The 1965 Saint John's Johnnies football team was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team that represented

Saint John's University St John's University may refer to: *St. John's University (New York City) ** St. John's University School of Law **St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus * College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and C ...

as a member of the

Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) is a college athletic conference which competes in NCAA Division III. All 13 of the member schools are located in Minnesota and are private institutions, with only two being non-sectarian. ...

(MIAC) during the 1965 NAIA football season. In their 13th season under head coach

John Gagliardi John Gagliardi ( ; November 1, 1926 – October 7, 2018) was an American football coach. He was the head football coach at Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, from 1953 until 2012. From 1949 to 1952, he was the head footbal ...

, the Johnnies compiled an 11–0 record (7–0 against conference opponents) and won the MIAC championship. The team advanced to the NAIA playoff and won the NAIA national championship with a 33–0 victory over in the Champion Bowl. It was the second of four national championships for the

Saint John's Johnnies football The Saint John's Johnnies football program represents Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota. They compete at the NCAA Division III level and are members of the (MIAC) Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. From 1953 through No ...

program under head coach

. On defense, the team opened the season with four consecutive shutouts and held seven of eleven opponents scoreless. In all 11 games, the defense gave up only 27 points, an average of 2.5 points per game. They gave up an average of only 112.1 yards of total offense per game. On offense, the Johnnies averaged 233 rushing yards per game, led by halfback Jim Shiely's 823 rushing yards. Coach Gagliardi was named NAIA Coach of the Year, and junior defensive back Pat Whalin was named to the first team on the Little All-America team. Eight Saint John's player were named to the 1965 All-MIAC team.

Schedule

Post-season

The Johnnies advanced to the NAIA playoffs and defeated in the semifinals by a 28–7 score at

Metropolitan Stadium Metropolitan Stadium (often referred to as "the Met", "Met Stadium", or now "the Old Met" to distinguish from the Metrodome) was an outdoor sports stadium in the north central United States, located in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneap ...

Bloomington, Minnesota Bloomington is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, on the north bank of the Minnesota River, above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 89,987, ma ...

. The game was played on a frozen field with a temperature of 15 degrees and a 23 mile-per-hour wind. Fullback Stan Suchta rushed for 124 yards and was named the game's most valuable player. On December 11, Saint John's faced the from Oregon in the NAIA national championship game which was then known as the Champion Bowl. Saint John's dominated the game, intercepting four Linfield passes and holding Linfield to 43 yards of total offense (28 rushing, 15 passing). The final score was 33–0. Suchta rushed for 91 yards and three touchdowns and was selected as the game's most valuable player. The victory gave Saint John's its second NAIA Football National Championship in three years.

Awards and honors

Coach Gagliardi was named MIAC Coach of the Year and NAIA Coach of the Year. He led Saint John's to its second NAIA championship in three years and compiled an 82–26–2 record in his first 13 years at the school. Gagliardi later became the winningest coach in college football history and was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

. Tackle Mike Collins received the "Golden Helmet" award presented by Coca Cola Co. and the Twin Cities Sportcasters Association as the top football player and scholar among Minnesota's college football teams. Three Saint John's players were included on the

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' Little All-America team. Junior defensive back Pat Whalin was named to the first team, and offensive tackle Fred Cremer was named to the second team. Mike Collins received honorable mention. Eight Saint John's players were named to the All-MIAC team selected by the conference coaches: halfback Jim Shiely; offensive end Dave Griffen; offensive tackle Mike Collins (the only unanimous pick); center Dennis Sharkey; defensive tackle Fred Cremer; defensive end Joe Mucha; linebacker John Ford; and defensive halfback Pat Whalin.

References

{{NAIA football national champion navbox Saint John's Saint John's Johnnies football seasons NAIA Football National Champions Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football champion seasons

College football undefeated seasons