The Wabash College campus has endured a silence throughout the week leading up to Saturday's football game between the Little Giants and the DePauw University Tigers in the 124^th Monon Bell Classic.
 
For the first time since 2009 the sound of the 300-pound locomotive bell is not ringing across the college mall. The Bell currently resides in Greencastle, Indiana after a thrilling 37-34 contest between Wabash and DePauw last year that ended with the Tigers claiming the bell for the first time in seven years.
 
The 2016 contest saw four lead changes and a total of 23 points scored in the final six minutes of the fourth quarter. Wabash took a 34-30 lead with 2:06 remaining in the game when Connor Rice threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Oliver Page 2-1/2 minutes after DePauw had gained a 30-27 advantage. Matt Hunt led DePauw down the field over the final two minutes of the game with a six-play, 80-yard drive that culminated in a 13-yard pass to his younger brother, Andy Hunt, for the game-winning score with 36 seconds left in the game.
 
Wabash heads into Saturday's game at Blackstock Stadium with a 7-2 record overall and a 6-2 mark in North Coast Athletic Conference play. DePauw is 8-1 overall and 7-1 in NCAC games. The Tigers could share the conference title in addition to retaining the Bell with a win over Wabash combined with a loss by Wittenberg against Wooster Saturday. The Indiana Tigers are also clinging to a possible at-large playoff berth with a win Saturday against Wabash.
 
Wabash leads the all-time series versus DePauw 60-54-9 and holds a 41-38-6 advantage since the Bell was added to the rivalry in 1932. The Little Giants are 29-26-1 in games played in Greencastle and are 4-1 versus the Tigers since they joined the NCAC.
 
Both the Little Giants and DePauw suffered losses to conference-leading Wittenberg earlier in the season. Turnovers and big plays haunted the DPU in a 52-6 loss to the Ohio Tigers. Wabash lost 21-14 at home to Wittenberg. The Little Giants held a 14-13 lead until Wittenberg scored the game-winning touchdown in the final 6:54 of the game.
 
Injuries have hit both Wabash and DePauw this season. The Little Giants have played without the services of Page after he suffered an injury in the third game of the season. Ryan Thomas returns to action this Saturday. He missed the past four games with a broken hand. An injury also sidelined Kirby Cox in last Saturday's 48-41 win at Allegheny.

 





DePauw began the season with junior Matt Labus at quarterback, but a knee injury in the game at Ohio Wesleyan ended his season.  Freshman Cam Haynes started the game versus Oberlin and played in four games total for the season before an injury ended his first year of college football.
 
Senior Jake Lasky has taken the reigns of the offense and led the Tigers to wins over Denison (26-17), Allegheny (42-26), and Kenyon (37-32).  He earned NCAC Offensive Player of the Week honors by producing 500 yards of total offense against Allegheny. He threw for 413 yards and five touchdowns with a 15-of-21 passing effort and rushed for 87 yards on 15 attempts.
 
Lasky has thrown for 951 yards and 10 touchdowns in eight games this season. He has completed 59 of his 98 pass attempts and thrown four interceptions. Lasky also leads DePauw's run game, rushing the football 98 times for 400 yards. Ramon Lopez, a junior running back, has run for a team-high six touchdowns. DePauw has scored 16 touchdowns as a team this season.
 
Andy Hunt is once again the top receiving target for the Tigers, catching 41 passes for 825 yards and 12 TDs through nine games. Jake Hagan, a senior wide receiver, is second on the team with 36 receptions for 354 yards and five touchdowns.
 
Junior linebacker Matt Crupi paces the DePauw defensive unit with 71 tackles and eight tackles for losses of 12 yards. Nate Orrison is responsible for seven of the Tigers' 25 sacks this season. Brooks Hepp and Chandler Nicholson share the team lead with three interceptions apiece.
 
Wabash will need another good mix of its running and passing games on offensive. Ike James added another 160 rushing yards and four touchdowns to his season totals last weekend at Allegheny. He's run for 1,232 yards and 17 touchdowns this season to lead the NCAC in both categories. James ranks sixth among Division III players in rushing touchdowns and 14^th in rushing yardage this season. He sits fifth on the Little Giants' single-season rushing list, trailing Mike Henry (1,279 yards in 1969), Bill Kaiser (1,465 yards in 1985), Chris Morris (1,497 yards in 2002), and Mason Zurek (2,011 yards in 2015) on that list. James' 17 rushing TDs are six shy of Zurek's record of 23 set in 2015.
 
Isaac Avant has added a second punch to the ground game for Wabash this season. His 537 yards rank eighth in the conference. Avant has three rushes of 63 yards or longer this season, including an 80-yard run for the longest play from scrimmage last week at Allegheny.
 
Weston Murphy heads into his first start in a Monon Bell game after throwing for a career-high 220 yards last weekend. The sophomore signal caller has thrown for 1,210 yards and eight touchdowns this season. He threw TD passes to sophomore Ra'shawn Jones and senior tight end Dylan Buresh last Saturday. Buresh leads the Wabash receiving corps with 21 catches for 207 yards. Cox is second with 17 receptions for 226 yards and one score. Jones adds 15 receptions for 237 yards and two touchdowns to the mix. Fullback Matt Penola has caught 16 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Wabash ranks second in the NCAC and 62^nd among DIII teams in total defense through nine games, holding opponents to an average of 318.6 yards per game. The Little Giants allow an average of 20.9 points per game, second best in the NCAC and 75^th in the nation. Junior linebacker Evan Hansen leads the team in tackles with 68. Byshup Rhodes owns a team-best 9-1/2 tackles for losses totaling 43 yards, including 8-12 sacks for 36 yards. Wabash is tied with DePauw for the conference lead in total sacks with an average of 2.78 per game. Junior Brock Heffron's two interceptions lead the Little Giants in that category.

Kickoff will take place shortly after 1 p.m. FOX Sports Midwest and FOX Sports Indiana will provide live television coverage of the game beginning at 1 p.m. Chris Denari, Wabash Class of 1983, will handle the play-by-play duties. Brad Wochamurka, DePauw Class of 2004, is the color analyst and Jeremiah Johnson will be the sideline reporter. The game is available on FOX College Sports Central as well as FOX Sports Midwest and FOX Sports Indiana. The broadcast is available online using the FOX Sports GO app and at FOXSportsGO.com
 
Wabash will provide radio commentary of the game on WNDY 91-3 FM beginning at 12:30 p.m. Terry Byrom, Mark Maxwell, and Steve Hoffman will announce the game. Live statistics will be available at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/depauw.