NAIA Eagles Give Titans Rare Season-Opening Loss
Robert Morris University (Ill.) scored on its opening drive and held on to defeat the UW-Oshkosh football team, 27-19, in the Titans' 120th season opener on Saturday (Sept. 6) at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium. It was just the Titans' fourth season-opening loss in 34 years.
UW-Oshkosh trailed 24-3 at halftime, but scored 16 unanswered points in the third quarter. The Titans were within one possession of pulling off the comeback against the scholarship-granting Eagles in the fourth quarter.
Robert Morris University, an NAIA program that was kicking off its fourth collegiate season, posted decisive advantages over UW-Oshkosh in yards (363 - 209), first downs (23 - 11), time of possession (38:22 - 21:38) and third-down efficiency (8 of 18 - 2 of 12).
Preseason All-America running back Lamont Wims led UW-Oshkosh's first-time opponent with 45 carries for 207 yards and one touchdown. The Eagles' Matt Westerkamp completed 16-of-28 passes for 185 yards and two first-quarter touchdowns. Deshawn Weaver caught seven passes for 76 yards.
UW-Oshkosh quarterback Dylann Rauch completed 13-of-20 passes for 135 yards and one touchdown in his first collegiate start. Ethan Steinhoff rushed 12 times for 42 yards and one touchdown and added three receptions for 23 yards. Zach Kasuboski caught a team-high six passes for 58 yards and one touchdown.
Robert Morris University capped an eight-play, 63-yard opening drive with a Westerkamp 7-yard touchdown pass to Sean Zingsheim with 12:24 remaining in the first quarter.
UW-Oshkosh got a 35-yard field goal from Nate Ray with 4:36 to play in the first quarter, but Westerkamp connected with Michael Carev on a 26-yard touchdown pass on the ensuing possession to extend the Robert Morris University lead to 14-3 with 1:03 left in the first quarter.
The Eagles pushed their halftime lead to 24-3 on a Sims 5-yard run and a 24-yard Josh Techeira field goal with 2:35 and 10 seconds left in the second quarter, respectively.
Robert Morris University had 232 yards of offense and 15 first downs in the first half. The Titans, who entered the game ranked 18th in the NCAA Division III by D3football.com, had just 50 yards and three first downs.
UW-Oshkosh's John Eagan returned the second-half kickoff 78 yards to the Eagles' 20-yard line, setting up Ray's 34-yard field goal. The Titans got a 2-yard rushing score from Steinhoff and a 17-yard touchdown pass from Rauch to Kasuboski on their last two possessions of the third quarter to make the score 24-19.
Robert Morris University made it an eight-point differential on Techeira's 21-yard field goal with 9:46 remaining.
UW-Oshkosh had a 10-play drive on the next possession, but was forced to punt from the Eagles' 49-yard line. Robert Morris University ran the last 5:34 off the clock on a 10-play, 24-yard drive that featured eight consecutive carries and two first downs by Wims.
Brandon Jackson led the UW-Oshkosh defense with eight tackles, including four solo. Kevin MacCudden had seven tackles, including four solo, and one fumble recovery, while Reese Dziedzic, Cris Tillman and Tony Guagliardo had one sack apiece.
Dontaye Johnson had a game-high 11 tackles, including nine solo, for Robert Morris University. Alex Spanos had 1.5 sacks and Sean Doherty tallied two solo tackles and one interception.
The Titans host NAIA Marian University (Ind.) next Saturday (Sept. 13) at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.