Titans To Play For WIAC Title, NCAA Postseason Berth
UW-Oshkosh can earn a NCAA Division III postseason berth and at least a share of the WIAC football championship with a victory over UW-Eau Claire on Saturday (Nov. 4). Kickoff for UW-Oshkosh's regular-season home finale is set for 2 p.m. at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
UW-Oshkosh (7-0, 5-0 WIAC), ranked third nationally by D3football.com, owns a one-game lead over defending league champion UW-Whitewater (5-3, 4-1) in the WIAC standings with two contests remaining. The Titans own the WIAC's NCAA postseason tiebreaker with UW-Whitewater thanks to a 37-20 home win over the Warhawks on Sept. 30.
The Titans are seeking their third straight trip to the NCAA postseason. UW-Oshkosh, last year's national runner-up, also reached the quarterfinal round of the Division III Championship in 2015 and advanced to the semifinal round during the program's national postseason debut in 2012.
Saturday's game is the 69th between UW-Oshkosh and UW-Eau Claire. The Titans have won six straight meetings with the Blugolds by a combined score of 256-69 to cut their deficit in a series that began in 1937 to 27-41. UW-Oshkosh won last year's game in Eau Claire by a 48-13 score.
UW-Oshkosh, which has won 21 of its last 22 WIAC contests, heads into Saturday's game with one of the most prolific offenses in the country, ranking seventh nationally with a 179.65 passing efficiency rating and eighth with a .506 third-down conversion rate.
The Titans also pace the WIAC in per-game scoring (40.6), scrimmage yards (474.4) and rushing yards (242.6) in addition to completion percentage (.644), yards per completion (15.76), red zone efficiency (.871), interceptions thrown (4) and fumbles lost (4).
The UW-Oshkosh offensive line has allowed a league-low 4.14 tackles for loss and 0.71 sacks per game.
Defensively, the Titans lead the WIAC with 13 turnovers gained as UW-Oshkosh owns a league-leading +1.14 turnover margin.
UW-Oshkosh special teams rank fourth in the nation by averaging 28.29 yards per kickoff return and seventh with a 17.22-yard average on punt returns.
UW-Oshkosh began the season with a 23-17 victory at then-eighth-ranked John Carroll University (Ohio) on Sept. 2. The Titans proceeded to win three straight games by scores of 74-7 over Virginia University of Lynchburg on Sept. 9, 37-20 over UW-Whitewater on Sept. 30, and 49-14 over UW-Stevens Point on Oct. 7.
The Titans have won their three most recent contests by scores of 28-14 at then-ninth-ranked UW-Platteville on Oct. 14, 42-28 at UW-La Crosse on Oct. 21, and 31-28 over UW-River Falls last Saturday (Oct. 28) at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
UW-Eau Claire (1-7, 0-5 WIAC) enters Saturday's matchup ranked 233rd among 243 Division III teams with an average of 11.5 points per game.
UW-Eau Claire has suffered four setbacks to teams that have been ranked in D3football.com's weekly poll this season. The Blugolds lost, 47-13, at University of St. Thomas on Sept. 2; 44-0 at George Fox University (Ore.) on Sept. 23; 34-14 to UW-Platteville; and 55-7 to UW-Stout last Saturday. University of St. Thomas is currently ranked fourth in the country while UW-Platteville is 20th and George Fox University is 21st. UW-Stout was ranked has high as 22nd this season.
The Blugolds, who hold a 2-24 WIAC record since 2014, picked up their lone win of the 2017 season with a 34-20 decision over Wisconsin Lutheran College on Sept. 9. UW-Eau Claire's season ledger also includes losses of 30-7 to UW-River Falls on Sept. 30, 45-14 at UW-La Crosse on Oct. 7 and 26-3 at UW-Stevens Point on Oct. 14.
