This Week: Wabash (0-1) begins the North Coast Athletic Conference portion of its 2019 football schedule against the Allegheny College Gators (0-1) on Saturday, September 21 in Meadville, Pennsylvania.
 
Game Information: Kickoff at Frank B. Fuhrer Field is scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT. Allegheny will provide a live video stream along with live statistics at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/allegheny/. The game will also be broadcast live on the Wabash College student radio station, WNDY 91.3 FM, beginning at 12:40 p.m. with the Don Morel Pregame Show.
 
Series History: Wabash and Allegheny meet for the 20th time overall with the Little Giants holding a 15-4 advantage in the series. Wabash is 8-1 in nine previous trips to Meadville, including a 48-41 shootout win over the Gators in 2017. The Little Giants won last year's contest in Crawfordsville 54-17. Wabash produced 426 yards and five touchdowns on the ground in that contest. Isaac Avant ran for 229 yards and three TDs in the Little Giants' victory.
 
Rankings: Wabash dropped out of the D3football.com top-25 rankings after Saturday's 31-28 loss at Wisconsin-Stevens Point. The Little Giants are among other schools receiving votes after picking up a total of 15 points in this week's voting.
 
Among The Best: Wabash enters the 2019 season as the fifth-winningest program in NCAA Division III history with a record of 689-389-59. The top-five programs in all-time victories among DIII teams are Mount Union (799), Wittenberg (774), Washington and Jefferson (746), and Widener (706).
 
Scouting Allegheny: The Gators lost their opening game of the 2019 season at Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute 52-14 on September 9 in Troy, NY. Allegheny quarterback Naz Greer threw for 318 yards and one touchdown in the loss and leads the NCAC and ranks 19th among Division III players for passing yards per game. Ben Bachik caught eight passes for 112 yards for the Gators in the first game. Alex Victor added seven receptions for 54 yards. Victor caught three passes for 157 yards which included a 65-yard touchdown reception in the 2017 meeting between Wabash and Allegheny in Meadville that ended in a 48-41 Wabash victory.

Junior linebacker Chase Balla recorded 13 tackles against RPI. Balla was named the 2018 NCAC Special Teams Player of the Year and a First Team All-NCAC selection by averaging 28 yards per kick return. He returned a kickoff against the Little Giants for 74 yards in last year's contest. Linebacker Corey Laskey led Allegheny in tackles in the week-one contest with 16.
 
Top Pick: Wabash received six first-place votes and a total of 96 points as the favorite among the NCAC head coaches to win the league title in the preseason poll. The Little Giants captured a share of their eighth NCAC crown last season, tying with Wittenberg and Denison with 8-1 records in conference games. Wabash joined the NCAC for the 2000 football season and won titles in 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, 20011, 2015, and 2018.

Moving Up The Charts: Senior running back Ike James rushed for 167 yards and three touchdowns in the Little Giants' season opener at Wisconsin-Stevens Point. James moved into a tie for seventh on the Wabash all-time rushing touchdowns chart with 24, equaling the total recorded by Randy Mellinger from 1975-1978. Bill Kaiser '87 is sixth on the list with 26 with David Kogan '94 in fifth place with 29.

100 And Counting: James' 167 rushing yards Saturday marked the ninth time he has eclipsed the 100-yard mark in a game in his 13-game career. James currently ranks 17th in career rushing with 1,705 yards, trailing Steve Wagner '76 with 1,809 yards.

Move The Sticks: Twelve of Ike James' 24 rushing attempts came on first down plays last week versus the Pointers. He converted 10 of those 12 carries into first downs with three ending in touchdowns.

Take Off Those Rookie Stripes: Wide receivers Devon Anderson, Nick Hamman, and Sam Marksberry had a combined two receptions over the course of their Wabash careers coming into Saturday's game at Stevens Point. Marksberry was the veteran of the group having played in nine games on special teams for the Little Giants in 2018. Hamman caught two passes last season in five appearances. Anderson led the group on Saturday against Stevens Point with six catches for 45 yards. Hamman added three receptions for 21 yards and Marksberry caught one pass for 16 yards. Freshman Cooper Sullivan hauled in three receptions for 55 yards in his first collegiate game.

First Timer: Liam Thompson became the first freshman to start at quarterback for Wabash since Jake Knott '03 was under center to start against Ohio Northern University in 1999. While the Little Giants lost that contest 38-6, Knott went on to throw for 11,213 yards and 116 touchdowns in his four-year career to set Wabash records in both categories. Thompson finished 16-of-31 passing for 151 yards with no interceptions in his debut last Saturday. He also rushed for 61 yards and one touchdown on 12 attempts.

Next Week: Wabash will celebrate its annual Homecoming Weekend with a 2 p.m. football game at Hollett Little Giant Stadium against the Denison University Big Red. The Wabash soccer team will play The College of Wooster at Fischer Field.