Titans Host Blugolds In Final Regular-Season Home Game
The UW-Oshkosh football team seeks its fourth straight win over UW-Eau Claire when it hosts the Blugolds on Saturday (Nov. 8) at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium. Kickoff for UW-Oshkosh's final regular-season home game is scheduled for 2 p.m.
UW-Oshkosh (4-4, 4-1 WIAC) enters the game tied with UW-Platteville (6-2, 4-1 WIAC) for second place in the conference standings. UW-Eau Claire (1-7, 1-4 WIAC) is tied with UW-La Crosse (2-6, 1-4 WIAC) for sixth.
The Titans, who have won 18 of their last 21 WIAC contests, look to improve to 5-1 in conference play for the second straight season. The Blugolds, who have won just nine of their last 21 WIAC games, look to avoid matching last year's 1-5 conference start.
During its three-game winning streak over UW-Eau Claire, UW-Oshkosh has won by scores of 42-14 last season, 50-13 in 2012 and 23-16 in 2011.
Last Saturday (Nov. 1), the Titans scored three quick-strike touchdowns in a 21-7 victory at 20th-ranked UW-Stevens Point. UW-Oshkosh's scores came on a one-play drive and a pair of two-play drives. Brett Kasper completed just nine passes against the Pointers, but three of them went for touchdowns, including two to Sam Mentkowski. The Titan offense also had its first turnover-free game since Oct. 19, 2013.
UW-Oshkosh began its conference schedule with wins over UW-Stout (32-7), UW-La Crosse (21-18) and UW-River Falls (37-7) before falling, 24-7, at top-ranked defending NCAA Division III champion UW-Whitewater on Oct. 25.
The Titans opened the 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 UW-Oshkosh offense averages 20 points per game and 283.5 yards, including 120.5 rushing.
Kasper has completed 73-of-107 passes for 778 yards with six touchdowns.
Dylan Hecker leads the Titans with 86 carries for 429 yards and seven of the team's 10 rushing scores. Tyler Parker and Ethan Steinhoff have added 226 and 140 yards on the ground, respectively.
Mentkowski has a team-leading 34 catches for 318 yards and three touchdowns, while Joe Sommers has 30 receptions for a team-high 483 yards and one score.
The Titan defense allows 19.4 points and 332.2 yards per game, including 187.6 passing. UW-Oshkosh has recorded 20 sacks and created 18 turnovers.
Reese Dziedzic paces UW-Oshkosh with 64 tackles, followed by Beau Steffen's 55, Cody Huemmer's 41, Branden Lloyd's 39 and Brandon Jackson's 38.
Huemmer has a team-best five sacks. John Eagan and Kevin MacCudden are tied for the team lead with three interceptions, while Corey Sigler has two of the squad's five fumble recoveries.
On special teams, UW-Oshkosh's Nate Ray ranks second in the NCAA Division III with 43.8 yards per punt. He is tied for second in the WIAC with eight field goals.
UW-Eau Claire scored a touchdown with 3:26 remaining and snapped a seven-game losing streak with last Saturday's 20-17 victory over UW-Stout.
The Blugolds started the season with non-conference losses of 22-17 to University of St. Thomas (Minn.), 31-7 to Saint John's University (Minn.) and 17-0 to Wheaton College (Ill.).
Loses of 49-0 to UW-Platteville, 30-3 to UW-Stevens Point, 52-3 to UW-Whitewater and 20-10 to UW-River Falls continued UW-Eau Claire's losing streak in WIAC play.
The Blugolds rank at or near the bottom of 242 NCAA Division III teams with 8.16 yards per completion (242nd), 7.5 points per game (241st), 73.3 rushing yards per game (232nd) and 254.8 total yards per game (223rd).
UW-Eau Claire's Joel Newman has completed 98-of-169 passes for 845 yards and four touchdowns, while Mark Munger has connected on 80-of-150 passes for 607 yards and two scores.
Bo Casper, who has 52 carries for 153 yards, is the projected starter at running back. Riley Gebelein and Jake Neis lead the team with 175 and 161 rushing yards, respectively.
Four UW-Eau Claire receivers pace a unit that accounts for 71 percent of the team's total yardage. Lucas Emmerich, who scored the game-winning touchdown last Saturday, leads the Blugolds with 37 catches for 295 yards. Matthew Knapp has 27 grabs for 259 yards and a team-leading two scores. Korey Jacobson has 32 receptions for 228 yards and Chris Cummings 26 catches for 277 yards.
Erik Hulman paces the UW-Eau Claire defense with 63 tackles, followed by Cody Taubman's 50 and Jayden Dobbs's 42.
Seven of Blugold Jake Safstrom's 15 tackles have been for a loss, including a team-high four sacks. Jake Weber has a team-leading two interceptions.
UW-Eau Claire owns a 41-24 advantage in the series. The Titans, who won the last meeting at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium in 2012, haven't won consecutive home games against the Blugolds since the 1971 and 1973 seasons.
UW-Oshkosh closes its regular-season next Saturday (Nov. 15) at 17th-ranked UW-Platteville.