The No. 4 St. Thomas football team (9-0, 7-0) has a lot on the line against second-place conference opponent St. Olaf (7-2, 5-2) Saturday at O’Shaughnessy Stadium.

Bethel (7-2, 5-2) and Concordia-Moorhead (7-2, 5-2) also sit tied for second in the MIAC. A victory allows St. Thomas to rewrite its own MIAC record: three consecutive 10-0 regular seasons.

“It’s an opportunity to close out a conference championship with an undefeated regular season,” coach Glenn Caruso said about Saturday’s game. “It gives us an opportunity to etch our name in stone.”

The Oles gained momentum off an 24-17 upset of Bethel, which was ranked No. 12 nationally before the loss last weekend. St. Olaf also brings the conference’s third-best scoring defense and second-rated pass defense into Saturday’s regular season finale. Not only is this game important for St. Thomas’ hopes of attaining home-field advantage throughout the NCAA playoffs, but St. Olaf is playing for an at-large bid.

“They (St. Olaf) played great against Bethel,” quarterback Matt O’Connell, who received this week’s MIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors, said. “They played to their strengths.”

Those strengths start on offense with quarterback Dan Dobson. Much of the Oles’ success this season can be linked to the quarterback’s impressive conference-leading 67.2 completion percentage and 2,185 passing yards.

Caruso said he thinks it’s tough to “allocate the right number of people to play the pass” to slow Dobson down.

“He’s ridiculously dynamic,” Caruso said. “He can make so many different throws on the field.”

Defensively, the Oles kept a strong Bethel offense at bay, allowing only 36 rushing yards to a Royal rushing game that averages 126 yards. St. Olaf also held Bethel to 2-of-12 on third-down conversions.

While facing an Ole defense coming off an impressive outing last weekend, O’Connell feels the Tommies need to stay balanced on offense, especially in their run game.

“It’s really important to take what the defense gives us,” O’Connell said. “It’s part of our game plan every week to run the ball and this week will be not different.”

The Tommies will also have to deal with Stephen Asp, the conference’s best statistical wide receiver, who averages 80 yards per game.

Caruso said his secondary does a “good job giving help when help is necessary.”

“We like to bring pressure, but our secondary is still zone-based concepts,” Caruso said. “He’s (Asp) still going to get those yards … but we’ve got to make him earn them.”

Defense has been the name of the game for St. Thomas. The Tommies turned in another dominant defensive performance last weekend, holding Concordia to its lowest scoring output of the season.

Caruso said the team’s all-around performance Saturday earned the program its most “pivotal victory.”

“There were so many guys who had to step up on the road at the end of the season with a conference championship on the line,” Caruso said. “I think it was tangible evidence that not only does our team play well when things are going well, but we can play well with depth in adverse times.”

St. Thomas’ offense used a strong ground game to open the field for deep passes against Concordia. O’Connell, who is undefeated as a first-year starter, said the offensive line keeps him comfortable in his role.

“The offensive line have a ton of experience and have made it easy for me to step in and do my job,” O’Connell said. “My job is to make the team successful and they’ve helped me do that.”

The offensive line’s play cannot be understated. Its performances have led to three different Tommie rushers with over 300 yards this season. The offensive line has also allowed only six sacks of O’Connell the entire year.

With playoff implications riding on Saturday’s result, linebacker Dan Bedor knows his team must stay focused on the task at hand.

“It’s extremely important to remain focused this week,” Bedor said. “In order for us to go where we would like to go with this season, it requires a strong finish and that can only be obtained through focusing on finishing the regular season.”

Ross Schreck can be reached at schr8250@stthomas.edu.