Titans' Homecoming Game Is A Nationally Ranked Matchup

The top rushing and passing teams in the WIAC square off in a battle of nationally ranked football squads when UW-Oshkosh hosts UW-Platteville on Saturday (Oct. 22). Kickoff for the Titans' homecoming game is set for 1:30 p.m. at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.

UW-Oshkosh (5-1, 2-1 WIAC), ranked fifth in the NCAA Division III by D3football.com, lists 13th in the country with 268.8 rushing yards per game while seventh-ranked UW-Platteville's 322 passing yards per contest rates 17th.

The Titans, who are outscoring their opponents by a combined 185-6 score during the first half this season, will attempt to counter the Pioneers' potent aerial attack with the WIAC's leading passing efficiency defense (92.00). UW-Platteville will try to curb UW-Oshkosh's ground game with the third-best rushing defense in the conference at 101.3 yards per game.

The contest will also feature the top two scoring defenses in the conference as the Titans rank sixth in the country by ceding 9.7 points per game, and the visiting Pioneers list 16th nationally at 13.7 points per contest.

UW-Oshkosh has won 29 of its last 33 WIAC games while UW-Platteville owns a 25-7 mark in its last 32 league contests.

Saturday's game, the 101st meeting in a series that began in 1911, will break a 48-48-4 tie between the teams. UW-Oshkosh has won its last two games against UW-Platteville and six of the past seven.

The road team has been victorious each of the last three games in the series as the Titans won in Platteville the past two years (63-28 last season & 30-27 (3 OT) in 2014), and the Pioneers clipped UW-Oshkosh, 17-16, in 2013 at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.

In last year's meeting, UW-Oshkosh scored 35 unanswered points to claim a 35-7 lead early in the second quarter. The Titans ended the contest with five passing touchdowns and three rushing scores while piling up 639 yards of offense.

This season, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Platteville are among a three-way tie with UW-La Crosse (5-1, 4-1 WIAC) for second place in the league standings with four games remaining. League-leading and second-ranked UW-Whitewater (6-0, 3-0 WIAC) has handed each of the three second-place teams its lone loss of the season.

UW-Oshkosh enters Saturday's matchup also leading the WIAC in passing efficiency (147.68), passing yards per completion (15.03), third-down conversion defense (.237), blocked punts (2) and per-game scoring (41.7), yards allowed (234), rushing yards allowed (65) and tackles for loss allowed (4.17).

UW-Platteville heads into the contest also atop in the conference in net punting average (35.46) while the Pioneers and Titans are tied for the league lead with seven turnovers lost.

UW-Oshkosh opened the season by with four comfortable wins by scores of 33-14 over then-No. 18 John Carroll University (Ohio), 68-7 over Finlandia University (Mich.), 77-0 over Morthland College (Ill.) and 45-17 over UW-Stout. The Titans suffered a 17-14 setback at UW-Whitewater in front of an NCAA Division III-record 17,535 fans on Oct. 8 before bouncing back with a hard-fought, 13-3, decision over UW-Stevens Point last Saturday (Oct. 15) in Stevens Point.

UW-Oshkosh's Brett Kasper, the reigning WIAC Offensive Player of the Year, has completed 66 of 114 passes for 943 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. He paces the conference with 14.29 yards per completion.

The Titan's running game, averaging 7.2 yards per carry, is led by Devon Linzenmeyer and Dylan Hecker. Linzenmeyer ranks third in the nation with 8.6 yards per carry while Hecker is second in the conference with 6.9. Linzenmeyer has 52 carries for 447 yards and seven touchdowns, and Hecker 54 rushes for 374 yards and five scores.

The UW-Oshkosh receiving corps is headlined by Dom Todarello, who leads the team with 14 catches for 259 yards and four touchdowns. CJ Blackburn, Linzenmeyer and Sam Mentkowski have each added 10 receptions and one score.

The Titans' defensive depth had resulted in 17 players recording at least 11 tackles, including team leaders Reese Dziedzic and Steve Forner with 27 stops apiece. Forner also paces the unit with six tackles for loss while adding two of the team's 14 sacks.

Branden Lloyd, AJ Plewa and Dallis Ramos-Deleon have added 22 tackles each for the Titans, who have also received 21 stops apiece from Cameron Brown and Johnny Eagan, and 20 from Jake Thein. Lloyd has a team-high 2.5 sacks and added one fumble recovery.

Eagan and Plewa have both grabbed two of UW-Oshkosh's eight interceptions while nine different Titans have recorded fumble recoveries, including Cole Yoder, who has one interception and one fumble recovery.

On special teams, UW-Oshkosh's Eli Wettstein has connected on 6 of 9 field goals and 28 of 30 extra points while Turner Geisthardt has averaged 40.3 yards on his 20 punts.

Todarello is averaging 18 yards on 10 punt returns, including a school-record 87-yard return for a touchdown, and Blackburn averages 18.4 yards on seven kickoff returns.

UW-Platteville began the year with victories of 35-0 over George Fox University (Ore.), 26-7 over Saint Francis University (Ill.) and 56-0 over Lakeland College before opening WIAC play with a 30-24 loss to UW-Whitewater. The Pioneers have recovered from the loss with wins of 47-31 over UW-Stevens Point and 45-14 over UW-River Falls.

The Pioneers are led by quarterback Tom Kelly, who leads the conference with 1,722 passing yards and ranks sixth in the nation with 20 touchdown passes. He has completed 128 of 230 passes and tossed just four interceptions.

Kelly's top target is Dan Arnold, who has a league-leading 674 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on 38 catches. Quinn Buschbacher, who leads the WIAC with 7.5 catches per game, has 45 receptions for 406 yards with four scores while Patrick Sheehan has 20 grabs for 285 yards and four touchdowns, and Tim Jansen 10 receptions for 287 yards and three scores in four games played.

The Pioneer rushing attack, which averages 4.2 yards per carry and nearly 160 yards per game, features a trio of ball carriers with 100 or more yards on the season. Kyle Whitman paces the backfield with 81 carries for 301 yards and three touchdowns, followed by Sean Studer with 44 rushes for 274 yards and three scores, and Wyatt Thompson with 18 totes for 147 yards.

The UW-Platteville defense, who has tallied nine interceptions and five fumble recoveries, is led by Marty McGrail's 41 tackles, including 27 solo. Ben Mogilevsky has 34 tackles for the Pioneers, who have also received 23 tackles apiece from Chandler Crary and Colin Griffin, and 22 stops from Brandon Johnson.

Cody Stull has registered three of the Pioneers' 16 sacks, followed by 2.5 quarterback takedowns from Austin Young and two apiece from Griffin and McGrail.

Josh Mackie and Jacob Forney lead the Pioneers with three interceptions and two fumble recoveries, respectively.

UW-Platteville punter Connor Foley leads the WIAC with 42.4 yards on his 27 boots, which have included 11 placed inside the 20-yard line.

Samuel Herkert and Michael Pratl have shared placekicking duties for the Pioneers. Herkert has converted 2 of 2 field goals and 16 of 18 extra points while Pratl missed his lone field goal try and made 13 of 14 point after attempts.

Buschbacher is averaging 31.2 yards on his eight kickoff returns while Dillon Villhauer leads the Pioneers with a 7.8-yard average on 20 punt returns.

This year's meeting marks the second straight in which both teams were listed in the national poll. Last season, UW-Oshkosh entered the matchup ranked fifth and UW-Platteville 12th.

UW-Platteville is UW-Oshkosh's homecoming opponent for the first time since 2012.