Crawfordsville, Ind. – Wabash College travels to Gambier, Ohio, on Saturday for a North Coast Athletic Conference matchup at Kenyon College. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Eastern at McBride Field.
 
Game Information
 
Kickoff: Saturday, Oct. 18 – 1 p.m. ET
Location: McBride Field – Gambier, Ohio
Capacity: 1,734
Live Video: North Coast Athletic Conference Network
Live Stats: athletics.kenyon.edu
 
Opening Notes
 
Wabash (5–1, 3–1 NCAC) continues conference play after rolling to a 44-27 victory over Ohio Wesleyan last week. The Little Giants produced 553 yards of total offense, including 303 yards and two touchdowns through the air from quarterback Brand Campbell. The win kept Wabash in third place in the NCAC standings entering the weekend.
 
The Little Giants improved their all-time record to 730–405–59, ranking fifth in NCAA Division III history in total victories and 15th in winning percentage (.636). Wabash is competing in its 25th season in the NCAC, where it has captured nine conference championships since joining the league in 2000.
 
Series History
 
Wabash and Kenyon meet for the 21st time overall in a series that began in 1942 with a 7-0 Lords victory in Gambier, Ohio. Since that opening loss, the Little Giants have dominated the matchup, winning 19 consecutive games to hold a 19-1 advantage in the all-time series, including a perfect 14-0 record in North Coast Athletic Conference play.

Wabash is 9-1 in contests played at Kenyon. The Little Giants earned a 38-0 shutout victory at home over the Owls in 2024, matching the school record with 10 sacks while limiting Kenyon to 10 first downs and just 170 total yards. Quarterback Brand Campbell threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Xavier Tyler added 87 yards and two scores on the ground. The Wabash defense dominated throughout, recording four takeaways and holding the Owls scoreless for the second straight season. Wabash produced a school record 776 yards of offense in its last visit to Gambier in 2023.

Last Week's Game
Wabash rebounded from its first loss of the season with a 44–27 victory over Ohio Wesleyan University in North Coast Athletic Conference play on Saturday at Little Giant Stadium. The Little Giants dominated possession, controlling the ball for nearly 40 minutes while amassing 543 yards of total offense.
 
Quarterback Brand Campbell threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns and added a rushing score to lead the Wabash offense. Senior running back Xavier Tyler totaled 90 rushing yards and caught a 47-yard touchdown pass, moving into 12th place on the Wabash career rushing list (2,232 yards). Sophomore running back Cole Dickerson contributed 85 rushing yards and two touchdowns, giving the Little Giants a balanced attack throughout the game.
 
The Wabash defense limited Ohio Wesleyan to just 50 rushing yards and forced two interceptions. Senior linebacker Gavin Ruppert tallied five tackles, moving into fifth place on the Wabash career tackles list with 301, passing CJ Gum '12. William Harris and Tanner Crouch each recorded interceptions, while defensive end Brody Frey added a sack. Kicker Brody Rucker connected on three of four field goal attempts and was perfect on five extra-point tries as the Little Giants improved to 5–1 overall and 3–1 in NCAC play heading into Saturday's game at Kenyon College.

Key Players
 
Campbell ranks among the national leaders in multiple offensive categories. He has completed 63 percent of his passes for 1,467 yards and 13 touchdowns, ranking 22nd nationally in passing efficiency (170.0) and 23rd in yards per completion (15.2).
 
Luke Adams leads Wabash with 27 catches for 406 yards and three touchdowns, while TJ Alexander has adds 23 receptions for 274 yards and two scores. Running back Xavier Tyler continues his climb up the Wabash record books, now ranking 12th on the all-time rushing list with 2,223 yards and 13th in career rushing touchdowns (22).
 
Defensively, Gavin Ruppert has climbed to fifth on the Wabash career tackles list (306). Brody Frey and Dakota Johnson are tied for seventh in the NCAC with an average of a half sack per game. The Little Giants lead the conference in rushing offense (190.3 ypg) and total offense (4455.7 ypg).
 
Kicker Brody Rucker has also moved up the charts, ranking sixth in Wabash history in career field goals made (30) and ninth in career extra points made (123).
 
Defensively, linebacker Gavin Ruppert ranks fifth on the Wabash career tackles list (301), while defensive end Brody Frey ranks second in the NCAC with 5.5 sacks. The Little Giants lead the NCAC in total defense (240.3 ypg) and rushing defense (47.8 ypg).
 
Scouting Kenyon
 
Kenyon enters Saturday's North Coast Athletic Conference matchup against Wabash with a 1–4 overall record and a 1–2 mark in league play after earning its first victory of the season last weekend, a dominant 57–2 win at Oberlin. The Owls opened the year with four consecutive losses to Bluffton, Wisconsin–Eau Claire, DePauw, and John Carroll before breaking through in Week 5 with their best all-around performance of the year.
 
The Owls average 18.8 points and 244.2 yards of total offense per game. Junior quarterback Ryan Dean leads the offense, completing 63 of 120 passes for 730 yards and six touchdowns while also rushing for a score. First-year quarterback Drew Morgan has provided an effective complement, throwing for 103 yards and two touchdowns in limited action. Brendan Comerford headlines the receiving corps with 22 receptions for 290 yards and three touchdowns, including a season-high 157 yards and two scores at Oberlin. Charlie Taylor (152 yards, 1 TD), Tyler Gladden (127 yards, 1 TD), and Dylan Carlquist (100 yards, 1 TD) add depth to a balanced passing attack. The ground game is paced by Jordon Benjamin, who has rushed for 242 yards and two touchdowns, while Julius Thompson has contributed 58 yards and one score.
 
Defensively, Kenyon has shown improvement, particularly in its front seven. The Owls have recorded 21 sacks through five games — an average of more than four per contest — and forced 13 turnovers. Michael Kerr and Dominic Simpson lead the defense with 30 total tackles each. Kerr has been a standout in the trenches, producing 8.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, and an interception, while Tanner Smith and Alex Knight have combined for six more sacks. J'Sun Gardner has added 32 tackles and a team-high six pass breakups, and Simpson has two interceptions. As a unit, Kenyon allows 28.8 points and 338.2 yards per game but limited Oberlin to just 69 total yards and forced six turnovers last week.

Up Next
 
Wabash returns home on Saturday, November 1, to host Wittenberg University at 1 p.m. at Little Giant Stadium in another NCAC contest.