The Tommie football team (8-0) can clinch its second-straight MIAC conference title with a win at home on Saturday. All that stands in its way is 1-7 Gustavus. 

The Gusties lost a close game to St. John’s (3-4) last week 24 -16 and have been on the wrong side of a few other close ones as well this season.

“It’s one of these games where as a coach you’re very nervous because the record that you see does not necessarily reflect how good the team is,” coach Glenn Caruso said. “They’ve lost a lot of very close games, but it seems like they’re in every single game.”

He added, “They’re fighting and battling. It’s important for us to understand you don’t look at a record in a team like this.”

The Tommies won a hard-fought battle against Bethel last weekend 23-13, sealing the victory late in the fourth quarter with junior cornerback Jack Gavin’s interception, his second of the season.

Senior running back Colin Tobin, who rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns last week, said that it is comforting to know the team is capable of winning close games.

“It felt great just to have the team perform like it did and come together and fight through a tough opponent like Bethel,” Tobin said. “It was a great test moving forward into the playoffs.”

Caruso rewarded his players for the win with a rare “victory Sunday,” only the fourth Sunday he has given the team off in his four-year tenure at St. Thomas. The team can thank former player Tommy Becker and Renaissance painter Michelangelo.

Becker texted Caruso, apparently a Michelangelo fan, Friday morning with a quote from the painter that read, ”If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.”

“I think a lot of people want to pay attention to the numbers and the records and the stats and the end-all results, but in reality it really is nothing more than a byproduct of the work they put in,” Caruso said. “Our kids last week and all year long have been putting in such an enormous amount of work that we found it entirely appropriate to give them victory Sunday.”

While the victory against Bethel was no masterpiece, it did bring the Tommies one step closer to an important goal: a second straight MIAC conference championship.

“We were fortunate enough last year to work hard enough to go 10-0 and win a MIAC championship, and we’re going to work as hard as we can to do that,” Caruso said. “But 10-0 is not going to happen unless we’re 9-0 so our focus stays on this week.”

Senior quarterback Dakota Tracy, who threw two interceptions against Bethel and two at Gustavus last season, is looking to bounce back against the Gusties this weekend.

“I want to put the team in the best situation to get that win, so ball security is going to be as always a focal point, and a couple touchdowns here and there wouldn’t hurt either,” Tracy said.

Ball handling will be key Saturday.

“Quite literally we have to take care of the football,” Caruso said. “I think that’s very important because any time you give a team extra possessions you’re always in threat of ending up on the bad side of things.”

The Gusties will have to contend with the Tommies’ renowned run defense, which even after giving up 131 yards to Bethel’s potent rush attack, remains second in the nation at 55.5 yards-per-game.

Though the Gusties are only 1-7, the Tommies won’t be quick to overlook them.

“Take it game by game, take one win at a time,” Tobin said. “We don’t take any games for granted, any teams for granted, but we do know where we want to be come December.”

Tom Graves can be reached at grav5886@stthomas.edu.