Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College football team will embark on its longest road trip of the season as they travel across state lines to do battle against the DePauw University Tigers.
 
What: Oberlin College (2-2, 1-2 NCAC) at DePauw University (4-0, 3-0 NCAC)
When: Saturday, October 7, 1 p.m.
Where: Blackstock Stadium, Greencastle, IN
Radio: AM-1320 WOBL – Don Vincent (p-b-p)
Online Coverage: Live Stats l Live Video
 
Last Meeting Against the Tigers…
Oberlin scored the game's first touchdown, but the Tigers would go on to score on their next five possessions en route to earning a 50-17 win … Quarterback Zach Taylor rushed for a career-high 120 yards, including an 88-yard touchdown in the Senior Day loss on November 5, 2016.
 
Last Time Out for Oberlin …
The Yeomen have been idle since September 23 when they fell 45-17 at Denison University … Backup quarterback Christian Flynn turned in a solid performance under center by going 11-of-22 for 155 yards and a touchdown … Oberlin trailed just 24-17 midway through the third quarter, but the Big Red pulled away for a 38-17 win.
 
Series Information ...
Oberlin trails the all-time series against the Tigers 3-11-4 ... This is just the fifth meeting between the schools since DePauw joined the NCAC in 2011 …  Prior to the 2013 season, their last battle came in 1983 when DePauw won 28-15 … The series dates back to 1929 in a game that saw DePauw prevail 7-0 … The two foes would not meet again until 1941 … Oberlin's first win in the series was in 1945 when they beat the Tigers in the season finale, 26-14, to cap an undefeated season for the Yeomen … In the last three meetings, the Tigers have outscored the Yeomen by a combined score of 157-31.
 
Scouting the Tigers …
DePauw comes in at a perfect 4-0 on the season after holding off Ohio Wesleyan 31-30 last Saturday … The Tigers also have conference wins over Hiram (55-28) and Wooster (51-24) … DePauw, which is averaging an NCAC-best 44.5 points per game, will be without starting quarterback Matt Labus due to injury and will turn to senior Jake Lasky under center … Lasky will likely rely on his legs more than his arm and as he averages 6.6 yards per rush in his career … Junior wide out Andy Hunt is a large match-up problem for the Yeomen secondary as he is second in the NCAC with 124.5 yards per game to go along with five TD catches … The Tigers are the best team in the NCAC on third down with 63.9 percent success rate (39-of-61) … Junior linebacker Matt Crupi leads the defense and is sixth in the NCAC with an average of 8.2 tackles per game.
 
An Even .500 …
Oberlin enters the game with a 2-2 record, marking the first time since the 2011 season the Yeomen have been an even .500 through four games of a season … Overall, the last time Oberlin ended a season at .500 was in 2007 … It was the second year in a row they finished 5-5 after also doing so in 2006.
 
Time to Turn It On …
The Oberlin offense is going to have to raise its level of play to keep pace with the high-scoring Tigers … The Yeomen rank ninth in the NCAC in scoring offense (18 ppg) and total offense (333.2 ypg) … DePauw boasts the league's top scoring offense at 44.5 points per game and is second in the NCAC in total offense with an average 507.2 yards per game.
 
Welcome Back Zach …
After missing the first game of his career at Denison, sophomore quarterback Zach Taylor is slated to return under center for the Yeomen on Saturday … Three games into the season, he has thrown for 621 yards and four touchdowns, while adding 31 yards and a TD on the ground … Comparatively, through the first three games of the season last year he totaled 572 yards passing and registered seven TD tosses.
 
Bennett Rank …
Senior Bennett Jackson is second on the team with 31 tackles this season … He enters Saturday's tilt with 241 stops in his career … A nine-tackle effort against the Tigers would move him into a tie for fourth on the all-time list with Sam Hobi (2000-01) as he made 250 tackles for the Yeomen.
 
Still Perfect …
Oberlin remains as the only team in the NCAC to cash in all of its red zone opportunities, going 7-for-7 on the year … However, the Yeomen's seven trips inside the 20-yardline are a league low … DePauw comes in with 28 red zone chances with 19 conversions (18 TDs).
 
First-and-Third …
In the first and third quarters, the Yeomen have outscored their opponents by three points in each quarter; 17-14 in the first; and 27-24 in the third … However, the second and fourth quarters have not been as kind to the Yeomen with opponents besting them 31-14 in the second and 26-14 in the fourth … Overall the Yeomen have scored 72 points while conceding 95.