Titans Open WIAC Play At UW-Platteville
The nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh football team begins defense of its 2019 league co-championship at UW-Platteville on Saturday (Oct. 2) for the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener. The 105th meeting between the teams is set for 2 p.m. at UW-Platteville's Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium.
UW-Oshkosh (2-0), ranked eighth in the NCAA Division III by D3football.com, has not played since routing NCAA Division II member Northern Michigan University, 28-10, on Sept. 11 in Marquette, Mich. The Titans built a 21-0 lead over Northern Michigan University and held the Wildcats to 189 yards of total offense, including just 47 through the air.
UW-Platteville (1-2) has been idle since earning a 44-19 victory at Franklin College (Ind.) on Sept. 18. The Pioneers picked up their first win of the year after outscoring Franklin College, 34-5, in the second half.
UW-Oshkosh owns a slim 52-48-4 advantage in the series with UW-Platteville that began in 1911. The Titans have won their past six meetings with the Pioneers, including a 24-20 decision during the most recent matchup on Nov. 2, 2019, in Platteville. UW-Platteville is seeking its first home win over UW-Oshkosh since a 20-17 victory on Oct. 11, 2003.
The Titans, who have at least shared the WIAC title in four of the past eight seasons, have won each of their last 10 league openers. UW-Oshkosh and eventual Division III runner-up UW-Whitewater were the 2019 WIAC co-champions as the Titans clinched the league's automatic berth to the national tournament with a win over UW-Whitewater during the regular season finale. The 2020 campaign was canceled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
UW-Oshkosh enters the conference opener averaging 28 points and 368 yards per game while allowing 17 points and 296.5 yards per contest. The Titans rank seventh in the country by committing three penalties per game and ninth nationally with 31.3 yards per kickoff return and 117 passing yards allowed per contest. UW-Oshkosh won its 2021 season opener, 28-24, at 2019 NCAA Division III Championship qualifier Huntingdon College (Ala.).
UW-Platteville goes into Saturday averaging 27.3 points and 350 yards per game. The Pioneers, ranked third in Division III by surrendering 5.7 yards per kickoff return, are yielding 27.3 points and 490.7 yards per contest during a 2021 season that began with losses of 37-31 at home to East Texas Baptist University and 28-7 at 16th-ranked Bethel University (Minn.).
UW-Oshkosh quarterback Kobe Berghammer has completed 29 of 51 passes for 363 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Berghammer has added 24 carries for 80 yards and one score.
Peter MacCudden is pacing a balanced Titans rushing attack with 112 yards on the ground on 20 totes while Mitch Gerhartz has 95 rushing yards and three of the team's four rushing touchdowns on 17 carries.
Tony Steger leads UW-Oshkosh with seven receptions for 126 yards. Jimmy DuVal and Justin Kasuboski have five catches apiece for the Titans, who have also received four grabs from Trae Tetzlaff and three from Stephan Flores. Kasuboski has hauled in two of the Titans' three aerial scores. Tetzlaff, who ranks second on the squad with 58 receiving yards, accounted for UW-Oshkosh's other touchdown through the air.
Twelve different Titans have made at least five tackles this season, including Carson Raddatz with a team-leading 11 stops, Nick Noethe with 10, and Brody Milz and Kyle Scharenbroch with eight apiece. Noethe leads the unit with 2.5 tackles for loss, including a sack, while Tory Jandrin, Brandon Kolgen, Trenton LaCombe and Tyler Staerkel have added one of the squad's five sacks. Raddatz has the team's lone interception.
UW-Oshkosh's Jaylen Grant is averaging a Division-III best 42.4 yards on five kickoff returns that included a 93-yard touchdown at Huntingdon College in the season opener.
Jaydon Haag, a 2021 D3football.com Preseason All-American, has converted each of his eight extra points and gone 0-for-2 on field goal attempts after connecting on all 12 of his field goal tries in 2019. Haag is also averaging 36.9 yards per punt on the year.
The UW-Platteville offense is led by quarterback Colin Schuetz, who has gone 68-for-119 passing for 846 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions. Schuetz also has two rushing scores and 24 yards on the ground in 18 attempts.
Pioneers running back Tyler Lamer is averaging 5.5 yards per carry, gaining 121 yards with one of the team's four rushing scores on 22 totes. Lamer's two kickoff returns have gone for 54 and 50 yards. The UW-Platteville offensive backfield also features Evan Gates, who has 57 yards on 20 carries.
Ben Wilson, Brandt Stare and Donald Allender headline the UW-Platteville receiving corps that averages 292.3 yards per game. Wilson has 20 catches for 226 yards and one touchdown, Stare 15 grabs for 272 yards and two scores, and Allender 10 receptions for 117 yards and one touchdown. Cadiin Johnson and Lucas Peterson have chipped in one receiving touchdown apiece for the Pioneers.
Sam Smith and Justin Blazek spearhead the UW-Platteville defense with 33 and 30 tackles, respectively. Blazek has a team-leading 6.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks to go along with one interception. Logan Ketelhut has also accounted for 1.5 of the Pioneers' five sacks. Tyler Bacon and Gerrit Schomaker have recovered fumbles for UW-Platteville while Samuel Tausz ranks third on the team with 17 tackles and has two of the squad's five interceptions.
The UW-Platteville defense has created seven turnovers through three games this year, including interceptions from Bacon and Drew Hoff.
Pioneers placekicker Andrew Schweigert has made 2 of 4 field goals, including a long of 50 yards, and 10 of 11 extra points on the year. Three different Pioneers punters have combined to average 38.1 yards per boot.
UW-Oshkosh, which has not finished lower than third in the WIAC standings since 2011, claimed recent outright league titles in 2012, 2015 and 2017 before earning a share of last year's conference championship.