RIPON, Wis. - The Ripon College football team is riding a two-game win streak into this weekend's MWC North Division opener at Macalester. The Red Hawks have started the season with a 3-1 record for the first time since 2011, which saw Ripon begin 4-1.,All four of Ripon's games have been decided by less than six points, with three of them decided one, which includes last week's thrilling 37-36 overtime Homecoming victory against Illinois College.

"Playing in as many close games as we have is a statement of the type of competition we're playing," Ripon Head Football Coach Ron Ernst said. "The last two opponents we've played have been very good and we have a lot of quality opponents coming up."

Ripon enters Saturday having scored at least one rushing touchdown in 11 consecutive games, dating back to last season. That includes a five rushing touchdown performance last week, with two of those coming from freshman Brett Garst, who ran for 140 yards on just nine carries (15.6 ypc). That run game, which ranks second in the Midwest Conference (199.0 ypg), is a big reason for Ripon's top-ranked Red Zone offense, which has scored 90.9 percent of the time they've been inside the 20-yard line. Defensively, the Red Hawks have been just as effective when their opponents get inside the 20, allowing opponents to score a league-low 42.9 percent of the time.

"That's something we work hard on during the week and it's an indication of the type of players we have," Ernst said. "They take pride in getting the ball in the end zone when the opportunity presents itself, and our defense takes pride in keeping the opponent off the scoreboard, which will hopefully be a trend that continues."

Macalester enters the weekend with a 2-2 record and is coming off a year that saw them win the MWC Championship during their first year in the league. The Scots have won their last 10 games against MWC teams, including a 5-0 record against the MWC North portion of their schedule last season. They rank fifth in the MWC in scoring offense (27.2 ppg) and fourth in scoring defense (21.5 ppg).

"Macalester is a very disciplined team that doesn't make mistakes and executes on both sides of the ball," Ernst said. "We have to understand that this is a team that doesn't make mistakes and we have to just make plays and be as consistent as we can."

The Red Hawks have won three of their four all-time meetings against Macalester, with the Scots' only win in the series coming last season, a 28-20 victory at Ingalls Field in Ripon. This year's game, the conference opener for both teams, will go a long way in determining how each squad will fare down the stretch.

"We're sitting with a 3-1 record and have beaten two very quality opponents in the last two weeks, but if we were 0-4, we'd be in the same position because in some sense, the season is starting over," Ernst said. "Every team in each division wants to play for the conference title and if we want to get there, we have to take care of the division games, which is what we have to do this week."