Coming off a disappointing 20-0 loss at the hands of 20th ranked Bethel University, the Gustavus Football team finds itself heading into the final four games of the season still fielding a chance of securing its first winning season since going 6-4 in 2008.
The Gusties will travel to St. John’s this weekend, looking to avoid suffering back-to-back losses for the first time this season. Gustavus will then finish the season with games against fourth-ranked St. Thomas, Augsburg and Carleton.
“Very good things have come out of the six games we’ve played so far,” Junior defensive back Brad Kruckeberg said, who is tied for the team lead with three interceptions. “We have shown this season that we can play with anyone in the MIAC.”
This season has been a roller coaster for the Gusties, who currently sit in a three-way tie for the third-best record in the MIAC with a 2-2 mark this fall against conference foes.
“It’s shaping up to be a tight conference race this season,” Sophomore offensive lineman Brian Grundmeyer said. “We’re excited, and we’re looking forward to closing out the season strong.”
Last Saturday, Gustavus struggled mightily against a talented Bethel team that remains undefeated this season, mustering only 97 total yards of offense. The road to the end of the season won’t get any easier for the Gusties, who must now play perennial contender St. John’s on its home turf and host a Tommies squad that has become a conference juggernaut this fall with a 7-0 overall record.
“We just thought too much when we played Bethel,” Senior offensive lineman Chris Martinez said. “We’ve had a couple of bumps in the road this season, but we’ve had some good games that we’ve been able to build off of.”
In the wake of last week’s loss to Bethel, the powers that be have decided to return to an emphasis on a ground attack that ranks fourth in the MIAC with an average of 167.3 yards per game. First-year running back Jeffrey Dubose currently sits in fourth place among MIAC running backs with 476 rushing yards spread over six games.
“We want to get back to running the football these last four games and just stay focused on the game at hand,” Grundmeyer said. “We’ve had a few good wins this season, so we’re hoping to build off that and win some more.”
The Gusties have proven that they can hang with anyone when they click as a team. All three of Gustavus’s victories this season have come by a margin of at least 24 points. The offense’s biggest output this season came in a 42-14 victory over Hamline two weeks ago, as Dubose ran all over the Piper defense to the tune of 202 yards while the Gusties logged 502 yards of total offense in the rout.
“We’ve shown that our offense can score a ton of points, that our defense can shut people down and that our special teams can make big plays,” Kruckeberg said. “In games where we’ve put them all together this season, we’ve been very successful.”
The Johnnies enter Saturday’s game with an overall mark of 3-3 on the season, which mirrors that of the Gusties. St. John’s and St. Olaf are the two teams that are tied with Gustavus for third place in the MIAC, meaning this weekend may help the Gusties pull away from the middle of the pack if they can pull out a win over the Johnnies.
“We’re excited for this weekend because we know that St. John’s is a good team, as they are every year,” Grundmeyer said. “If we get back to the basics this week and take care of the little things, we should be able to build off that and play well against St. John’s.”
Perhaps the biggest obstacle to overcoming the Johnnies may be the intimidation factor. St. John’s enters Saturday’s game having won in each of the past 12 meetings with the Gusties, including a 38-10 win at Hollingsworth Field last September.
“Hopefully this is the year that the [losing streak against St. John’s] ends and we can beat them,” Kruckeberg said. “It’ll be a tough, hard fought game. If our offense and defense bring their ‘A’ games then we should have a great shot at winning.”
With 14 seniors on the team’s roster, this squad has a fairly even mix between veteran savvy and young talent. This interesting combination has created a team dynamic that some say hasn’t been seen at Gustavus in years.
“Of my four years on this team, this is definitely the year that we’ve been the closest,” Martinez said. “We have had lots of fun this season, but we’ve also been able to get the job done when it counts.”
While the Gusties face a tough road ahead in closing out the season strong, Kruckeberg insists that his squad can never be counted out of the picture. “Year in and year out, this conference has proven that someone can be the underdog heading into a game and end up winning on any day,” Kruckeberg said. “Anything can happen in this league.”