Game Five | No. 8/9 Wartburg at Luther College 
1 PM | Saturday, Oct. 4 | Legacy Field in Carlson Stadium | Decorah, Iowa 
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The No. 8/9 Wartburg College football team (4-0, 2-0 A-R-C) hits the road Saturday, Oct. 4, for a 1 p.m. matchup against Luther College (0-4, 0-2 A-R-C) at Legacy Field inside Carlson Stadium.  
 
KNIGHTS 
Record: 4-0, 2-0 A-R-C 
Last Game: vs Coe (17-7) 
Rankings: D3football - No.8 /AFCA - No. 9 
Head Coach: Chris Winter (5th Season) | 47-7 overall 
All-time vs. Luther: 49-30-1 
 
NORSE 
Record: 0-4, 0-2 A-R-C 
Last Game: vs Nebraska Wesleyan (L, 44-7) 
Rankings: N/A 
Head Coach: Joe Troche (4th Season) | 3-31 overall 
  
SERIES INFO 
The Knights have secured the past seven matchups against the Norse, with a combined scoring margin of 378-43. Luther last took down Wartburg on Nov. 5, 2016, 28-27. Dating back to 1988, the Knights have just dropped three of their 36 matchups.  

The last time Wartburg traveled to Decorah was Oct. 7, 2023, resulting in a 54-0 shutout victory.  
  
Last 10 Matchups vs. Luther  

• Oct. 25, 2014 vs. Luther (W, 52-7) 
• Oct. 24, 2015 at Luther (W, 47-7) 
• Nov. 5, 2016 vs. Luther (L, 27-28) 
• Oct. 21, 2017 at Luther (W, 41-16) 
• Nov 03, 2018 vs. Luther (W, 43-7) 
• Sept 21, 2019 at Luther (W, 62-10) 
• Oct 16, 2021 at Luther (W, 67-0) 
• Sept. 17, 2022 vs Luther (W, 62-0) 
• * Oct 07, 2023 at Luther (W, 54-0) 
• * Nov 2, 20224 vs Luther (W, 49-10) 

  
WARTBURG 
Running back Joey Anderson leads the ground game with 297 yards and three scores on 53 carries (72.75 ypg). He's followed by Dawson Rud with 189 yards and Carson Bruns with 98 yards on 18 carries and a score. Through the air, Dodd has thrown for 488 yards (122 ypg) with three touchdowns and a 56.8% completion rate. Josh Papesh started his first game of the season against Coe last weekend, completing 12-of-20 passes for 143 yards.   Dylan Swanstrom has reeled in 16 catches for 160 yards, averaging 40 yards per game. Jagger Schmitt sits behind with nine grabs for 151 yards and two scores (leads Knights), as Justis Bachman nears the 100-yard mark with 94 on eight catches.  

The Knights are averaging 20.3 points per game while limiting opponents to just 6.7. Offensively, Wartburg averages 337 yards per outing, splitting nearly evenly between the run (175.5) and pass (161.5).  
 
Defensively, Wartburg has been one, if not the, toughest in the country. The Knights limit opposing squads to just 244 yards of total offense which ranks No. 29 in Div. III and top the American Rivers Conference. Wartburg allows just 31.8 yards on the turf, ranking fifth nationally. Through the air, the Knights have picked off nine to lead the nation in that category, with a pair of defensive scores to rank fourth. Twelve total turnovers are put to Wartburg's name that also ranks top five in the country.  
 
Linebacker Keenan Tyler anchors the defense with 41 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, one sack, and a pass breakup. He's joined in double figures by Mac Watts (40), Conner Grover (23), Jason O'Boye (19), Sam Roose (14), Blake Janssen (12), Tyler Gayer (11), Owen Hatcher (11), Jake Walker (11), and Conner McDonald (10). McDonald leads the Knights with 4.0 TFLs, as Watts, Walker and Hatcher each have been credited with 3.5.  
 
Wartburg's quartet of O'Boye, Roose, Janssen and Gayer lead the defensive room with a pair of interceptions on the season.  
  
ABOUT THE NORSE 
Luther comes in searching for its first win since Sept. 28 of last season, averaging just 193.3 yards of total offense this season - the Norse defense allows a hefty 469.8 yards to opposing teams.  

Senior halfback Aiden Damiani leads the Norse ground game with 138 yards on 38 attempts and a score, while junior quarterback Brett Liljedahl has completed 25 of his 66 attempts for 259 yards and one touchdown.  
  
WINTER'S HEAVY FLURRY IN WINS 
Winter has compiled a 47-7 record at the helm, including last year's 10-2 mark with an 8-0 run through conference play. Wartburg has now strung together 28 straight league victories dating back to 2021.  
 
WINTER AND CO. ON THE ROAD 
Winter is 20-5 in true road contests, with his last road loss coming Sept. 14, 2024, at then-No. 12 Saint John's (35-13).  
  
32 STRAIGHT WINNING SEASONS 
The Knights are chasing their 33rd consecutive winning season. Over the past nine years, Wartburg has gone 90-18.  
  
A-R-C DOMINANCE 
Wartburg is seeking to become the first team since Central (1964–67) to win four straight A-R-C championships. The Knights enter the weekend riding a 28-game conference win streak.   
 
PLAYER SPOTLIGHTS  
   
OUT OF THE BACKFIELD 
Running backs Joey Anderson and Dawson Rud have controlled the backfield this season, combining for 486 yards. Anderson averages 72.75 per game, as Rud sits at 43.75 per contest.  
 
BACHMAN BREAKOUT   
 WR Justis Bachman set career highs with five catches for 57 yards vs. Monmouth.  
 
