Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College football team opens the 2022 season on the road at Kalamazoo College on Saturday, September 3.

What: Oberlin College (0-0) at Kalamazoo College (0-0)
When: Saturday, September 3, 1:00 p.m.
Where: Kalamazoo, MI (Angell Field)
Online Coverage: Live Stats (XML) | Live Video

Inside the Series …
Saturday's meeting marks the sixth straight time the Yeomen and Hornets have kicked off the season against one another … The Hornets defended their home turf in 2016 and 2018 with the Yeomen winning at home in 2017 by a score of 24-6 … The Hornets narrowly escaped the Yeomen in 2019 at the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex by a score of 3-0 and did so again last year as the clocked expired with Oberlin just three yards away from potentially tying the game in the 24-17 loss … Overall, this marks the ninth time the two foes have met with Kalamazoo holding a 5-3 advantage.
 
Scouting the Hornets …
Kalamzoo's lone win last year came against the Yeomen as the Hornets finished 1-9 and 0-6 in the MIAA … Offensively, the Hornets return eight primary starters from last season, with another seven on defense … Fifth-year wide out Bubba Wilson is back after he earned All-MIAA first-team laurels in 2021 while securing 31 passes for 411 yards and three touchdowns … Junior quarterback Josh Nichols returns to lead offense after completing 115 passes for 1,266 yards and seven touchdowns … Defensively, All-MIAA second-team selection Payton Fleming headlines the unit in the secondary after registering 59 tackles, seven tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, four pass breakups, and an interception in 2021 … Overall, the Hornets averaged just 214.2 yards per game while being outscored on average 39-10 last fall.

Last Time Against the Hornets …
The Yeomen outgained the Hornets 401 yards to 273 and totaled almost 14 more minutes in time of possession, however it wasn't enough in the 24-17 loss… Another three yards would have given the hosts a chance to tie or win the game, but the clock hit all zeroes after quarterback Chris Allen Jr. was stuffed on a third-down keeper by Kalamazoo's Isaiah Fleming and Payton Fleming … Oberlin trailed 24-3 early in the third quarter before mounting its comeback bid that ultimately fell short … Allen Jr. completed 35-of-58 passes for 307 yards and the two scores in the loss.
 
Captains Corner …
At the conclusion of preseason camp, Head Coach Steve Opgenorth announced that Chris Allen Jr., Jake Russell, Hugh Edward, and Brian Colarusso will serve as team captains for the 2022 season … Allen Jr. had a breakout junior campaign where he threw for the second-most yards (2,365) and touchdowns (19) in school history … Russell was a force on the Yeomen defense last year, racking up 42 tackles and a forced fumble … Edward, who will unfortunately miss the entire 2022 season due to training camp injury, had 19 tackles in four games in 2021 … Colarusso is coming off a career-best season that featured 432 receiving yards and four scores.  
 
Oberlin in Openers …
The Yeomen have dropped six out of their last seven season-opening games dating back to 2014 with their lone triumph coming against Kalamazoo in 2017 … Prior to that, the Yeomen had a nice run going, winning four straight week-one games from 2010-2013 … In 2010 the Yeomen defeated Kenyon College 29-26 in overtime and in 2011 the Yeomen took care of the Lords 42-0 … The 2012 victory came in the form of a 33-3 triumph over Earlham … The last season-opening win prior to 2017 was when the Yeomen defeated Case Western Reserve 19-2 in 2013.
 
Opgenorth O-Fect …
The Yeomen offense shined last season under head coach Steve Opgenorth, who made his coaching debut on the sidelines in last fall … Oberlin recorded the most passing yards in a season in school history (2,654) … Ran the most plays of any team in program history (748) … Set the school record for first downs (213) … Had most passes completed in a season (240) and second-most attempts (411) while producing the fifth-highest ranked offense in terms of net yards at 3,678.
 
Something to Think About …
Despite missing a full season due to the pandemic, Chris Allen Jr. enters his senior season just 1,949 yards shy of third place on Oberlin's all-time passing list with 3,559 yards … Allen added 330 yards on the ground last season, setting the single-season school record for total offense with 2,695 yards … With 3,868 total yards in his career, The Atco, New Jersey, native currently ranks eighth all-time and would need a season of 2,927 yards to surpass Greg Mangan (6,794) for second in school history.