Area colleges: Carleton and Bethel battle; can Mac go 4-0?

GAME OF THE WEEK

Carleton at Bethel, 1 p.m. Saturday: Bethel has used two solid defensive efforts to start the season 2-0. The Royals, who are ranked No. 8 in the coaches' Division III poll and No. 11 in the d3football.com poll, have allowed just seven points and 112 rushing yards in victories over Wartburg and Buena Vista. The Royals, who are ranked No. 3 in Division III in total defense, defeated Buena Vista 56-7 last Saturday. Carleton, which was 2-8 last season, is also 2-0 after a 21-14 victory over Hamline last Saturday.

WEEK 4 STORY LINES

Concordia (Moorhead): Concordia, which plays host to St. John's on Saturday, is off to its best start since the 2005 season. The Cobbers, who were picked fifth in the MIAC coaches' preseason poll, improved to 3-0 with a 28-14 victory over St. Olaf in Northfield last Saturday. The Cobbers opened last season with two victories before losing to St. John's 28-21 in overtime in Moorhead. St. John's (2-1) has defeated the Cobbers three consecutive times and has won six of the past seven meetings between the two. The Johnnies lost to St. Thomas 43-21 last week.

Macalester: The Scots, who are 3-0 for the first time since 1984, will try to open a season 4-0 for the first time since 1898 when they play Lewis & Clark in Portland, Ore., on Saturday. Last Saturday, the Scots defeated Maranatha 49-6 as Clark Bledsoe threw four TD passes. Bledsoe became the school's career leader in TD passes (37). Lewis & Clark, which went 8-48 between 2004 and 2010, was 7-2 last season and is 2-0 this season. The Pioneers defeated Pomona-Pitzer 31-13 last Saturday.

MSU Mankato: MSU Mankato overcame an injury to its starting quarterback to defeat St. Cloud State 25-21 last Saturday and improve to 3-0. Redshirt freshman Mitch Brozovich replaced Jon Wolf and passed for 113 yards to lead the Mavericks to their first victory in St. Cloud since 1999. The Huskies had won eight of the past nine games between the two. The Mavericks, ranked No. 7 in the d2football.com poll, play host to MSU Moorhead on Saturday.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Peter Hvidston, LB, Concordia (Moorhead): The 6-1 senior from Fargo, N.D., leads the MIAC in tackles (33) and sacks (five) and is second in tackles for loss (5.5). Last Saturday, Hvidston had nine tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss in the Cobbers' 28-14 victory over St. Olaf. Hvidston led the Cobbers with 91 tackles last season.

Chase Vogler, QB, Minnesota-Duluth: The 6-1 senior from Inver Grove Heights was nearly flawless in the Bulldogs' 70-24 victory over Concordia (St. Paul). Vogler completed 22 of 26 passes for a career-high 296 yards and three TDs. He also rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown. Vogler ranks fifth in Division II in passing efficiency (180.91) and has completed 71.8 percent of his passes without an interception.