Titans To Visit Home Of Defending National Champion

The UW-Oshkosh football team travels to defending WIAC and NCAA Division III champion UW-Whitewater on Saturday (Oct. 25). Kickoff for the Warhawks' homecoming game is 1 p.m. at Perkins Stadium.

UW-Oshkosh (3-3, 3-0 WIAC) and UW-Whitewater (6-0, 3-0 WIAC) are tied with UW-Platteville (5-1, 3-0 WIAC) atop the WIAC standings. The Titans, who have won 17 of their last 19 WIAC games, own a 3-0 WIAC record for the fifth straight year.

UW-Whitewater has won eight of the last nine WIAC titles and five of the last seven NCAA Division III championships. The top-ranked Warhawks received 24 of 25 first-place votes in the latest D3football.com poll of NCAA Division III teams.

Saturday's game is the 106th between the teams. UW-Whitewater owns a 73-27-5 advantage in a series that dates to 1897. The Titans snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Warhawks in 2012. UW-Whitewater won last year's meeting in Oshkosh, 17-13.

UW-Oshkosh defeated UW-Whitewater, 28-13, in the Warhawks' 2012 homecoming game. It marks UW-Whitewater's only home loss since 2008. UW-Oshkosh, which went on to claim the WIAC title and advance to the semifinal round of the NCAA Division III Championship that season, last won consecutive games in Whitewater during the 1945 and 1947 seasons.

UW-Oshkosh began the 2014 season with losses to programs outside the NCAA Division III, falling 27-19 to NAIA Robert Morris University (Ill.), 24-20 to NAIA Marian University (Ind.) and 41-3 to NCAA Division I South Dakota State University. The Titans then recorded WIAC wins of 32-7 over UW-Stout, 21-18 over UW-La Crosse and 37-7 over UW-River Falls.

In last Saturday's (Oct. 18) homecoming victory over UW-River Falls, UW-Oshkosh forced eight turnovers. The Titans returned one of their six interceptions for a score and converted three other turnovers into touchdowns on the ensuing offensive play. The UW-Oshkosh defense limited UW-River Falls to one third-down conversion in 12 attempts.

The UW-Oshkosh offense has averaged 22 points and 297.3 total yards per game.

Dylan Hecker has surpassed 100 yards rushing during the last two games, including a career-high 157 against UW-River Falls. Hecker leads UW-Oshkosh with 387 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 66 carries. Ethan Steinhoff and Tyler Parker have added 127 and 125 rushing yards, respectively.

Brett Kasper, who took over for an injured Dylann Rauch at quarterback during the UW-Stout game, has competed 60-of-84 passes for 587 yards and three touchdowns. He passed for a career-best 195 yards against UW-La Crosse.

Sam Mentkowski has led UW-Oshkosh receivers in catches the past three games and paces the Titans with 27 receptions for 212 yards and one touchdown. Joe Sommers has 22 catches for a team-high 348 yards.

The UW-Oshkosh defense has forced 14 turnovers and allowed 20.7 points and 340.5 yards per game.

Reese Dziedzic leads the Titans with 42 tackles. Beau Steffens follows with 38 tackles and two interceptions, while Branden Lloyd has 32 tackles, Cody Huemmer 31 and Kevin MacCudden 21. John Eagan has intercepted a team-best three passes.

UW-Oshkosh's Nate Ray leads the WIAC with eight field goals and ranks third in the NCAA Division III with an average of 43.3 yards per punt.

UW-Whitewater opened the season with three non-conference victories, winning 73-7 over Waldorf College (Iowa), 42-13 over Franklin College (Ind.) and 48-0 over The College of New Jersey. The Warhawks defeated UW-La Crosse, 38-7, UW-Stout, 37-0, and UW-Eau Claire, 52-3, in their three WIAC contests.

UW-Whitewater, which has won 23 consecutive games and 44 of its last 46 WIAC contests, leads the NCAA Division III in per-game scoring defense (5 points), rushing yards allowed (45.7) and turnovers lost (1).

The Warhawks also rank third in the country in turnover margin (2.5), completion percentage (71.3) and per-game total defense (193.2 yards). They average 48.3 points per game to rank eighth.

UW-Whitewater's Matt Behrendt has completed 101-of-137 passes for 1,340 yards with 15 touchdowns and zero interceptions. Behrendt's 73.7 completion percentage ranks second in the nation while his 192 passing efficiency rating ranks fourth. Last year, Behrendt helped UW-Whitewater to a 15-0 record by completing 302-of-460 passes for 3,290 yards with 40 touchdowns and one interception.

Five Warhawk running backs have more than 25 carries and 100 yards rushing. Dennis Moore leads the team with 377 yards on 51 carries. Nick Patterson has 44 rushes for 365 yards and six of the team's 16 scores on the ground. Ryan Givens has 230 yards and three touchdowns, while Jordan Ratliffe has 219 yards and two scores.

Jake Kumerow paces the Warhawk receivers with 41 catches for a WIAC-best 648 yards and nine touchdowns. Last year, Kumerow caught 77 passes for 1,331 yards and 19 touchdowns. Justin Howard has caught 24 passes this season for 335 yards and three scores.

Justin Dischler leads the UW-Whitewater defense with 28 tackles followed by Ryan Winske's 25 and Paul Foster's 24. Preseason All-America cornerback Brady Grayvold has 17 tackles and a team-high three interceptions. MyKaell Bratchett has a team-best four sacks and Zach Franz three.

On special teams, Warhawk Marcus McLin averages 17.7 yards per punt return to rank seventh in the country.

UW-Whitewater's Perkins Stadium has a listed seating capacity of 13,500. UW-Whitewater's 2012 homecoming game against UW-Oshkosh drew 12,318 fans.