experience and depth heading into a season opener than it has had in several seasons.
-The Pirates return 18 starters from last year's team including QB Bryan Peterson who had 1,762 yards passing to go along with 16 touchdowns in the 2012 season.
-WR Devin Lind is the only returning starter at the WR position.  The offensive line will have four starters returning and will have a lot of size.. 
-On defense Casey Monahan returns for his fourth season in the secondary, a secondary plagued by injuries last year.
-The Pirates finished 95th in D3 in total offense and 196th in total defense, but did have +8 in turnover margin.
-Whitworth had 115 players report to camp.
-The Pirates outscored opponents 80-48 in the opening quarter and 100-70 in the fourth quarter during the 2012 season.

 

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Series History: (CSS is 0-1 vs. Whitworth)
-Whitworth defeated the Saints to open last season by a score of 28-13 at PSS.
-The Pirates led 14-0 at the half and scored the first 28 points of the game.
-Ronnie Thomas rushed for 161 yards and three TDs.
-The Pirates out-rushed the Saints 223-93.