The Setup: Denison and Oberlin will square off on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. at Piper Stadium in Granville, Ohio. Denison enters with a 2-0 record and is ranked in the "others receiving votes" category of the latest American Football Coaches Association Top-25 Poll. Oberlin is 2-1 and is coming off a loss last weekend at Wittenberg.
The Series: This is the 73rd meeting between Denison and Oberlin on the football field. The Big Red leads the all-time series 52-17-3 and has won the last for contests against the Yeomen. Last year, Denison left Oberlin with a 54-7 win thanks to 359 yards of total offense and four touchdowns from Canaan Gebele.
How to Watch: You can watch Saturday's game one of two ways. You can come to Piper Stadium (100 Livingston Dr. Granville, OH 43023) and watch in-person. Gates to the stadium will open at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $4 for adults and $2 for students (18 and under). Tickets are only available at the gate on the day of the game. If you can't make it to Piper Stadium you can watch the Denison Sports Network's live HD video stream, online. At 12:45 p.m. Will Hibbard (play-by-play) will bring you all of the action.
The Coaches: Denison head coach Jack Hatem is in his eighth season leading the Big Red. He has totaled a career record of 43-29 (.597). Hatem ranks third in Denison football history in career wins, trailing only Walter Livingston (76 wins) and Keith Piper (200 wins). Oberlin head coach Jay Anderson is in his fourth season leading the Yeomen. Since taking over in 2014, Anderson has posted a record of 7-26 (.212).
POWx3: Denison junior quarterback Canaan Gebele was named the NCAC Offensive Player of the Week for the third time in his career after his big day against Allegheny. Gebele set a new career-high with 407 yards passing. He also rushed for 76 yards and accounted for four touchdowns on the day. Gebele's 407 passing yards were the fourth-highest single-game total in program history and the fifth 400-yard passing game in school history. It was also the most passing yards by a player not named Greg Neuendorf. He owns the top three single-game spots in the DU record book at 503 (2000), 488 (2001) and 436 (2001).
Nation's Best: The season is young, but Denison leads all of Division III football in total offense at 640.5 yards per game. Last week against Allegheny, the Big Red set a new single-game record with 746 yards of total offense against the Gators. The Big Red averaged 12.4 yards per play against Allegheny and had 13 offensive plays go for over 20 yards.
3-Headed Monster: Denison's trio of wide receivers, David Weimar, Malik Webster and Charlie Mueller all posted 100-yard receiving days against Allegheny. This was only the second time in history that three different Denison players went for over 100-yards in the same game. The first time occurred on Oct. 21, 2000, when Ryan Hite (148 yards), Josh Jirgens (157 yards) and Tommy Waggoner (115 yards) accomplished the feat against Earlham.
Run, Farley, Run: Junior tailback Cody Farley is ranked fourth in the NCAC in rushing yards with 196. He leads the league with a gaudy 15.1 yards per carry average. He needed only five carries to rush for 113 yards last week. His 52-yard run in the first quarter was one of three Denison plays to go for over 50 yards against Allegheny.
Sixty-two: Denison's 62-point output against Allegheny tied for the ninth most points ever scored in a game by the Big Red. The 94-0 final set in 1917 against Marshall remains the seemingly untouchable record. In 1912 and 1915, the Big Red scored 68 and in 1915 they put up 66 against Akron. Denison has scored 63 points on four occasions and the last 62-point effort came in 1984 against Kalamazoo.
Ice Baths for Everyone: There was one downside to Denison's dominant performance on offense last week. The defense was on the field for way too long. Allegheny held a 34-26 advantage in time of possession and the Gators ran 75 offensive plays. First-year linebacker Dallas Griffiths led the team with 12 tackles and one-half sack. Brice Winans followed with 10 tackles and one forced fumble. The defense combined to sack Allegheny quarterback Logan Lee, four times.
Recent History: We mentioned earlier that Denison is riding a four-game winning streak against the Yeomen. During that span, the Big Red has outscored Oberlin, 160-28. In the last two meetings, the combined scores have been 99-7 in favor of DU.
Living up to Their Name: The Denison Big Red has been stellar in the red zone in 2017. In 10 trips inside their opponent's 20-yard line, they are a perfect 10-for-10 with 10 touchdowns. They are one of 28 D-III teams who remain perfect inside the red zone up to this point in the season. In fact, four NCAC teams find themselves in the grouping of 28 and that includes Oberlin, who is 5-for-5 this season.
Web-Star: Junior Malik Webster led all receivers last week with 157 yards and two touchdowns on only four receptions. Webster's touchdowns came from 72 yards and 60 yards. His 72-yard reception was the longest pass catch since Dushawn Brown's 79-yard catch in 2014, which also came against the Gators.