This Week: Wabash (2-1, 2-0 NCAC) completes its two-game North Coast Athletic Conference home stand with a football game against the Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops (4-0, 3-0 NCAC) on Saturday, October 5 at Hollett Little Giant Stadium.
 
Game Information: Kickoff for Saturday's game is 1 p.m. The game will be available for viewing on the Internet at www.wabash.edu/live or team1sports.com/Wabash. Jim Amidon '87 and Steve Hoffman '85 will provide the commentary. Audio from the broadcast will also be available on the College radio station, 91.3 FM WNDY. The broadcast begins at 12:40 p.m. with the Don Morel Show. Live statistics will be viewable at sports.wabash.edu/sidearmstats/football/. Tickets, tailgating, and parking information can be found at wabashtickets.com.
 
Series History: Wabash and Ohio Wesleyan meet for the 43rd time overall with the Little Giants holding a 26-14-2 advantage in the series and are 14-1 in NCAC games versus the Battling Bishops. Wabash owns a 12-7-1 record at home versus the Battling Bishops despite suffering a 16-13 loss to OWU in 2017 in Crawfordsville. The Little Giants scored the only points of the game last year midway through the first quarter to claim a 7-0 victory.

Rankings: Wabash received nine points in the D3football.com top-25 voting for the second consecutive week. The Little Giants picked up five points in the American Football Coaches Association poll released Monday. Ohio Wesleyan received six points in the AFCA rankings.
 
Among The Best: Wabash enters the 2019 season as the fifth-winningest program in NCAA Division III history with a record of 691-389-59. The top-five programs in all-time victories among DIII teams are Mount Union (801), Wittenberg (776), Washington and Jefferson (747), Widener (708), and Wabash (691). Ohio Wesleyan is one victory away from becoming the 18th Division III team to win 600 games. The Battling Bishops own an all-time record of 599-518-44 over 130 football seasons.
 
Scouting Ohio Wesleyan: The Battling Bishops have held opposing teams to an average of 5.8 points per game to provide a 4-0 start to the season, the best start since 2012. OWU has limited teams to an average of 47.3 rushing yards per game, eighth-best among NCAA Division III teams. The Bishops have also forced 15 turnovers and are +12 overall in turnover margin through four games. Junior linebacker Shane Quin leads the defense with 29 tackles. Senior defensive end Kyle Hogan owns the team lead in tackles for losses with 6-1/2 and is tied for the lead with 4-1/2 sacks. Freshman cornerback Ian Riddle has made two interceptions in his rookie season.
 
Sophomore quarterback Zane Ries ranks 16th among Division III quarterbacks in completion percentage (.685) despite missing last week's game against Allegheny. He has completed 50-of-73 passes for 554 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Hunter Davis is listed as the starter on the two-deep. He has thrown for 229 yards and two TDs on 23-of-47 passing. Four players have caught double-digit passes for OWU, led by senior Sasoun Tcholakian with 14 receptions for 153 yards and one TD. Kenny Streb leads the squad in receiving yards with 11 catches for 178 yards. Trey Dixon is the top rusher for the Bishops. He averages 62.8 yards per game and has scored four touchdowns.
 
Conference Awards: Freshman quarterback Liam Thompson was named the North Coast Athletic Conference Football Offensive Athlete of the Week after throwing for a career-best 311 yards and two touchdowns in the Little Giants' 34-20 Homecoming victory over Denison last Saturday. Thompson completed 18-of-23 attempts, including a 6-for-6 effort in the fourth quarter to lead the Little Giants back from a 17-13 deficit. He scored on a 50-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter to give Wabash a 7-3 lead over the Big Red. Thompson connected with fellow freshman Cooper Sullivan on a 40-yard TD strike in the fourth quarter to put Wabash up 20-17. The duo connected again on a 27-yard touchdown throw and catch with 2:55 left in the game for a 27-20 lead. Thompson's 300-yard passing effort is the first by a Wabash quarterback since Connor Rice threw for 336 against DePauw on November 12, 2016.

Ohio Wesleyan's Kyle Hogan earned NCAC Football Defensive Athlete of the Week in addition to a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week after making nine tackles, three tackles for losses, and two sacks in addition to forcing and recovering a fumble in the Bishops' 28-10 win over Allegheny.

D3football.com Recognition: Junior cornerback Patrick Kelly was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week after recording a pair of interceptions in the victory over Denison. He picked off Drew Dawkins to end a Denison scoring threat in the third quarter after the Big Red had taken a 17-13 lead. Kelly's second interception came in the closing minutes of the game after Wabash had moved back in front 27-20. He stepped in front of a Dawkins pass and returned it 13 yards to set up the final Little Giant touchdown. Kelly also received a game ball from Wabash alumnus and D3football.com contributor Greg Thomas '00 on the website's Monday morning podcast.

Back-To-Back 500s: Wabash produced 521 yards of total offense in last Saturday's win over Denison, one week after amassing 539 yards at Allegheny. Those efforts mark the first time since 2015 the Little Giants rolled out back-to-back 500-yard games. Wabash picked up 503 yards of total offense against DePauw in the Monon Bell Classic before a 502-yard game versus Albion in the first round of the NCAA DIII football playoffs.

Comeback Effort: Wabash rallied from a 17-13 deficit entering the fourth quarter against Denison before picking up the victory. The last time the Little Giants earned a fourth quarter come-from-behind win was in 2017 in the Monon Bell game. Wabash trailed DePauw 21-14 at the start of the fourth quarter before scoring the final touchdown of the game and converting a two-point conversion for a 22-21 victory.

Little Giant Matchup Down South:  Two former Wabash College football players will face one another as coaches Saturday in an NCAA Division I football game in Georgia. Scott Boone '81 is the special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach at the University of North Carolina. He earned varsity letters as a football, basketball, and baseball player at Wabash. Boone ranks seventh in Little Giant history in yards/catch with an average of 16.5. Chris Wiesehan '94 serves as offensive special teams coordinator and tight ends coach at Georgia Tech. He still holds the NCAA Division III record for all-purpose yards per play in a career with an average of 16.0 ypp. Both Boone and Wiesehan are members of the Wabash Athletics Hall of Fame.

Next Week: Wabash goes on the road to The College of Wooster to play the Fighting Scots in a 1 p.m. contest at John Papp Stadium.