This week is what UW-River Falls offensive lineman Charlie Korbein and his fellow Falcons have worked for. Photo by Wade Gardner, d3photography.com

By Joe Sager
D3sports.com

The start of flu season may not be here yet, but football fever is raging in River Falls, Wis.

That’s because UW River Falls (5-0) is off to the program’s best start in 30 years and ranked the highest (No. 4) in the Top 25 rankings in program history.

“It feels really good; this is the best we’ve done since I have been here,” Falcons fifth-year offensive lineman Charlie Korbein said. “We had a tough couple years before COVID. The coaches have done a good job keeping our goals in sight. We’ve worked hard to keep getting better, trusted the process and, now, our goals are starting to come in. We want to keep stacking up wins each week.”

The Falcons have been a work in progress. They were a combined 5-15 in 2018-19. They found a new level after the 2020 season was canceled due to COVID-19 precautions. They finished 9-2 in ’21 and 7-4 last fall.

With most of its roster returning this fall, the team believed it had some big-time potential.

“There’s obviously excitement for everybody across the country in the preseason. I’ve been around long enough to the get the feeling when we have a good group or a group that will be fighting it a bit,” River Falls coach Matt Walker said. “We knew we had this unique crew. We brought back almost all our production. We thought it could be a special thing.

“Even if you think you have something special, it’s so hard to win college football games. You still just don’t know until you get out there,” he continued. “Whatever we have asked them to do, they have done it. All the boring coaching cliches – our guys have just sort of hammered away at those things. The results have taken care of themselves.”

River Falls proved itself when the team cruised past then-No. 3 Mary Hardin-Baylor, 45-22, in the season opener. Wins at Ohio Wesleyan (37-10), Northwestern (75-3), UW-Eau Claire (49-7) and against UW-Platteville (27-16) followed.

“To start off the way we have has been so much fun,” Korbein said. “It’s my last year here and, honestly, I will be a little lost when I leave. Historic starts are great, but we are chasing WIAC and national championships. We just want to keep our heads down and keep working toward those goals.”

The Falcons face a significant test for both goals when No. 7 Whitewater (4-1) pays a visit to Smith Stadium at Ramer Field. River Falls rallied in last year’s matchup, but the Warhawks held on for a 30-27 win and own a 42-20-2 series advantage.

“We played Eau Claire last week and we aren’t doing anything too different this week. We’re just looking to attack every week the same way,” Korbein said. “The coaches have done a good job emphasizing practice and what we need to accomplish each time we’re on the field. We understand how good this team is coming in this week, but we really treat every week the same and focus on ourselves and improving ourselves.”

One thing is certain – the atmosphere at Smith Stadium at Ramer Field will be crazy for the program’s biggest game in three decades.  

“The home games we’ve had this year, I haven’t experienced anything like that since I have been here,” Korbein said. “With all the success going on, everyone around the community and campus is excited and ready to help us, which is huge.

“Just seeing more people in the stands is a huge boost,” he continued. “A lot of people throughout the community are coming up to Coach Walker and telling positive anecdotes or wishing us luck whenever they see him. I believe we’re having a good impact on the community and our start gives people something to be excited about.”

The positive aura isn’t related to just game days. It’s a constant presence on campus and in the community.

“I have been at different places at different levels and I have never seen anything like what we have going right now, in terms of the excitement and energy,” Walker said. “A lot of times, the relationship between a community and a school may not be what you think, but it is really strong here.

Matt Walker Photo by Wade Gardner, d3photography.com

“We’ve received amazing campus support. Beyond campus, we have had great community support. Our first two home games this season, I am not sure I have seen anything like that,” he continued. “It’s really special to bring everyone together. I feel like we are able to contribute in a unique way by bringing this campus and community together.”

Now that they’ve provided the spark, how do the Falcons contain the fire?

“We talk about that extra energy that’s created from the atmosphere around us. We want to make sure we funnel it the right way because we can use it to distract ourselves the wrong way,” Walker said. “You can’t quite put your finger on it, but you know it’s there all around us and we want to use this unidentified thing and channel it the right way, by practicing harder, lifting harder and watching more films. I think they have done a good job of that.”

Instead of being the hunter, River Falls is learning how to be the hunted, too.

“The distractions are right at our fingertips to grab onto. The rankings, the big game this week, the start, people telling you how good you are – all these things. We just have to stay away from it and focus on the process,” Walker said. “They have just done such a good job preparing. You wouldn’t know if we were 0-10 or ranked fourth in the country. This team just gets ready every day; I am overly impressed with their ability to avoid distractions we could grab onto very easily.

“Being ranked so high is cool and that’s new to us. It feels good to get recognition. All of it feels great. But, it can lead you down a bad path if you focus on that, rather than continuing to improve and get better every game.”

A balanced attack on both sides of the ball has allowed the Falcons to thrive. The team can pass and run the ball effectively and then defend both very well, too.

“I would like to think that makes our opponents pretty nervous when they know they have to defend the length and width of the field,” Walker said. “They are not going to get easy yards in the run game and we’ve had good coverage in the passing game. Our kicking game is good, too. You’d like to think that balance in all three phases is what has made some results happen on Saturdays.”

The River Falls offense averages 513.2 yards per game, which ranks eighth in the nation.

“The offense has gotten a lot of publicity with the numbers they’ve put up. But, none of it happens without how the defense has played,” Walker said. “The number are pretty amazing, but our defense allows us to play as aggressively as we do in the other units of our team.”

The team’s offense and defense face a stern test against WIAC rival and national power Whitewater.

“From the outside, it has to be a pretty cool game for two top 10 teams to go at it. But, that’s why we play in this league. We get to play awesome, hard games against the best opponents in the country and have a chance to display our brand of football against them. There are no weak teams in this conference,” Walker said. “With what Whitewater has done, I give them so much respect. It’s hard to stay on top when everyone is gunning for you every game of every year. No one has played the schedule they’ve played through their first five games (all against top 20 teams). We have a ton of respect for them.”