Sep. 25—MITCHELL — Dakota Wesleyan University football hits the road on Saturday and takes a step up in class, playing Midland for first place in the Great Plains Athletic Conference standings against No. 18 Midland.
Both the Tigers and Warriors are 3-0 in the conference so far, and it’s a matchup of two top passing offenses in the GPAC, while DWU looks for its first win over a ranked team in nearly a decade.
Here’s a look at DWU’s matchup on Saturday:
When: 1 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Heedum Field, Fremont, Neb.
Records: DWU: 3-1 (3-0 GPAC); Midland: 4-0 (3-0 GPAC).
Coaches: DWU’s Alex Kretzschmar (11-15, third season); Midland’s Jeff Jamrog (68-42, 11th season at MU).
All-time series: Midland leads the series 23-16.
Last meeting: Midland won 45-7 on Nov. 8, 2025 in Mitchell.
Last time out: DWU defeated Briar Cliff 37-3 on Sept. 19 in Mitchell. Midland defeated then-No. 13 Northwestern on the road 28-16 on Sept. 19.
Notes: Midland has won seven of the last eight meetings in this series. … DWU is looking for its first win in Fremont since 2017. … The Tigers and Warriors have played every season since 1988, predating the two teams being in the same conference. It’s DWU’s longest-running continuous football series. … DWU last started 4-0 in the GPAC in 2011, which came when DWU opened the season 5-0 overall. … In the Massey Ratings, DWU is rated No. 40 in the country, while Midland is No. 9 out of 96 NAIA teams.
About DWU: DWU is looking for its first win over a ranked team since 2017, when DWU knocked off No. 24 Midland on Sept. 30, 2017, in Mitchell. … DWU has already forced 15 turnovers in the first four games of the season, surpassing the total of 14 takeaways in 2025. … Averaging 34.5 points in the first four games, it is the highest-scoring start for the Tigers since 2017, when DWU was averaging 53.7 points per game in the first four games. … DWU is 14-for-16 on red zone trips in terms of scoring to start the season (11 touchdowns, three field goals)… DWU quarterback Jed Jenson has thrown for 13 passing touchdowns, which ranks No. 2 in the GPAC. He’s hit Caleb Kilbride for six touchdowns, which is tied for the GPAC lead. … Mount Vernon product Reed Rus leads the GPAC in sacks with six sacks, and teammate Drue Davis is tied for second in the league with three sacks.
About the Warriors: Midland boasts the current GPAC and NAIA offensive player of the week in wide receiver Jurrion Dickey, who had 178 yards and two touchdowns in the Northwestern win. … Dickey, a transfer from Oregon and Diablo Valley (Calif.) College, has six touchdown catches this season and T.J. Covington has five for the Warriors. … Quarterback Brodey Johnson has thrown for 1,137 passing yards and a GPAC-best 16 touchdowns in the first four games, a clip of 284.3 passing yards per game. … Running back Brady Singer is third in the conference in rushing yards per game at 88.3.
Next: Dakota Wesleyan hits the road again next week, traveling to play Morningside at 1:30 p.m. in Sioux City, Iowa. Midland returns to Heedum Field next week to host No. 16 Dordt.
GPAC schedule
Saturday, Sept. 26
Waldorf at Doane, 1 p.m.
No. 22 Northwestern at Hastings, 1 p.m.
No. 16 Dordt at Concordia, 1 p.m.
No. 7 Morningside at Mount Marty, 1 p.m.