WHEATON, Ill. – Augustana struggled to generate any offense against the nation's top-rated defense Saturday and suffered a 40-0 setback at Wheaton. The Vikings dropped to 4-3 on the season and 3-3 in the CCIW, while the fifth-ranked Thunder improved to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the conference.
 
Senior Luke Phelan (Joliet Catholic HS, Shorewood, Ill.) got Augustana off to a great start, intercepting Wheaton's Luke Anthony at midfield on the game's first play from scrimmage. The interception was Phelan's fourth of the season and just the second off Anthony, the nation's 10th-rated passer, all year. The Vikings couldn't capitalize and the teams swapped punts on the next three series.
 
The hosts got on the board with 5:53 left in the first quarter. Taking over at the Augustana 49, Wheaton drove to the Viking 18 before stalling. Griffin Bowes came on and booted a 35-yard field goal to put the Thunder up 3-0.
 
A Bobby Jarosz (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect, Ill.) blocked punt set Augustana up at the Wheaton 26-yard line late in the first, but three plays netted minus-one yard and Owen Ennis' (Evanston HS, Evanston, Ill.) 44-yard field goal attempt hit the right upright, keeping the Vikings off the board. The miss was Ennis' first in 31 placements this year.
 
Coach Steve Bell's defense continued to stop the Thunder, forcing consecutive three-and-outs, but with 11:55 left in the second quarter, the Wheaton defense got into the scoring act. River Shindledecker sacked Zachary Fuller (St. Patrick HS, Schiller Park, Ill.) in the end zone for a safety that made it 5-0.
 
The Thunder broke the game open with touchdowns on their next three possessions. Jeremiah Tucker's two-yard run capped a six-play, 65-yard drive and Bowes' kick made it 12-0 Wheaton. Anthony connected with Adam Terrini on a 57-yard scoring strike and then hit Nate Magnusson for 32 yards and a score to finish off a four-play 69-yard march. Bowes added both extra points and the Thunder took a 26-0 advantage to the halftime break.
 
Augustana failed to get past its own 36-yard line in the second half and Wheaton added fourth-quarter touchdown runs of two yards by Kyle Carter and 15 yards by Jack Allen to account for the final.
 
Behind 14 tackles each by senior linebacker Luke Sawicki (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville, Ill.) and junior safety John Kappel (Wheeling HS, Wheeling, Ill.), the Viking defense held the nation's eighth-ranked offense to 341 total yards, well below its 509.7-yard average. Augustana limited Anthony, the CCIW's top rated passer, to 12 completions in 23 throws for 186 yards and sacked him three times. The league's top rusher, T.J. Williams, was held to 45 yards on eight carries. Four of Sawicki's stops came behind the line of scrimmage and senior end Daniel Tjaden (Assumption HS Bettendorf, Iowa) had a pair of sacks.
 
The Viking offense produced just 115 yards of total offense and four first downs on the day. The ground game netted just 39 yards on 37 attempts. Alek Jacobs (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) led the way with 45 yards on eight carries, although 40 of those came on a second-quarter burst. Fuller, the league's third-most efficient passer, was held to eight completions in 18 attempts for 66 yards. Senior Ethan Jennings (Notre Dame HS, Chicago, Ill.) had two receptions for 36 yards.
 
On Saturday, November 2, Augustana will take on Washington University is St. Louis, Missouri, with kickoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m.