UW-Oshkosh's Brett Kasper has completed 94 of 148 passes for 1,560 yards with a WIAC-leading 16 touchdowns. Kasper ranks second in the country with 10.54 yards per pass attempt and sixth nationally with a 182.3 passing efficiency rating and 16.6 yards per completion. He also paces the conference in completion percentage (.635) and passing yards per game (222.9).
Titan starting offensive linemen Andrew Grignon, Tyler Powers, Austin Summers, Ty Summers, Alex Wendorf and Alex Wipperfurth have paved the way for 5.3 yards per carry and 1,698 rushing yards from 15 different UW-Oshkosh ball carriers.
Dylan Hecker leads the UW-Oshkosh backfield with 608 yards rushing and nine scores on the ground.
Mitch Gerhartz has added 314 yards and three touchdowns while starting the past two games at running back for the Titans.
Titans JP Peerenboom, Dom Todarello, Chad Walton and Riley Kallas have each rushed for more than 100 yards this season. Peerenboom has accounted for 217 rushing yards and two touchdowns while Todarello has 174 yards on the ground, Walton 148 and Kallas 115.
Sam Mentkowski leads UW-Oshkosh's aerial attack, collecting 31 receptions for 739 yards and six scores. His 23.84 yards per catch leads the conference.
Todarello has chipped in 15 receptions for 186 yards and three touchdowns. Kallas has 146 yards through the air with a pair of scores, and Chad Redmer reached the end zone on three of his eight catches this year.
The UW-Oshkosh defense has snared a WIAC-high 13 interceptions on the year, recorded 11 sacks and recovered three fumbles.
Jon Kallas has a team-leading 48 tackles for UW-Oshkosh, which has also received 43 tackles from Scott Skornicka and 39 from Derrick Jennings. Jr.
Jennings Jr. leads the conference with four interceptions and has a team-best eight tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and one fumble recovery.
Cole Yoder has three interceptions for the Titans while Kollyn Beyer and Jon Kallas have two apiece.
Todarello highlights UW-Oshkosh's return units, averaging 26.3 yards on 21 kickoff returns and 18.2 yards on six punt returns. He has returned one kickoff and one punt for touchdowns this season.
UW-Oshkosh placekicker and punter Turner Geisthardt has connected on 5 of 7 field goals for a league-leading .714 conversion rate. Geisthardt has made all 32 extra points while averaging 41.7 yards on 22 punts, including 12 inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
UW-Eau Claire quarterback J.T. DenHartog leads the Blugolds in both passing and rushing, throwing for 813 yards with three touchdowns and rushing for 387 yards with seven more scores. He has completed 82 of 150 passes with three interceptions while logging a team-high 100 carries for a 3.9 average.
Brian Kulaga has added 77 rushes for 290 yards and one touchdown for the Blugolds.
LeeShaun Evans and Kulaga are tied for the team lead with 19 receptions. Evans has a team-best 276 yards with one touchdown through the air while Kulaga has 79 receiving yards for 4.2 yards per catch.
UW-Eau Claire's Darious Jones has chipped in 18 grabs for 262 yards while Tyler Paulson has contributed 14 catches for 261 yards and two scores.
Kaeleb Stangler headlines the UW-Eau Claire defense with 44 tackles, including nine for loss and 3.5 sacks.
Ross Curran and Drew Hurley have 43 tackles apiece for UW-Eau Claire, which has also received a team-high five sacks from Victor Martinelli and two interceptions from Ryan Ames.
Brad Goetsch has handled the placekicking and punting duties for UW-Eau Caire, converting one of his two field goal attempts and 11 of his 12 extra points. He is also averaging 36.8 yards on 46 punts, including 10 inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
The Blugolds are averaging 17.6 yards on their 41 kickoff returns and 7.3 yards on their seven punt returns.
UW-Oshkosh owns nine WIAC titles, including its most recent in 2015. The Titans also claimed league championships in 1920, 1923, 1928, 1935, 1968, 1972, 1976 and 2012.
UW-Oshkosh closes the regular season at UW-Stout next Saturday (Nov. 11). Action in the 32-team NCAA Division III Championship begins on Nov. 18.