2018 SJU Football Schedule
COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Head coach
Gary Fasching '81 announced the 2018 Saint John's University football schedule on Monday, Feb. 5.
SJU will host six regular-season home games for the second consecutive year in 2018, including four in the final five games.
The Johnnies open the 2018 season with a 1 p.m. kickoff Sept. 1 against the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Clemens Stadium. SJU will then have a bye Sept. 8 and play nine straight weeks to close the regular season.
The Johnnies' season-opening opponent for the next two years (2018 and 2019) was scheduled to be St. Scholastica, but CSS backed out of the contract. The arrangement with Stout is a home-and-home contract, meaning the Johnnies will open the 2019 season against the Blue Devils on Sept. 7 (2019) in Menomonie, Wis.
SJU filled its MIAC bye, which was slated for the final week of the regular season, with a non-conference game against Thomas More College (Ky.) Nov. 10 in Collegeville.
"We are excited to add two very quality opponents in Wisconsin-Stout and Thomas More to our 2018 schedule," Fasching said. "Our faithful fans will get an opportunity to see two new teams this fall that will provide us with very challenging games."
Stout ended the 2017 season with a 5-4 record, including a 3-4 mark in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). SJU is 2-0 all-time against the Blue Devils, with both wins taking place in Menomonie: 12-6 in 1923 and 26-19 in 2000 (NCAA first round). The Johnnies are 31-13 all-time against WIAC opponents, including a 25-7 record in regular-season play.
The meeting will be the first between SJU and Thomas More, which went 6-4 with a 5-3 record in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) in 2017. The Saints earned back-to-back conference titles and trips to the NCAA Division III playoffs in 2015 and 2016.
Conference play begins with a trip to Gustavus Adolphus Sept. 15 before Carleton comes to Collegeville Sept. 22 for SJU's Family Weekend and Homecoming festivities. SJU visits Augsburg (Sept. 29) and Bethel (Oct. 6) before returning home for the annual Johnnie-University of St. Thomas game Oct. 13 in Clemens Stadium. The Johnnies sandwich a road trip to Concordia Oct. 27 with home games against St. Olaf (Oct. 20) and Hamline (Nov. 3).
