A conference title, an NCAA playoff berth, but perhaps even more importantly, a 300-pound locomotive bell are all part of the pot in Saturday's high-stakes football game when Wabash and DePauw meet in the 129th Monon Bell Classic.
 
Game Info: Wabash College (7-2, 6-1 NCAC) vs RV / #22 DePauw University (9-0, 7-0 NCAC)
Location: Little Giant Stadium (8,122) in Crawfordsville, IN
Game time: Saturday, November 11, 2023 at 1:07 p.m.
Tickets: Sold Out
Broadcast: ISC Network (https://www.iscsportsnetwork.com/)
                     Wabash College Video Network (https://sports.wabash.edu/wcvn)
                     North Coast Athletic Conference Network (https://www.northcoastnetwork.com/)
 
For the second consecutive season, the winner of today's game will earn the NCAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III football playoffs. A Wabash victory would give the Little Giants their first share of the conference title since 2019. Wabash would also earn a playoff berth for the 11th time in school history. The Little Giants advanced to the quarterfinals with playoff wins in 2015 over Albion (35-14) and Thomas More (33-27 in overtime) before losing at St. Thomas (38-7). Wabash tied for the conference title in 2019 and received the automatic bid to the tournament, losing to eventual NCAA champion North Central (51-15) in the first round.
 
DePauw enters the game with a 9-0 record and a guaranteed share of its third NCAC title in as many years. The Tigers won their first NCAC football championship in 2021 with an 8-1 conference record. DePauw won last year's title with a 7-1 NCAC record, including a 49-14 victory in the Monon Bell Classic.
 
Series: Wabash looks to win its 64th game all-time against DePauw and its 45th game since the Bell was donated to the rivalry in 1932. The Little Giants have won ten of the last 13 meetings, including a 2021 rally from a 21-point first-quarter deficit to claim a 42-35 victory in the first Bell game played at the new Little Giant Stadium.
 
Wabash is ranked second in the nation in third-down conversion percentage with a success rate of 56.9 percent. Only Randolph-Macon College is better with a 59.6 percent third-down conversion rate. The Little Giants are ninth in the nation in completion percentage  (70.6 percent). Wabash and DePauw are tied for second in the nation in fumbles lost. Both teams have only lost one fumble this season. Susquehanna leads the category with no fumbles lost this season. Both teams rank among the 20-best teams in scoring offense. DePauw is 11th with an average of 45.9 points a game. Wabash averages 42.2 points a contest, 20th among DIII teams.
 
Senior wide receiver Cooper Sullivan broke the Wabash all-time receiving yardage record on Saturday after posting a single-game best mark in receiving yards in the Little Giants' 52-13 victory at Hiram.
 
Sullivan caught seven passes for a personal-best 178 yards. He eclipsed the school record of 2,858 career receiving yards held by Mike Funk '89 and set during his career from 1985-1989. Sullivan can move up the NCAC all-time receiving list in the Monon Bell Classic. He trails Kenyon's Harry von Kann for fifth place on the NCAC all-time list with 2,884 yards. DePauw's Andy Hunt is fourth in conference career receiving yardage with 2,994.
 
Thompson Closing On Career Passing Records
Liam Thompson heads into his final Monon Bell Classic on the verge of breaking the NCAC and Wabash career passing yardage records. He enters the game with 11,038 career passing yards, trailing former Ohio Wesleyan University quarterback and current DePauw assistant coach Mason Espinosa's career record of 11.069 yards. Thompson needs 176 yards to break the all-time passing record of 11.213 yards held by former Little Giants quarterback Jake Knott '02. Wabash was not a member of the NCAC in Knott's freshman season.
 
Allen, Jr. Moving Up Single-Season Scoring List
Senior wide receiver Derek Allen Jr. caught a pair of touchdown passes in the win at Hiram to move his season total to 12, the most in a single season for the Warren Central High School product. Allen ranks seventh in single-season touchdown catches in the Wabash record book, trailing the 13 TD grabs by Mike Russell '08 in 2006  and Ryan Short '03 in 2000 and 2001. Russell and Short are tied for fourth place on the single-season list. Kody Lemond '10 is tied for second on the list with back-to-back seasons of 14 touchdown receptions. Short owns the single-season record with 17 TD catches in 2002.
 
Unbeaten History
DePauw is 9-0 heading into the Bell Game, the fifth time the Tigers will face Wabash without a loss in the history of the rivalry. Wabash handed DePauw a 47-0 loss in 2010 when the Tigers came to Crawfordsville with a 9-0 record and finished the season 9-2. The 1943 DePauw squad was 2-0-1 and defeated Wabash 33-0 in a game played in mid-October. The Tigers finished 5-0-1 that year. The 1934 DePauw team brought its 7-0 record into a home game against Wabash but lost 7-6 to finish 7-1 for the year. The 1933 team claimed the Monon Bell for the first time with a 14-0 victory at Wabash to finish the season 7-0.
 
Wabash is 7-41 in games against DePauw when the Little Giants have not lost a previous contest. The last occurrence was in 2015 when Wabash finished 12-1.
Scouting DePauw:
DePauw is guaranteed no worse than a share of a third North Coast Athletic Conference title when the Tigers take the field in Saturday's Monon Bell Classic. A victory would put DePauw in the NCAA DIII playoffs for the third consecutive season and the first unbeaten and untied regular season in program history since 1933, excluding a 2-0 record in the 2020 pandemic season. The 1943 DePauw team finished with a 5-0-1 record.
 
The Tigers' defense ranks third in Division III against the run, along with the 17th-best scoring defense. DePauw has limited opposing teams to 46.2 yards a game on the ground and 12.1 points a game. The Tigers are 15th in total defense by holding teams to 240 yards a game. Luke Marsh is the tackles leader with 54. Brevon Gude, the 2022 NCAC Defensive Player of the Year, has recorded 22 tackles, 3-1/2 tackles for losses totaling 11 yards, two sacks for nine yards, ten quarterback hurries, and a 77-yard fumble return. Ryland Irvin's three interceptions are part of a Tiger defensive unit that has picked off 13 passes this season.
 
Junior quarterback Nathan McCahill ranks second in the conference in passing with a 249-yards-per-game average. He is seventh in the nation with a 190.0 passing efficiency rating with 141 completions with 27 touchdowns in 216 attempts with only four interceptions. Tight end Gabe Quigley is the top Tigers receiver with 38 catches for 547 yards and six touchdown grabs. Jaylon Smith has caught 35 passes for 661 yards and nine scores, and Robby Ballentine has 35 receptions for 685 yards and eight TDs. Gus Baumgartner is second in the conference with a 92.9 rushing yards per game average and third with nine rushing touchdowns. Caden Whitehead adds a 49.9 yards-per-game average and six rushing touchdowns to the offensive mix.