Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College football team will take to Bailey Field for the second time when the nationally ranked Tigers of Wittenberg come to town on Saturday afternoon.
What: Oberlin College (1-2, 1-1 NCAC) vs #22/#18 Wittenberg University (AFCA/D3football.com) (1-1, 1-0 NCAC)
When: Saturday, September 27, 1 p.m.
Where: Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex – Oberlin, Ohio
Radio: AM-1320 WOBL – Brian Deitz (p-b-p) Don Vincent (color)
Online Coverage: Live Stats l
Live Video l
Live Audio Series: Oberlin trails the all-time series against the Tigers 12-22.
Last Meeting Against The Tigers: The Yeomen fell 59-0 on September 28, 2013
Last Time Out for Oberlin: The Yeomen dropped their home opener to The College of Wooster 63-10 September 20.
Series Information...The first meeting between the two schools was in 1894 when Oberlin shut out Wittenberg 12-0 … Oberlin went on to win the next 11 games between the years 1894 and 1935 … However, more recently the Tigers have had the Yeomen's number, winning 14 in a row … Despite being in the same conference the two foes have played just 34 times over the years … The Yeomen's last win against the Tigers came in 1954 when the Yeomen won 28-6 … The closest meeting in recent history came in 2010 when the Tigers escaped town with 27-21 win … The Yeomen led twice in the game and were driving for a potential game-winning score, but the Tigers forced a turnover with less than a minute to go to put the game away.
Scouting The Tigers …A longtime NCAA Division III powerhouse, the Tigers are perennial contenders for an NCAC Championship crown and berth into the NCAA Tournament … After falling to FCS Butler in their season opener, the Tigers bounced backed last Saturday by forcing seven turnovers in a 34-17 win over DePauw … The victory marked the 14
th straight against conference opponents… The Tigers have won the NCAC title in four of the last five years, and made it the second round of the NCAA Tournament last fall … Junior quarterback Zack Jenkins is in his first year as the team's starter and has thrown for four touchdowns while averaging 289 yards per game through the first two contests … Wittenberg likes to throw it rather than run it as they come in averaging just 85 yards per game on the ground … Junior Zach Culvahouse has been Jenkins' top target as he leads the NCAC with nine catches per game, averaging 103 yards per game to go along with four TDs … He is also a threat in the return game, coming in with a league-best average of 172 all-purpose yards.
Kicking His Way to the Top …Yeomen senior place kicker
Erickson Andrews is looking to ink his name at the top of the record book as he needs to just two field goals to tie and three to pass Steve Willever (2001-04) as the school's all-time field goal leader … A native of Oberlin, Erickson enters Saturday's game with 16 career field goals to his credit, which is two shy of Willever … On the season, Andrews is 3-for-4 on field goal tries with makes from 27, 22 and 24 yards, respectively … With eight PAT's and three field goals, Andrews is tied for the NCAC lead in scoring for kickers with 17 total points.
Keeping Up with Cruz … Sophomore wide receiver
Justin Cruz has proved to be a tough cover for opposing defensive backs as he ranks second in the conference in receiving yards with 258, while his four TD catches also ties for a league high with Wooster wide out Darrian Owens and Zach Culvahouse of Wittenberg… Cruz has had over 100 yards in each of the last two games and currently ranks fifth in the league with an average of 86 yards per game.
The Good & The Bad … Through the first three games of the season, the Yeomen have had their ups and downs … The good has been their ground attack as they lead the NCAC in total rushing by over 100 yards with 612 on the season … Their average of 204 yards per game on the ground is also third best in the conference, while their 5.6 yards per rush average is good for the top spot in the league … Overall the Yeomen are fifth in total offense with an average of 337.3 yards per game … However, Oberlin's defense has been a major area of concern as they currently sit 10
th in league in scoring defense (45.3 ppg) and total defense (498.7 ypg).
Special Success …Senior linebacker and punter
Max Schenk leads the NCAC with an average 41.6 yards per punt, which included a career-long kick of 78 yards last Saturday vs. Wooster … Schenk's 17 kicks have covered 707 yards so far this season … On the flip side Oberlin's kickoff return units have also impressed in the early going as
Blake Buckhannon ranks third in the league with an averaged of 21.5 yards, while teammate
Justin Williams is fifth at 19.5 yards per return.
Give the Ball to Buckhannon …Dating back to the 2013 season finale against Hiram, junior running back
Blake Buckhannon has had at least 80 yards rushing over the last four games … This season he has games of 85, 127, and 91 yards, as he ranks second in the NCAC with an average of 101 yards per game … While his receiving numbers are down with just 14 yards, the junior from Collins, Ohio, is still second in the NCAC with an average of 169 all-purpose yards per game.
A Break is On the Way …Oberlin is one of just four conference schools which is yet to have a bye week, but the team's break will come next Saturday, giving them two weeks to prepare for their home tilt vs. DePauw University on October 11.
