The Scots enter the game with the nation’s No. 1-ranked defense and the Green Knights boast the nation’s top-ranked scoring offense. Neither team will be giving, or asking, for quarter.

Monmouth’s offense clicked from the start at Grinnell, scoring on an Alex Tanney to Matt Shepherd 24-yard pass less than three minutes into the game. Clay Bricker’s two TDs and career-best 99 yards rushing highlighted a strong ground game as the Scots rolled up a season-high 244 yards rushing to go with 327 through the air. Monmouth made the most of its chances, scoring on 11 of 16 possessions while tweaking their offensive scheme.

"The game dictated that we run a little more, especially in the third quarter," said coach Steve Bell. "Even though we have a talented quarterback, we still have to be able to run the ball. I think we did a good job of fine-tuning our game."

The defense may have fine-tuned their "bend but don’t break" philosophy, holding Grinnell to just 60 rushing yards and 192 yards overall. The defensive unit, which has been terrorizing opposing quarterbacks, wasn’t able to sack the Pioneers’ nimble QB, but they did pick off a pair of passes and record eight tackles for loss.

That unit will have their hands full this weekend, facing a multi-talented St. Norbert squad that has more than one weapon taking the snap. Sophomore quarterbacks Rob Berger and Bryan Stoppenbach split the duties under center. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Berger could be considered the more dangerous of the two. He leads the team in rushing (332 yards) and passing yardage (516).

"They’re both exceptional athletes," said Bell. "St. Norbert has always had a quarterback that’s a really good thrower and a decent runner. Now, they’ve got two quarterbacks that are exceptional runners and good throwers, too."

"They’re very consistent," reported Bell of the defending league champions. "They are a little different this year at quarterback. In the past the quarterback has run when he HAD to, now they’re running when they WANT to."

History has taught both teams a few things: Saturday’s game should be a physical affair; St. Norbert is 48-1 in the conference since 2003; Monmouth handed St. Norbert that one loss in 2005 on their way to the Scots’ first outright conference title in more than 30 years; and for the last 10 years, the league title has gone through St. Norbert.

"Our players understand the magnitude of this game," said Bell. "I don’t think you downplay or hype this game. Our kids understand the expectation to play their best in EVERY game. Our players and their players need to stay even-keeled in a game like this and not get too high when something good happens or too low when something bad happens.

"They don’t turn the ball over a lot," he continued. "I don’t see this game producing many turnovers, so it might just come down to who doesn’t make mistakes. In this type of game, mistakes get magnified."

As big as Saturday’s game is, a win will not lock up the league title. Like the Scots and Green Knights, Ripon is also unbeaten in the league and will play at Monmouth next weekend and host St. Norbert the following weekend.