DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – The undefeated St. Scholastica football team hosts unbeaten University of Northwestern Saturday at Public Schools Stadium. It is also Homecoming for the Saints, but for the first time in program history the Homecoming game will not take place at Malosky Stadium.
                                                                    
Where:
Public Schools Stadium
 
When:
Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
 
Live Video: http://www.csssaints.com/ssn
                                                         
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St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 4-0, 3-0 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
 
The Saints survived a tough Westminster Blue Jay squad last Saturday in Fulton, Mo … The Saints trailed 17-3 before rallying past the Blue Jays … That is the third time in program history, the Saints have come back from at least 14 points down to win … The last time that happened was last season at the University of Northwestern.
 
UMAC Unbeatens in October: This will be the first time this century that two UMAC teams will face off against each other later than September when both squads don't have a loss overall.
 
UMAC Success: The Saints have won 15 straight UMAC games; a streak dating back to October 20, 2012 … CSS has lost only one UMAC game in the last three seasons … That 2012 loss came against Northwestern at Ordean Stadium.
 
Not Much Separation: The Saints have defeated their first four opponents by an average margin of 17.3 points, while the Eagles have defeated their first four opponents by an average of 18.3 points per game
 
Mid-Game Dominance: Through the first four games, Football has out-scored its opponents 79-13 in the second quarter, including 55-7 the last three weeks.
 
Opportunistic: The Saints have been able to capitalize off of opponent mistakes thus far this season, scoring 56 points off of opponents' turnovers.
 
Red Zone Success: The Saints had scored a touchdown on 13 straight possessions when entering the red zone up until last week when Westminster held them to a field goal on their first opportunity … CSS is still 17-for-17 on red zone chances this season … Opponents are only 10-for-16 when entering the red zone … Westminster was 3-for-6 last week.
 
O'Neil's Hands: Junior fullback Mitch O'Neil (Otsego, Minn./Rogers HS) caught nine passes for 93 yards last Saturday at Westminster … The nine receptions are the most by a Saint since the 2009 season.

Rhodes Player of the Week: Senior safety Xavier Rhodes (South St. Paul, Minn./South St. Paul HS) was named the UMAC Defensive Player of the Week for his 11 tackles, one interception, one forced fumble performance vs. Westminster.
 
Harper Milestones: Quarterback Tyler Harper (Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) went over 5,000 career yards of total offense last week and now holds the program record for completions in a career (354) … Harper is just two pass TDs shy of 50 for his career and is just 194 yards shy of passing Alex Thiry for career passing yards.
 
Cedarleaf on the Edge: Senior defensive end Blake Cedarleaf (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi HS) is 1.5 sacks shy of tying Christopher Doran's program record of 13.5 sacks in a career.
 
Measuring Up Past Opponents: The combined record of CSS' first four opponents is 5-10, while Northwestern's first four opponents are 2-14.
 
Series History: The Saints are 3-3 all-time against the Eagles … Northwestern is 2-1 when playing the Saints in the Duluth … This will be the first matchup between the two schools at Public Schools Stadium.
 
University of Northwestern Eagles
The Eagles opened the season with a 17-16 triumph over St. Olaf College of the MIAC … The Eagles have played under the lights three of their first four games thanks to the improved Reynolds Field complex … Northwestern was picked to finish third in the UMAC, according to the preseason coaches' poll, but did receive two first-place votes … The running game is the strength of the Eagles as they are led by the tandem of senior Josh Sinnen and junior Chris Simon-Wallace … Simon-Wallace did not place last season after rushing for 724 yards his sophomore season … Senior quarterback Jacob Fletcher has been efficient this season, completing a conference-best 67 percent of his attempts … The Eagles have the best third down conversion rate in the league (60 percent) … Senior linebacker Nathan Van Zee leads the defensive unit with 34 tackles.
 
Head Coach Kirk Talley: Coach Talley is in his 14^th season as head coach of Northwestern … Under Talley's watch, the Eagles won back-to-back Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season championships in 2001 and 2002 with undefeated league records, a north division title in the UMAC in 2003, and two more outright conference titles with undefeated league records in 2005, 2007 and 2008 … 2012 saw Northwestern grab another league trophy as the UMAC Co-Champion … Talley was selected the UMAC Coach of the Year in the 2001, 2005, 2008, and 2012 campaigns.