D3football.com Poll

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Saint John's University dropped one spot to No. 4 in the first D3football.com top 25 poll of the 2019 regular season released Sunday, Sept. 8.

Seven teams in the West region, including SJU, were ranked in D3football.com's top 25 (six of the seven in the top 15): Wisconsin-Whitewater (No. 3), St. Thomas (No. 6), Bethel (No. 10), Whitworth (No. 11), Linfield (No. 12) and Wisconsin-La Crosse (No. 23).   

SJU opened its 109th season with a 14-7 win Sept. 7 at Wisconsin-Stout. The Johnnies erased a 7-0 deficit with 14 points over a 2:02 span in the third quarter. SJU tied the game with a 9-play, 79-yard scoring drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Jackson Erdmann (Rosemount, Minn.) to junior running back Kenneth Udoibok (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) with 4:30 left in the third. The Johnnie defense forced a three-and-out and the offense wasted no time to take the lead, as Erdmann connected with sophomore running back Henry Trost (Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) on a 46-yard touchdown pass on SJU's first offensive play of the drive.

The Johnnie defense posted seven sacks, 12 tackles for loss and three second-half interceptions in the victory. Stout's second offensive possession was a 12-play, 77-yard scoring drive that ended on a 4-yard touchdown pass - on third-and-goal - with 4:25 left in the opening frame. The Blue Devils mustered only 100 yards of offense in the other 12 possessions.

The Johnnies (1-0 overall) have their bye week before hosting Gustavus Adolphus in two weeks (Sept. 21) for the MIAC opener and Family Weekend in Collegeville.