This Week: Wabash (1-1, 1-0 NCAC) celebrates Homecoming with a North Coast Athletic Conference football game against the Denison University Big Red (2-0, 1-0 NCAC) on Saturday, September 28 at Hollett Little Giant Stadium.
 
Game Information: Kickoff for Saturday's game is 2 p.m. The Little Giants will honor the members of the 2019 football team's senior class at 1:35 p.m. Saturday's 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. Live statistics are available at sports.wabash.edu/sidearmstats/football/.
 
Series History: Wabash and Denison meet for the 26th time overall with the Little Giants holding a 19-5-1 advantage in the series. Wabash owns a 10-1-1 record at home versus the Big Red, but looks to avenge a 34-10 loss at Denison last season. The Little Giants have played Denison twice as a Homecoming opponent, defeating the Big Red 50-13 in 2013 after playing to a 0-0 tie in 1931.
 
Rankings: Wabash received nine points in the latest D3football.com top-25 voting. The Little Giants picked up 17 points in the American Football Coaches Association poll released on Monday. Denison earned 18 points in the D3football.com poll and 44 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 690-389-59. The top-five programs in all-time victories among DIII teams are Mount Union (800), Wittenberg (775), Washington and Jefferson (746), and Widener (707).
 
Scouting Denison: The Big Red enters Saturday's game with a 2-0 record after posting wins over Ohio Northern (42-13) and Hiram (66-7). Denison captured a share of the NCAC title in 2018 with an 8-1 conference record including the victory over Wabash in Granville.

The Big Red rank third in the nation in scoring offense by averaging 54 points in two games. Quarterback Drew Dawkins leads Division III in passing efficiency with a rating of 225.7 and is eighth in passing yards per completion with an average of 17.46. Dawkins has completed 24-of-35 passing attempts for 419 yards and six touchdowns. Tailback Alex Minton leads the nation in scoring with an average of 21 points a game. He averages 110 rushing yards a contest and has scored five rushing touchdowns this year. Minton is also the leading receiver for Denison with seven catches for 83 yards and two TDs. Dallas Griffiths has caught six passes for 44 yards and one touchdown. Peyton Vining caught a pair of touchdown passes in last weekend's win over Hiram. He has three touchdown receptions this season.

Denison is 17th in Division III in scoring defense, holding opposing teams to 10 points a contest. The Big Red are only allowing an average of 102 passing yards per game, the sixth-best average in the nation. Andrew Smith leads the defense with a total of 10 tackles through two games. Defensive linemen Jordan Lobel and Will Brady are tied for 39th in the nation in sacks this season with 2-1/2 through two games. Lobel leads the team with 4-1/2 tackles for losses totaling 14 yards. Brady has made 3-1/2 tackles for losses of 21 yards out of nine total tackles this season.
 
Hamman Highlights: Junior wide receiver Nick Hamman was named the North Coast Athletic Conference Offensive Football Player of the Week Award after making seven receptions for 192 yards and two touchdowns last Saturday in the Little Giants' 48-35 win at Allegheny. Hamman's 192-yard day ranks seventh on the Wabash all-time receiving yards list. He caught a 75-yard TD pass in the first quarter to tie the score at 14-14. His 27-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter gave Wabash a 27-21 lead.

Moving Up The Charts: Senior running back Ike James carried the ball 37 times for 226 yards and two touchdowns against Allegheny last Saturday. He moved into a tie for sixth on the Wabash all-time rushing touchdowns chart with 26, matching the total scored by Bill Kaiser from 1983-1986. David Kogan '94 is in fifth place with 29, followed by a trio of Little Giants tied for second place with 40 (Tim Oliver '91, Chris Morris '04, and Mason Zurek '16).

I Will Run 100 Yards: James' 226 rushing yards Saturday marked the 10th time he has eclipsed the 100-yard mark in a game in his 14-game career. James moved up to 16th on the Wabash career rushing yards list with 1,931 yards. George Lino '96 is 16^th overall with 1,960 career rushing yards.

You're The Best Around: Saturday's game features the top-three players statistically at their position in Division III. Ike James is the leader in Division III in average rushing yards at 196.5 yards per contest. Denison quarterback Drew Dawkins tops the DIII list for quarterback passing efficiency with a rating of 225.7. Big Red running back Alex Minton leads DIII in scoring with an average of 21.0 points per game. James and Minton are tied for ninth for rushing touchdowns with five apiece.

Overcoming Obstacles:  Wabash will face one of the top offensive and defensive combinations in the nation when the Big Red take the field. Denison's offense is third among Division III teams in scoring with an average of 54.0 points in two games this season. Wabash ranks 39^th in scoring at 38.0 points per game. The Big Red defense ranks 17^th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 10 points a game. Denison has only allowed an average of 102 passing yards per game, sixth-best among Division III schools.

Next Week: Wabash completes its two-game home stand with a 1 p.m. contest against Ohio Wesleyan University.