CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – In the 2021 American Rivers Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, the University of Dubuque Spartans were picked to finish third by the A-R-C head coaches.
The Spartans enter their 13
th season with head coach
Stan Zweifel at the helm, where he has racked up a 69-44 overall record and 55-30 mark in conference play. "We are excited to get back to league play in 2021! We hope to be a factor in the conference," said Zweifel.
In their lone game in the spring, UD took down Coe 17-13. In the victory,
Jacob Keller connected with
Elliott Pipkin for two, five-yard touchdown passes, the second coming with 9:08 remaining in the fourth quarter and proved to be the difference maker.
The Spartans return 14 starters in all, seven on each the offense and defense.
Marshon Crowder has been a consistent presence on the UD defense for the past four years and is the only all-conference selection from the 2019 season to return.
Jacob Keller, a Northern Iowa transfer, got the start behind center in the only spring game, where he completed 16 of 27 passes for two touchdowns and ran for 25 yards.
Keller will be surrounded by weapons, returning wide receivers Jordan Labelle and
Elliott Pipkin, who combined for 65 catches and 757 receiving yards in 2019. In the backfield, he will have
Tiger Geeslin, a Grambling State transfer, who rushed for 66 yards on 19 attempts in the spring game against Coe.
On the defensive side with Crowder, UD brings back veteran linebacker
Adam Steingraeber who racked up 37 tackles and one interception in 2019. In the defensive backfield, Northern Michigan transfer
Tyler Geiman returns for his first full season with UD. Against Coe, Geiman had five total tackles, three of which were solo. Up front, senior
Trea Samifua will look to clog up the middle, returning seven tackles from 2019.
The Spartans kickoff the season on September 4
th when they host Marietta College at 1 p.m. for the Hall of Fame Game. It will be UD's first home game in 665 days after both home games in the spring were canceled.
| Rank |
School (1st place votes) |
Points |
2019 Record |
| 1. |
Central (8) |
64 |
10-2, 7-1 Conference (Co-Conference Champions) |
| 2. |
Wartburg (1) |
56 |
10-2, 7-1 Conference (Co-Conference Champions) |
| 3. |
Dubuque |
47 |
7-3, 6-2 Conference |
| 4. |
Coe |
43 |
6-4, 5-3 Conference |
| 5. |
Simpson |
36 |
5-5, 4-4 Conference |
| 6. |
Loras |
31 |
5-5, 4-4 Conference |
| 7. |
Nebraska Wesleyan |
19 |
3-7, 1-7 Conference |
| 8. |
Luther |
16 |
1-9, 1-7 Conference |
| 9. |
Buena Vista |
12 |
3-7, 1-7 Conference |
