The 10th-ranked Wabash football team has beaten its 2014 opponents by an average of 28.5 points. Despite this dominance and an unblemished record (4-0, 3-0 NCAC), Coach Erik Raeburn has demanded more consistent play.
"We were up 28-3, take the opening kickoff and drive down inside the five-yard line, we have a chance to make it 35-3 and take away any momentum they hope to have coming out of the half," Raeburn said, reflecting on last weekend's 35-16 win against Wooster. "Instead, through our own stupidity, we end up getting no points and obviously that gave them a lift. We just played poorly in the second half."
The Little Giants will have a chance Saturday to correct their mistakes at Ohio Wesleyan (3-1, 2-1 NCAC) and put together a complete game.
The Battling Bishops have had an offensive makeover in 2014 behind quarterback Dominick Orsini. The first-year starter has helped balanced the attack and leads the team in rushing as well as throwing.
"Any time you graduate a quarterback, whoever emerges as your next-best guy, you have to tailor the offense around that person," Raeburn said. "You'll see them do some things with the new quarterback that they maybe weren't willing to do last year."
Orsini is averaging 189 yards-per-game and has thrown six touchdowns compared to two interceptions. He also leads the team in rushing with an average of 97-yards-per contest with six touchdowns. The dual-threat quarterback will present a different challenge to the Wabash defense.
"I wouldn't say they're any simpler," Raeburn said. "They were pretty simple with the old quarterback — they threw it 75 times a game. They're maybe a little more balanced and more willing to run the read-option stuff than they were with their other quarterback."
Orsini's favorite target is senior tight end Calvin Cagney. Cagney provides a safety blanket for his sophomore quarterback, and has 26 receptions — at least twice as much as anyone else — for 238 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, Ohio Wesleyan gets after the quarterback. The Battling Bishops have 15 sacks, which is second in the conference to Wabash's 24. Sophomore defensive end Gary Brodek leads the charge with 4.5 sacks.
"They like to run the nickel off the edge," left tackle
Wes Brown said. "This week more than ever, it's going to be important for me and (right tackle)
Deryion Sturdivant to pick up on the safeties and see when the nickels are blitzing. It would be a shame if we let them go off the edge when they were showing it."
Raeburn expressed concerns about the pass protection against a blitz-heavy OWU team.
"Other than the Allegheny game, our protection has been poor," Raeburn said. "In the other three games, we've given up 12 sacks. They're a combination of offensive line mistakes, mistakes at running back, and some of them are on our quarterback holding the football and not getting the ball out of his hands. We've had a couple of sacks that were on the receivers not getting open."
Brown and left guard
Tré Taylor are the only holdovers from the starting offensive line last season.
Jake Norley,
Kyle Stucker, and Sturdivant fill out the rest of the front five left to right. The young group has gelled well together, evidenced by the 248 rush-yards-per game cranked out this season.
Another dominating performance by the maulers up front against Ohio Wesleyan will likely mean another Wabash win. Kickoff will be at 2 p.m. Saturday in Delaware, Ohio.
