This Week's Game
The Warhawks, 6-0 overall and 3-0, will travel to UW-Oshkosh, 5-1 and 3-0, for a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, October 22 at J.J. Keller Field in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. 

Last Year
Whitewater won 48-21 in Oshkosh November 16, clinching the Warhawks' sixth consecutive WIAC title.  Whitewater led 21-14 at the end of the first quarter with both teams scoring on unusual plays.  Shane Covington (Milwaukee/Riverside) returned a kickoff 86 yards for UW-W's second score, and Titan halfback Craig McClelland throwing a 33 yard TD pass for their second score.  An Eric Kindler (Germantown/Germantown) FG made it 24-14 at the half.  UW-W scored the first four times it had the ball in the second half, but Oshkosh scored again to still have the margin 31-21 with 9:54 in the third.  The UW-W defense stopped a fourth and three at the WW 40, and forced a fumble to blunt Titan drives.  Whitewater rushed 60 times for 325 yards, and the defense limited UW-O to 56 yards on 30 carries.  Levell Coppage (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park) carried the ball 29 times for 150 yards, 120 of those coming in the first half.  Titan QB Nate Wara completed 22-31 passes for 264 yards.  Oshkosh LB Taylor Goodman led both teams with 12 tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss.  UW-W's Aaron Rusch (Hartford/Hartford), 8-65, and Adam Brandes (Burlington/Catholic Central), 6-100, were the leading receivers in the game. 

The Series
UW-Whitewater's record all-time vs. UW-Oshkosh: 75-25-5
The current streak: UW-Whitewater has won the last 8
When it started: 1897, UW-Whitewater defeated UW-Oshkosh 30-0
Most points scored by UW-W: 54 in 1963
Most points scored by UW-O: 46 in 1912
Shutouts by UW-W: 22
Shutouts by UW-O: 10
Longest win streak by UW-W: 11 (1957-1967)
Longest win streak by UW-O: 3 (multiple times)
Fewest points combined: 0 (0-0 in 1955)

Purple Streak
UW-Whitewater currently holds the longest winning streak in college football, in any division. The Warhawks have won 36 consecutive games. UW-Whitewater also has streaks of 17 in a row on the road, 19 in a row at Perkins Stadium, 19 consecutive non-conference contests, 20 WIAC games, and 10 in the NCAA III playoffs.

In The Polls
UW-Whitewater continues to hold the number one ranking in both the D3football.com and American Football Coaches Association polls this week. UW-Oshkosh is ranked 20th in the D3football.com poll and 24th in the American Football Coaches Association poll.  This will be the first time that UW-W has met a ranked opponent in a WIAC game since September 13, 2008 when the #2 Warhawks traveled to #12 UW-Eau Claire, winning 16-14.

The Coaches
Whitewater's Lance Leipold is in his fifth year as head coach of the Warhawks and has compiled a record of 63-3, including 25-1 in the WIAC.  In his first head coaching opportunity, Leipold has earned national Division III coach of the year honors three out of the four years and was named WIAC Coach of the Year the last two. Pat Cerroni is in his fifth season as head coach of the Titans. Cerroni has coached UW-Oshkosh to four wins in each of the last three seasons. In 2007, his first season as head coach, he led the Titans to a record of 7-3 and a third place finish in the WIAC. Cerroni joined the team as an assistant coach in 2000.

UW-Oshkosh Notes
UW-Oshkosh is following Whitewater's lead.  In 2002 and 2003 UW-W's Bob Berezowitz needed to know what it would take to move up from four league championships in the 90's to national stature.  44-21 and 40-17 losses to national champion Mount Union proved to be valuable "lessons".  Oshkosh coach Pat Cerrone talked to Berezowitz, and his Titans scheduled Mount Union and lost in Alliance, Ohio 41-17 September 10.  Lesson learned.

Oshkosh won 24-3 at Platteville last week.  Justin Budiac rushed for two first half touchdowns (82, 1) and backup QB Nick Olla added a short TD run.  It was the fewest points yielded by UW-O since 2006, and Platteville's lowest scoring output in 22 games.

Last week's performance propelled the Titan defense to number one in scoring defense in the WIAC (8.7), taking over for UW-W, in second at 15.0.  The Titans also share the WIAC lead, with Whitewater, in rushing offense (224.0), are second in scoring offense (29.7), second in total offense (420.0), number one in total defense (241.0), first in pass efficiency, first in opponent first downs, first in opponent third down conversions (.265) and fourth down conversions (.200), tied for first in red zone offense, first in red zone defense, and second in pass efficiency defense.  Compare this with the UW-W list, below, and it is apparent why these teams are 1-2 in the standings.

One of the interesting developments with Titan football has been the influence of former UW-River Falls head coach John O'Grady, now a Titan assistant, on the offense.  UW-O runs a multiple option offense that appears to be adept at running with Cole Myhra (71.3 per game, 6.3 per carry) and Budiac (60.0, 6.9) joining QB Nate Wara in what can be a triple option attack.  But that isn't the only option.  Wara is also completing almost 60% of his passes (.596) for 134.3 yards per game, with senior wide receiver Garrie Fox averaging 17.9 yards per catch.

Taylor Goodman, now a junior, is among the league leaders in tackles averaging 7.7 per game, and sophomore safety Ryan Stefaniak is second in the league in sacks (1.0/game) and tops the WIAC with 2.17 tackles for a loss per game.