TACKLIN' TYLER   
LB Keenan Tyler has tallied 41 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, one sack, and a pass breakup. Tyler's 10.3 tackles per game rank third in the A-R-C and 36th in Div. III.  
 
NO FLY ZONE 
Tyler Gayer, Blake Janssen, Jason O'Boye and Same Roose have each picked off two passes to lead the nation as a team in the category.  
 
WALKER WHEELS IN D3football.com TOTW HONOR 
The Waverly, Iowa native posted a season-high five tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, and a forced fumble in Wartburg's 17-7 win over Coe last weekend. 
  
HOPPES BOOTS HISTORIC PUNT VS SIMPSON  
Jaxson Hoppes delivered a school-record breaking 84-yard punt in the second quarter in Wartburg's 27-13 win over Simpson. Hoppes' boot shatters the previous program mark of 64 yards set in 2013 and sits just shy of the Division III all-time list.   
  
NCAA Div. III Longest Punts  
Yds.         Player, Team (Opponent)                                                 Year  
95             Austin Baker, Heidelberg (John Carroll)                         2018  
91            Gunnar Rastenburg, Maranatha Baptist (Presentation)  2014  
90            Jake Baumgartner, Bluffton (Saint Vincent)                    2021  
90            Sean Lipscomb, Redlands (Pomona-Pitzer)                   2002  
90            Dan Heeren, Coe (Lawrence)                                         1974  
88            Brooks Barker, Hardin-Simmons (Howard Payne)          2021  
88            Steve Vagedes, Ohio Northern (Capital)                         1999  
86            Vicente Lyon, Hobart                                                       2024  
86            Kurtis Brondyke, Central (IA) (Loras)                              2010  
86            David Anastasi, Buffalo (John Carroll)                            1989  
86            Dana Loucks, Buffalo (Frostburg St.)                             1987  
86            John Pavlik, Wabash (Centre)                                        1978  
85            Jeff Shea, Cal Lutheran (Azusa Pacific)                         1996  
  
With Hoppes' performance, he earned his second consecutive A-R-C Player of the Week award, as well as being named to the D3football.com Team of the Week as a punter in week three.  
  
NATIONAL RANKINGS  
Wartburg remain to No. 9 in the latest AFCA Division III Coaches' Poll and No. 8 in D3football.com. The Knights have now appeared in the Top 25 for 39 straight weeks, dating back to Sept. 19, 2022, and have been a preseason top-10 program for three consecutive years.  
 
Wartburg Preseason Ranking  
2023 – No. 5  
2024 – No. 4  
2025 – No. 9  
 
Wartburg Regular Season Ranking By Week – D3football.com 
Week 1 – No. 10 
Week 2 – No. 10 
Week 3 – No. 7 
Week 4 – No. 8 
  
Wartburg Regular Season Ranking By Week - AFCA 
Week 1 - No. 9  
Week 2 – No. 10  
Week 3 – No. 11  
Week 4 – No. 9  
  
AFCA Division III Coaches' Poll – Presented by Hudl - Week 4 

1. North Central (51) 
2. Mount Union 
3. Johns Hopkins 
4. St. John's (Minn.) 
5. UW-La Crosse 
6. Salisbury 
7. Hardin-Simmons 
8. UW-Platteville 
9. Wartburg 
10. UW-Whitewater 
11. Bethel (Minn.) 
12. UW-River Falls 
13. DePauw 
14. Trinity (Tex.) 
15. Wheaton 
16. Carnegie Mellon 
17. UW-Oshkosh 
18. Central (Iowa) 
19. John Carroll 
20. Cortland 
21. Hampden-Sydney 
22. Mary Hardin-Baylor 
23. Hope 
24. Christopher Newport 
25. Wabash 

Dropped Out: Susquehanna (14), Grove City (19) 
 
D3football.com Top 25 Week 4 Poll 

1. North Central (22) 
2. Mount Union (3) 
3. Johns Hopkins 
4. St. John's 
5. UW-La Crosse 
6. Salisbury 
7. UW-Platteville 
8. Wartburg 
9. UW-Whitewater 
10. Hardin-Simmons 
11. UW-River Falls 
12. Bethel 
13. DePauw 
14. Wheaton (Ill.) 
15. UW-Oshkosh 
16. John Carroll 
17. Carnegie Mellon 
18. Trinity (Texas) 
19. Central 
20. Hope 
21. Mary Hardin-Baylor 
22. Cortland 
23. Christopher Newport 
24. Hampden-Sydney 
25. Susquehanna 

Dropped Out: No. 18 Grove City; No. 25 Berry 
 
A-R-C STANDINGS – As of Oct. 1 

1. Wartburg (4-0, 2-0 A-R-C)  
2. Central (4-0, 2-0 A-R-C)  
3. Coe (2-2, 1-1 A-R-C)  
4. Simpson (2-2, 1-1 A-R-C) 
5. Nebraska Wesleyan (1-3, 1-1 A-R-C) 
6. Dubuque (1-3, 1-1 A-R-C) 
7. Buena Vista (1-2, 0-1 A-R-C) 
8. Loras (0-3, 0-1 A-R-C) 
9. Luther (0-4, 0-2 A-R-C) 

PRESEASON CONFERENCE RECOGNITION  
The Knights are picked to win the conference, tallying 61 points and five first-place votes in the ARC poll.  
 
2025 A-R-C Football Preseason Coaches' Poll  

1. Wartburg (5) – 61 points  
2. Central (3) – 58 points  
3. Coe (1) – 49 points  
4. Dubuque – 46 points  
5. Simpson – 35 points  
6. Nebraska Wesleyan – 27 points  
7. Loras – 24 points  
8. Buena Vista – 16 points  
9. Luther – 8 points