Titans Close Regular Season Against Blugolds

The nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh football team seeks to keep its NCAA postseason hopes alive when it concludes the regular season at UW-Eau Claire on Saturday (Nov. 12). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Carson Park.

UW-Oshkosh (8-1, 5-1 WIAC), ranked fifth in the NCAA Division III by D3football.com, is second in the league standings, one game behind third-ranked UW-Whitewater (9-0, 6-0). The Warhawks secured the WIAC's automatic berth into the 32-team NCAA Division III Championship with a 27-20 overtime victory over UW-River Falls (3-6, 2-4 WIAC) last Saturday (Nov. 5).

UW-Eau Claire owns a 41-26 record against UW-Oshkosh in a series that began in 1937. The Titans have won the past five meetings by a combined 205-56 score, including a 38-0 victory over the Blugolds last season in Oshkosh.

UW-Oshkosh enters the contest leading the WIAC in points per game (40.4), points allowed per game (11.9), yards allowed per contest (262.3), passing efficiency rating (157.27), interceptions thrown (5), red zone efficiency (.833) and average yards per punt return (14.95).

UW-Eau Claire (2-7, 1-5 WIAC) leads the league in interceptions thrown (5), yards allowed per punt return (4.50) and time of possession per game (33:06).

The Titans, who have won 32 of their last 36 WIAC games, have produced 62 offensive plays of at least 20 yards, including 20 on touchdowns, while the UW-Oshkosh defense has surrendered just 14 plays of 20+ yards, including two scores.

UW-Oshkosh, which has trailed for less than 12 minutes the entire year, is outscoring its opponents, 224-26, during the first half this season.

The Titans opened the season with four straight wins by an average of 46 points before suffering a 17-14 setback at UW-Whitewater on a last-minute touchdown. UW-Oshkosh has rebounded to win its past four contests by an average of nearly 19 points. Last Saturday, the Titans never trailed en route to 51-29 triumph over UW-La Crosse in Oshkosh.

The UW-Oshkosh offensive line has allowed the team to rank third in the country with 3.56 tackles for loss allowed per game, ninth nationally with 275.2 rushing yards per game and 10th with 0.78 sacks allowed per game. Center Ty Summers, guards Tyler Powers and Alex Wendorf, and tackles Vincent Basile and Austin Haase have also paved the way for 30 rushing touchdowns and 7 yards per carry.

UW-Oshkosh features a stable of eight running backs with more than 100 rushing yards this season. Dylan Hecker leads the way with 636 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on a WIAC-best 6.49 yards per carry.

Also surpassing 100 yards on the ground for the Titans are Devon Linzenmeyer with 585 yards and seven touchdowns, Mitch Gerhartz with 232 yards and two scores, Chad Walton with 229 yards and four touchdowns, CJ Blackburn with 181 yards and two scores, Dom Todarello with 179 yards, Beau Ash with 111 yards, and Riley Kallas with 101 yards and one touchdown.

UW-Oshkosh quarterback Brett Kasper, the reigning WIAC Offensive Player of the Year, has completed 116 of 190 passes for 1,560 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Todarello leads UW-Oshkosh receivers with 28 catches for 407 yards and five touchdowns while Blackburn has added 24 grabs for 319 yards and two scores as 20 Titans have recorded receptions and 10 have notched touchdowns.

The UW-Oshkosh defense is spearheaded by the 56 tackles from Reese Dziedzic and 42 from Steve Forner. Both players have registered two of the team's 18 sacks.

Cameron Brown has 38 tackles for the Titans, who have also received 37 stops from Branden Lloyd, 35 from Jake Thein, 34 from Cole Yoder and 33 from Johnny Eagan.

Lloyd and Justin Watson lead UW-Oshkosh with 2.5 sacks apiece while Eagan has three of the squad's 11 interceptions and nine different Titans have recovered fumbles. Dziedzic and Yoder have both recorded one fumble recovery and one interception.

On special teams, UW-Oshkosh placekicker Eli Wettstein ranks 10th in the nation with 1.33 field goals per game. He has connected on 12 of 15 field goals, including a long of 50, and 40 of 44 extra points. Punter Turner Geisthardt, who did not attempt a punt last Saturday against UW-La Crosse, is averaging 40.6 yards per boot and has placed nearly 40 percent (0.391) of his kicks inside opponents' 20-yard line.

UW-Eau Claire, which has won just four of its last 27 WIAC contests, defeated Wisconsin Lutheran College, 40-14, on Sept. 24 to snap a 14-game losing streak. The Blugolds also downed UW-La Crosse by a 20-14 score on Oct. 22 to collect its first league victory in nearly two years.

Since its first WIAC win of the season, UW-Eau Claire has been outscored by a combined 104-6 count in losses to UW-Whitewater on Oct. 29 and UW-Platteville last Saturday.

On the season, the Blugold offense is averaging 14 points and 265.1 yards per game while yielding 33.1 points and 410.7 yards per contest. UW-Eau Claire gives up a nation-leading 10.50 tackles for loss allowed per game and ranks 240th among 244 Division III teams with 0.56 sacks per game.

Blugolds quarterback JT DenHartog has completed 112 of 204 passes for 1,369 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also ranks second on the team with 143 carries for 231 yards and three scores.

Antwan Moore leads the UW-Eau Claire backfield, which averages 2.6 yards per carry, with 257 rushing yards while Brian Kulaga has added 198 yards and three of the team's six touchdowns on the ground. Moore has added 13 receptions for 91 yards.

Matt Knapp is the Blugolds' leading receiver, registering 33 catches for 564 yards and seven of the team's 11 scores through the air. Knapp has also averaged 21 yards on kickoff returns and 15.8 yards on punt returns while Leeshaun Evans has chipped in 14 receptions for 177 yards.

The UW-Eau Claire defense is led by Ross Curran's 49 tackles, followed by 46 stops from Bo Casper and 41 from Sam Romanski.

Curran and Brandon Luedke both have two of the Blugolds' six fumble recoveries, and Michael Priefer Jr. has two of the squad's five interceptions.

Austin Kolden has converted 3 of 5 field goal for the Blugolds, including a long of 44 yards, while three UW-Eau Claire punters have combined to average 37.2 yards per kick.

UW-Eau Claire won the first eight meetings with UW-Oshkosh from 1937-56, including five via shutouts. The Titans' longest winning streak in the series with the Blugolds was also eight games, from 1966-73.

Selections to the NCAA Division III Football Championship will be announced at 5 p.m. (CST) on ncaa.com.