UW-Whitewater Notes
UW-W defeated UW-Stout 42-21 last Friday.  The game was a rollercoaster ride.  The teams were tied 7-7 in the first quarter, but Whitewater pushed the margin to 28-7 at halftime.  Stout scored twice in the third quarter to pull within 28-21, but the Warhawks closed out the game with two TD's in the fourth quarter.  Matt Blanchard (Lake Zurich, IL/Lake Zurich) went 20-28 for 294 yards and three touchdowns, with Luke Menzel (Sheboygan Falls/Oostburg) grabbing a career high seven catches for 153 yards.  Levell Coppage (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park) rushed 22 times for 139 yards, moving within 185 yards of breaking former Warhawk Justin Beaver's school and WIAC record total of 6,584.  Linebacker Ryan Cortez (Palatine, IL/Palatine) led the defense with seven tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss and one interception.

As with Oshkosh above,  the league stats point to a confrontation between the 1-2 teams:  Whitewater leads the WIAC in scoring (39.3), rushing defense (70.0), pass offense (253.7), total offense (477.7), kickoff returns (30.2), pass efficiency, first downs, third down conversions, sacks allowed (7), fourth down conversions (100.0), time of possession (33:52), and red zone offense (.909, tied with Oshkosh).  UW-W is second in rushing offense, scoring defense, total defense, opponent first downs, and opponent fourth down conversion.

UW-W has several mentions in this week's NCAA III statistics.  The Warhawks are eighth in passing efficiency, eighth in sacks allowed, ninth in total offense, and fourteenth in scoring.  On the other side of the ball, UW-W is sixth in total defense, seventh in rushing defense, ninth in scoring defense, and twentieth in pass efficiency defense.  Blanchard is fourth in D3 pass efficiency, Zach Howard (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park River Forest) is tenth in kickoff returns (29.4), and Coppage is tied for thirteenth in scoring (12.0) and eighteenth in rushing (120.83).   In the WIAC stats Blanchard is also number one in passing yards (243.3/game), pass efficiency and total offense (291.7); Tyler Huber (North Prairie/Mukwonago) is the league leader in receptions (7.0) and receiving yards (104.7); Coppage is the leader in rushing, all-purpose, and touchdowns; and placekicker Eric Kindler (Germantown/Germantown) is the top scorer (7.3/game).  As the numbers indicate, UW-W's offense is, like the Titans, balanced but in a more traditional way.   

Follow the Leaders
UW-Whitewater
Passing: Matt Blanchard (Lake Zurich, IL/Lake Zurich) (Lake Zurich, IL/Lake Zurich) 98-140, .700, 234.50/game, 12 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Levell Coppage (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park) (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park) 121-750, 120.83/game, 6.07/att., 12 TD
Receiving: Tyler Huber (North Prairie/Mukwonago) (Mukwonago/North Prairie) 30-515, 85.83/game, 17.17/att., 6 TD
Field Goals: Eric Kindler (Germantown/Germantown) (Germantown/Germantown) 9-12
Punting: Kris Rosholt (Reedsburg/Reedsburg) (Reedsburg/Reedsburg) 22-845, 38.41 avg
Defense: Greg Arnold (Big Bend/Mukwonago) (Big Bend/Mukwonago) 35 total tackles, 5 tackles for loss
                Kyle Wismer (Spring Grove, IL/Richmond-Burton) (Spring Grove, IL/Richmond-Burton) 26 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 5 passes broken up, 1 blocked kick
UW-Oshkosh
Passing: Nate Wara 75-124, .605, 159.0/game, 9 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: Nate Wara 94-526, 76.2/game, 4.9/att., 3 TD
Receiving: Garrie Fox 22-368, 61.3/game, 16.7/att., 4 TD
Field Goals: Nate Becker 3-4
Punting: Kyle Calhoun 28-1001, 35.8 avg
Defense: Jack Breese 46 total tackles, 1 pass broken up
                Taylor Goodman 43 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 pass broken up

By The Numbers
UW-Whitewater
Offensive Line (5 players) Averages: 287 Pounds
Defensive Line (4 players) Averages: 252 Pounds
Offense, Class Breakdown: 6 seniors, 5 juniors
Defense, Class Breakdown: 5 seniors, 3 juniors, 3 sophomores
UW-Oshkosh
Offensive Line (5 players) Averages: 277 Pounds
Defensive Line (4 players) Averages: 255 Pounds
Offense, Class Breakdown: 5 seniors, 3 juniors, 3 sophomores
Defense, Class Breakdown: 6 seniors, 4 juniors, 1 sophomore

Special Note
This week's matchup will be UW-Oshkosh's Homecoming Game. Whitewater will host its Homecoming/Hall of Fame game October 29 against UW-Stevens Point.

What's Coming Up
The Warhawks will celebrate its Homecoming/Hall of Fame game by hosting UW-Stevens Point in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest Saturday, October 29 at 1:00 p.m. Tickets for UW-W home games are sold at the University Center ticket office Monday-Friday during normal business hours. Tickets are also sold at Perkins Stadium on game day. Call 262-472-2222 for ticket information.

For More Info
Tom Fick, UW-W sports information: 262-472-1147 or fickt@uww.edu WIAC football web site: http://wiacsports.com/index.aspx?tab=football&path=football
Kennan Timm, UW-O sports information: 920-424-0365 or timmk@uwosh.edu
UW-Oshkosh football web site: http://www.titans.uwosh.edu/Football/
NCAA III football web site: http://www.ncaa.com/sports/football/d3