Titans To Battle Blue Devils In Regular-Season Finale

UW-Oshkosh can post its best WIAC football finish in 35 years with a victory over UW-Stout on Saturday (Nov. 12) at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium. The 2 p.m. contest will be Senior Day and the Titans' final regular-season contest of the year.

The Titans (6-3/4-2 WIAC) are currently tied for second place in the league, and they haven't finished that high since taking the WIAC title in 1976. UW-Oshkosh has already concluded its road schedule with a 4-1 mark, the school's best since going 5-0 during 1976. The Titans booked a 38-24 victory at UW-Stevens Point last Saturday (Nov. 5) after totaling a school-record 684 yards. It was the third time this year that UW-Oshkosh eclipsed 535 yards and the fourth time it scored at least 31 points.

UW-Stout (5-4/3-3 WIAC) has tallied between 10 and 22 points every game this season. The Blue Devils are coming off a 27-17 loss to UW-Platteville last Saturday. Previously, UW-Stout recorded league wins over UW-Stevens Point (22-19), UW-La Crosse (10-0) and UW-River Falls (16-10). The Titans clobbered the Blue Devils earlier this year by a 56-10 non-conference score on Sept. 22.

Eric Brown is the focal point of UW-Stout's offense, with his 495 yards and eight touchdowns rushing. Ross Carey has spearheaded the passing attack with 1,578 yards, five scores and 11 interceptions. The team's top receiver is Josh Peterson, who owns 37 catches for 446 yards. On defense, Ryan Pearcy boasts a WIAC-high 102 tackles. The Blue Devils also top the conference with 22 sacks.

UW-Oshkosh has the league's second-ranked offense with an average of 421 yards per game. Much of that total has come from receivers Garrie Fox (Sr. • Madison) and Caleb Voss (So. • Van Dyne). Fox lists second in the WIAC with 557 yards, while Voss comes in fourth at 521 yards. The Titans also have four different players with 350 rushing yards, led by Nate Wara's (Jr. • Oshkosh) 574. Wara has 1,538 yards through the air, and he's 260 away from becoming the school's second all-time leading passer.

The Titan defense came up big last weekend with three second-half takeaways. UW-Oshkosh owns the league leaders in both quarterback sacks, with Andrew Thompson's (Jr. • Greendale) eight, and tackles for loss, where Ryan Stefaniak (So. • Muskego) has 10. The team is paced in overall tackles by 67 from Jack Breese (Sr. • Kewaskum) and 66 by Taylor Goodman (Jr. • South Wayne).

UW-Oshkosh's victory during September was its first against UW-Stout in three years. The Titans own a 31-23-1 record in the series, which dates back to 1947. This is the third consecutive year that the two teams meet to end the season.

Fox, who ranks fourth in school history with 124 receptions, is among the 19 Titans who will be playing their final collegiate game. The other seniors suiting up are Breese, Brent Aaron (Sussex), Eric Allen (Markesan), Justin Budiac (Mukwonago), Kyle Calhoun (Waukesha), Nate Gross (Hartland), Jacob Juedes (Sheboygan Falls), Dustin McAloon (Iola), Jordan Mortenson (Iola), John Nicholas (Oneida), Wesley Price (San Mateo, Calif.), Kyle Quednow (Hartford), Jeremy Roach (Deerfield), Vince Sciano (Franklin), Charlie Stueck (Clintonville), Dan Swanson (Pardeeville), Myles Teteak (Rhome, Texas) and Charlie Weissman (Colgate).