The St. Thomas football team (6-1, 5-1 in MIAC) has a chance at home this Saturday to avenge last season’s heartbreaking 22-20 defeat at Augsburg College (4-3, 3-2).

“Last year was a tough loss,” senior linebacker Zach Sturm said. “But we’re excited to get another opportunity.”

The Tommies are ranked 15th nationally and look to keep rolling after crushing Carleton College 48-24 last week. As for Augsburg, the Auggies are trying to extend a three-game winning streak.

The game looks to be a shoot out between the top two offenses in the MIAC. St. Thomas averages almost 424 yards per game with Augsburg not far behind racking up 396 yards per game.

As a result, defense figures to be important.

Need for strong defense

“[The defense] has to play as a unit and play as a team,” Sturm said. “We have to get some pressure on the quarterback and just stick to the game plan. They have a solid quarterback and a decent receiving corps, so they’ll be passing the ball quite a bit.”

The Tommie defense has the task of stopping the potent trio of sophomore quarterback Marcus Brumm and wide receivers junior Muneer Al-Hameed and senior Mike Nourie. Al-Hameed and Nourie lead the team in receiving yards, averaging about 93 and 92 yards per game, respectively.

But St. Thomas currently leads the MIAC in pass defense – allowing a paltry 158 yards per game. Augsburg’s defense ranks last in the MIAC giving up 428 yards per game.

St. Thomas sophomore quarterback Dakota Tracy should see significant playing time after scoring two touchdowns with his feet in last week’s win.

Matt Wolfgram can be reached at mnwolfgram@stthomas.edu