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Football

Titans Aim To Bring Down Top-Ranked Warhawks

Ending a nation-best 23-game win streak will be UW-Oshkosh's challenge when it welcomes the UW-Whitewater football team to J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium on Saturday (Nov. 6).

UW-Whitewater (8-0/5-0 WIAC) enters the 1 p.m. contest ranked first in the NCAA Division III by both the American Football Coaches Association and D3football.com. The Warhawks haven't lost since suffering a 31-26 setback to the University of Mount Union (Ohio) in the title game of the 2008 NCAA Division III Championship.

Last season, UW-Whitewater won all 15 of its contests and captured the NCAA Division III title with a 38-28 triumph over the University of Mount Union in the championship game. UW-Oshkosh (4-4/3-2 WIAC), which dropped a 45-28 decision to the University of Mount Union on Sept. 11 at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium, is just the second team to host both NCAA Division III championship game participants the following year.

UW-Whitewater has won its eight games this season by an average score of 44-8. The Warhawks average a NCAA Division III-leading 526 yards of total offense, while ranking second in the country in total defense at 201. Both the WIAC's top passer (Matt Blanchard) and top runner (Lovell Coppage) will line up on the UW-Whitewater offense. Blanchard has not thrown an interception this season while completing 133-of-183 passes for 1,771 yards and 17 touchdowns. Coppage has rushed the football 131 times for 857 yards and 12 touchdowns. The Warhawks have also received 687 yards and six touchdowns rushing from Antwan Anderson.

UW-Whitewater's top pass receiver is Aaron Rusch, who owns 47 catches for 580 yards and eight touchdowns. Adam Brandes has caught 37 passes for a conference-leading 711 yards and five touchdowns.

The Warhawks, who yield an average of just 52 yards per game rushing, exemplify team defense. The Warhawks have only one player who ranks among the top 38 tacklers in the WIAC. Lane Olson paces UW-Whitewater with 49 tackles, including four quarterback sacks.

Posting two shutouts and allowing seven points on three other occasions, UW-Whitewater faces the WIAC's second-best offense in UW-Oshkosh. The Titans average 29 points and 394 yards of offense per game. Nate Wara (So. • Oshkosh) has enjoyed a stellar season by completing 154-of-230 passes for 1,706 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also ranks eighth in the WIAC with 535 rushing yards. Charlie Weissman (Jr. • Colgate) has contributed in multiple areas, totaling 393 yards rushing and another 282 on 24 pass receptions. Garrie Fox (Jr. • Madison) has caught a team-leading 42 passes for 603 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Titans' top tackler is Logan Heyden (Sr. • Kenosha) with 43. Frank Martin (Jr. • Greenleaf) has contributed 42 tackles and Cameron Heilman (Sr. • Port Washington) 39. Nate Heard (Sr. • Milwaukee), who has intercepted three passes, leads the WIAC with nine pass breakups. This will be the 102nd meeting between the two teams, with UW-Whitewater owning a record of 71-25-5 in the all-time series. Last year, the Warhawks tallied a 40-7 win to notch their seventh straight victory over the Titans.