Each year the North Coast Athletic Conference coaches vote on how they believe the final league standings will shake out at the end of the season. This year six of the NCAC coaches selected Wittenberg as the eventual conference champion while three picked Wabash to wear the crown. The Tigers received six first-place votes; the Little Giants got three.
 
The poll was not difficult to predict. Over the past 12 season the two teams have won or shared the league title. Only Ohio Wesleyan managed to work its way into the mix in 2012 to tie for the NCAC championship with Wittenberg. In fact, since Wabash started playing football as a member of the NCAC in 2000, Allegheny (2003) and Wooster (2004) are the only two teams other than Wabash and Wittenberg to take sole possession of the NCAC title.
 
Saturday's game between the Little Giants and Wittenberg can play a big part in determining the 2017 NCAC champion. The Tigers come to Crawfordsville undefeated at 7-0 and are ranked 13th in this week's D3football.com poll. Wittenberg's 6-0 NCAC record puts it alone at the top of the conference standings, one game ahead of Wabash and DePauw tied for second at 5-1 and 6-1 overall.
 
Wittenberg had no trouble dispatching DePauw last Saturday. The Tigers from Springfield, Ohio forced four turnovers and scored 24 second-quarter points in their 52-6 road win in Greencastle.
 
"Wittenberg is, obviously, the best team we will have played this season," Wabash head coach Don Morel said. "It's a complete football team. Wittenberg excels on offense, on defense, and with its special teams. We've seen them in person last year and watched the film this year and you know they have great players. We've got to be ready to play. We cannot bust a coverage. We can't slip or fall down. There can be no reason for us to miss an assignment."
 
A lesson easily learned from the Tigers' game at DePauw game. Wittenberg scored touchdowns on a punt return, a fumble recovery, and an interception to go with four touchdown passes from quarterback Jake Kennedy. The junior finished the game 19-of-33 passing for 226 yards. Kennedy threw for 165 yards and three touchdowns in last year's game against Wabash. He ranks fourth in the NCAC in passing yards per game at 236.0, completing 110-188 for 1,652 yards with 18 touchdowns and four interceptions. Senior wideout Jeff Tiffner caught five passes for 100 yards. He leads the Tigers' receivers with 24 catches for 345 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Thaddeus Snodgrass caught two passes versus DePauw, both going for touchdowns. Liam Duncan added a touchdown reception last week, moving his team-leading season total to seven.
 
Junior running back DeShawn Sarley ranks fourth in the conference in rushing yards at 86.1 yards per game. He has carried the ball 100 time for 603 yards and scored five of Wittenberg's 16 rushing touchdowns.
 
Wittenberg averages 41.4 points a game, 13th best in the nation. The Tigers have won by an average margin of 30 points a game, limiting their opponents to 10.7 points per game for the seventh-fewest points surrendered by a Division III team. Turnovers on defense have played a big part in Wittenberg's success. The Tigers are plus-12 in turnover margin. Sophomore linebacker Jonathan Seay leads the team with 66 tackles, including 29 solo stops Safety Jay Mastin has recorded three of Wittenberg's 11 interceptions this season in addition to forcing two fumbles and recovering two more.
 
The Little Giants enter the weekend matchup coming off a 35-21 win at Oberlin. Wabash ran for 206 yards and three touchdowns against the Yeomen, including a pair from Ike James and one from Isaac Avant. Both sophomore backs topped 100 rushing yards in the game with Avant adding 136 rushing yards, and both nearly accomplished it on one rush. James ran 78 yards to set up one score. Avant added a 77-yard run down the sideline to set up a second. James finished with 206 yards for his second 200-yard rushing performance of the season. He also topped 1,000 rushing yards for the year, becoming the 11th Wabash player to run for 1,000 or more yards in a single season.
 
The Wabash defense forced three turnovers and provided a season-high six sacks. Henry Webberhunt knocked the football free on his ten-yard sack. The ball bounced into the arms of Luke Kseniak who raced 32 yards for a touchdown. Leon Ivy forced another fumble recovered by Ahmaud Hill. Senior defensive back Brian Parks ended the game with his first interception of the season.
 
 
"We made some plays on defense Saturday against Oberlin, but we still gave up too many big plays," Morel said. "We kind of did a Wooster rerun were we gave up a big play early on the opening drive. We will not have a chance against Wittenberg if we make those same mistakes. I used to say this team was a weekly work in progress, but it's really a daily work in progress. We're working to clean up the big mistakes for Saturday.
 
"We would love to hit a chunk play or two like we did at Oberlin with a 78-yard by Ike James or the 77-yard run by Isaac Avant, or the two fumbles we recovered. The problem is Wittenberg just doesn't give those types of plays up. We will have to figure out a way to manufacture some of those types of plays. You won't have a great game if you're just grinding out at two or three yards on offense."
 
Kickoff at Hollett Little Giant Stadium is set for 1 p.m. Tickets are available for sale in advance at http://www.ticketor.com/wabash. Tickets are $7 for adults and $4 for students and children ages 5-18. Children under 5 are admitted free. On the day of the game, prices for the individual game tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students and children ages 5-18.
 
Live video of the game will be provided by Wabash TV and made available online at https://www.wabash.edu/live. Live statistics can be viewed at http://www.sidearmstats.com/wabash/football.