This Week: Wabash (3-2, 3-1 NCAC) plays host to Wittenberg University (4-1, 4-0 NCAC) on Saturday, October 19 at Byron P. Hollett Little Giant Stadium in North Coast Athletic Conference action.

Game Information: Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Tickets for admission to the game, parking and tailgating spaces can all be purchased at wabashtickets.com.

Parking along Jennison Street between Will Hays Jr. Drive and Sycamore Drive is prohibited. Sycamore Drive and Thornwood Road are part of the Sycamore Hills residential area and are not public parking areas for Wabash College football games. Beginning October 21, Grant Street will be restricted to a single lane due to construction. Fans traveling to Wabash College for home events are advised to take Washington Street (State Road 231) and turn west onto Jennison Street to avoid construction traffic on Grant Street.

A live video feed of Saturday's game will be available at https://team1sports.com/Wabash/. Updated live statistics can be found at https://sports.wabash.edu/sidearmstats/football. In-game updates

Series History: Wabash and Wittenberg meet for the 23rd time overall and the 20th since the Little Giants began playing football in the NCAC in 2000. Wittenberg holds a 12-10 advantage in the all-time series with a 10-9 edge in conference matchups. Wabash is 6-5 in home games against the Tigers. The Little Giants defeated Wittenberg in Springfield, Ohio last year 28-21 in overtime. The Tigers claimed a 21-14 victory in their last trip to Crawfordsville in 2017.

Rankings: Wabash did not receive any votes in either the D3football.com or American Football Coaches Association polls after losing at Wooster 24-10 last Saturday. Wittenberg received 30 points in the D3football.com poll and 12 points from the AFCA voters.
 
Among The Best: Wabash enters the 2019 season as the fifth-winningest program in NCAA Division III history with a record of 692-390-59. The top-five programs in all-time victories among DIII teams are Mount Union (803), Wittenberg (777), Washington and Jefferson (748), Widener (708), and Wabash (692).
 
Scouting Wittenberg: The Tigers have won their previous four conference games against Hiram (36-12), Wooster (14-12), DePauw (17-10), and Allegheny (52-14) after opening the season with a non-conference loss at Washington and Jefferson (16-8). Wittenberg enters Saturday's game ranked 22nd in Division III in scoring defense by holding opposing teams to 12.8 points a game. The Tigers are 11th in DIII in red zone defense by limiting opponents to a 50-percent scoring rate inside the 20-yard line.

Senior linebacker Jonathan Seay is a two-time First Team All-NCAC selection and the 2018 NCAC Defensive Player of the Year. He has recorded a team-leading 37 tackles this season and is ninth in the Division III rankings with two fumble recoveries. The Tigers enter the game with a total of 15 sacks. Senior defensive tackle Trevor Good tops the list with three, while his 4-1/2 tackles for losses of 26 yards are also the most among Wittenberg players. Troy Jones, Jordan Burkey, and William Woodridge each have intercepted two passes in the first five games.

Junior quarterback Bobby Froehlich has thrown for 941 yards and seven touchdowns in his four starts. He has completed 84-of-124 passes with five interceptions to rank 15th among Division III players and leads the conference with a completion percentage of 67.5. Senior running back DeShawn Sarley is one of five Wittenberg players to catch at least 12 passes this season. Sarley tops the receptions list with 16 for 145 yards and two TDs. Sam Kayser has caught 14 passes for a team-best 223 yards. Thaddeus Snodgrass has two touchdown receptions as part of his 14 receptions this season.
 
Senior running back Jaheem Washington is the leading rusher for the Tigers with 72 attempts for 384 yards and four TDs. Sarley has carried the ball 36 times for 148 yards and one touchdown.

Conference Kings: Wabash and Wittenberg have won or shared the NCAC title each of the past 14 seasons dating back to 2005. Wabash has claimed eight NCAC championships while Wittenberg has won a league-best 16 titles. The two shared the 2018 NCAC championship along with Denison with 8-1 records in conference play. Ohio Wesleyan shared the 2012 title with Wittenberg. Wooster is the last team other than Wabash or Wittenberg to win the conference championship by capturing the 2004 crown.
 
Bounce Back: Last Saturday's defeat at Wooster is the 21st conference loss for Wabash in 146 total NCAC games played since 2000. Wabash has only lost back-to-back conference games in one season during that time. The Little Giants dropped consecutive games to Wooster (33-30), Wittenberg (49-35), and Allegheny (16-10) in 2004 to finish 4-3 in conference play and 6-4 overall that year.

Welcome To The Top-Ten: Despite seniors Isaac Avant and Ike James being limited to a combined 113 rushing yards on Saturday at Wooster, both moved up on the Wabash career rushing list. Avant moved into a tie for tenth all time with a total of 2,282 yards to match the total set by Chris Stewart from 1995-1998. James is 12th on the career rushing list with a total of 2,149 yards and ranks sixth in career rushing touchdowns with 26. James is currently 16th among Division III player in rushing yards this season with an average of 122.2 yards per game.

So You're Saying There's A Chance: Wabash is tied with Denison, Ohio Wesleyan, and DePauw for second place in the NCAC standings with records of 3-1. Wittenberg leads the league with a 4-0 mark in conference games. A victory by Wabash on Saturday would create a tie among the one-loss teams with four games remaining on the regular season schedule. Wabash already has earned wins against Denison (34-20) and Ohio Wesleyan (31-13) earlier this year. The Little Giants will play DePauw on November 16 in the 126th Monon Bell Classic. Should Wabash win its remaining games the Little Giants would have an opportunity to claim the NCAC's automatic bid to participate in the NCAA football playoffs once the tiebreaker scenarios are calculated. Denison represented the NCAC in the tournament in 2018 after tying for the conference title with Wabash and Wittenberg.

Next Week: Wabash travels to Oberlin, Ohio for a 1 p.m. kickoff against the Oberlin College Yeomen.