SELINSGROVE, PA – The Susquehanna University football team has moved into the NCAA Division III top 20 as the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III Coaches' Poll listed the River Hawks at number 19 following week two. They maintained top-25 status in the D3football.com national poll, coming in at No. 24. This news comes at an important time in their young season as Susquehanna prepares to face Johns Hopkins in Baltimore this Saturday at 1 p.m. from Homewood Field. The Blue Jays were ranked 13th by D3football.com and 15th by the AFCA this week.
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Susquehanna currently enjoys a 2-0 start to the 2026 season, highlighted by a 41-14 road victory over Bridgewater College last Saturday. Susquehanna opened the season with an overtime victory over Union College in a 23-17 thriller as they scored the game-tying touchdown with two seconds left in regulation and ran back a blocked field goal for a touchdown in overtime. The River Hawks have scored 64 points while allowing just 31, where at Bridgewater the River Hawks totaled 463 yards of offense and held a 25-13 advantage in first downs. The rushing attack was responsible for 255 yards, led by
Matt Surtz rushing for 159 on 19 carries for three touchdowns, all of which occurred in the first half. Quarterback
Tommy Wright found his rhythm against the Eagles, connecting for 17-of-25 for 208 yards and three touchdowns, finding
Carter McCauley,
Noah Confer and
Frankie Mroz for the scores. The defense combined for six sacks against Bridgewater, with
Galen Limantour earning two of them and one each from
Amarch Drammeh,
Gio Olmo,
Brady Rosencrans, and
Brayden Nolan.
Susquehanna's early-season success has also resulted in multiple individual and unit honors. Senior linebacker
Brayden Nolan earned D3football.com Team of the Week recognition after totaling 12 tackles, including four tackles for loss, in the River Hawks' season-opening overtime victory over Union. Most recently, Susquehanna's starting offensive line was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week following the River Hawks' win at Bridgewater. Nolan was also selected as the Landmark Conference Defensive Athlete of the Week, while
Bezy Nwanonyiri earned Special Teams Athlete of the Week honors after his blocked field goal return touchdown against Union. Running back
Matt Surtz was named the Landmark Conference Offensive Player of the Week following his performance against Bridgewater, while
Amarch Drammeh earned Landmark Defensive Player of the Week.
Susquehanna will put its national ranking to the test Saturday when the River Hawks travel to Baltimore to face No. 13/15 Johns Hopkins University at 1 p.m. The matchup features two nationally-ranked teams in their third meeting in two years, having met during the regular season last fall in Selinsgrove and in the NCAA Quarterfinals game in December. The Blue Jays took both matchups. Susquehanna's last win against Johns Hopkins came when both were Centennial Conference foes in 2022, with the River Hawks earning a 26-24 win en route to their first of four straight conference championships. Johns Hopkins enters the contest 1-1, defeating Ithaca in Week One, 30-21, but fell at Randolph-Macon last Saturday, 28-21.
