Crawfordsville, Indiana -- Wabash and DePauw meet for the 131st time in the annual Monon Bell Classic. For the first time in the history of the rivalry, both teams enter the contest ranked in the D3football.com top-25 poll. Wabash (8-1, 6-1 NCAC) is 24th in the latest D3football rankings, and is 23rd in the America Football Coaches Association poll. The visiting Tigers (8-1, 6-1 NCAC) are 15th in this week's D3football.com poll and 11th in the AFCA rankings.
 
Game Information
 
Kickoff: Saturday, Nov. 15 – 1:07 p.m. ET
Location: Little Giant Stadium – Crawfordsville, IN
Capacity: 9,122
Live Video: ISC Sports Network; Wabash College Video Network
Live Stats: https://wabashstats.statsbroadcast.com
 
Opening Notes
 
Wabash and DePauw meet for the 131st time in the annual Monon Bell Classic. For the first time in the history of the rivalry, both teams enter the contest ranked in the D3football.com top-25 poll. Wabash (8-1, 6-1 NCAC) is 24th in the latest D3football rankings, and is 23rd in the America Football Coaches Association poll. The visiting Tigers (8-1, 6-1 NCAC) are 15th in this week's D3football.com poll and 11rh in the AFCA rankings.
 
Series History
 
Wabash and DePauw meet for the 131st time overall in a rivalry that began in 1890 with a 34-5 DePauw victory in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Wabash holds a 63-58-9 lead in the all-time series and owns a 44-42-6 advantage in Monon Bell games since the trophy's introduction in 1932. The Little
Giants are 30-26-4 in contests played in Crawfordsville.
 
Broadcast
 
The 131st Monon Bell Classic will be broadcast by the ISC Sports Network and can be viewed online at www.iscsportsnetwork.com and through the ISC Sports Network or the Wabash College Video Network apps available on the Apple App Store, Google Play, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple TV, XBox and Chromecast.
 
News and Notes
 
Wabash and DePauw are tied for second in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings entering the final week of the regular season. Both teams lost to conference leader John Carroll. The Blue Streaks have already secured the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA DIII Football Tournament. The winner between Wabash and DePauw will most likely receive one of 13 at-large bids to the 40-team tournament pool.
 
Scouting Wabash
 
The Little Giants (8–1, 6–1 NCAC) are coming off a 42–13 win at Oberlin and have won four straight since their early-October loss at John Carroll. Wabash averages 39 points and 420.2 yards per game behind a balanced attack that has produced 25 passing touchdowns and 16 rushing scores this season.
 
Junior quarterback Brand Campbell leads the offense with 1,924 passing yards, 20 touchdowns and a 61.6 percent completion rate. His 162.3 passer-efficiency mark ranks among the top 30 nationally. Second-year quarterback Jackson Gilbert has added 371 yards and five touchdowns in relief, including a three-score day last week at Oberlin.
 
The receiving corps is paced by Luke Adams, who has caught 42 passes for 609 yards and a team-high seven touchdowns. Eight different Little Giants have surpassed 100 receiving yards, including Nick Witte, TJ Alexander, along with Kannon Chase and Konner Chase.
 
Wabash counters its passing efficiency with a deep backfield led by junior running back Xavier Tyler, who has gained 549 yards and averages 61 yards per game. Sophomore Cole Dickerson has added 301 yards and five touchdowns, and Campbell has rushed for six scores.
 
Defensively, the Little Giants rank 10th nationally against the run, holding opponents to 62.1 yards per game and 2.2 yards per carry. Linebackers Gavin Ruppert, Samuel Ringer, and Brock Robertson, along with linemen Carson Foxen, Brody Frey, and Jerry McBee, anchor a front that has recorded 26 sacks and 59 tackles for loss.
 
The secondary has produced 10 interceptions, led by Gage Gulley and William Harris with two apiece. Wabash stands 10th nationally and first in the NCAC in third-down defense, allowing opponents to convert just 26.5 percent of their attempts.
 
Special teams remain one of the program's defining strengths. Wabash leads all of Division III with 11 blocked kicks and five blocked punts, while ranking 19th nationally in net punting at 38.09 yards. Kickers Brody Rucker and Tyler Church have combined for 13 field goals, and Rucker has hit from as far as 50 yards. Kick returner Samuel Ringer averages 28.3 yards per return, highlighted by a 56-yard burst earlier this season.
 
The Little Giants also boast the NCAC's top mark in passing yards per completion at 14.53 and rank third in scoring defense at 17.8 points per game.
 
Scouting DePauw
 
DePauw enters the 131st Monon Bell Classic with an 8–1 overall record and a 6–1 mark in conference play following last weekend's 59–0 home victory over the College of Wooster. The Tigers' lone loss came in mid-October to nationally ranked John Carroll, 31–27.
 
The Tigers have dominated opponents throughout the 2025 season, averaging 41.6 points per game, which ranks 23rd nationally and second in the NCAC, and producing 423.1 yards of total offense per contest, good for 44th nationally and second in the conference. DePauw also boasts one of Division III's most efficient offenses on third and fourth down. The Tigers rank 21st nationally in third-down conversion rate at 50.9%, and an elite second nationally—and first in the NCAC—in fourth-down conversion percentage at 86.7%.
 
Sophomore quarterback Scott Ballentine has been among the league's most efficient passers, ranking 21st nationally and second in the NCAC in passing efficiency (169.9). He has completed 68.7 percent of his passes—25th in the country—for 2,361 yards and 26 touchdowns against only three interceptions. His top target is his brother, senior wide receiver Robby Ballentine, who has produced one of the best seasons in Division III. Ballentine ranks fourth nationally and leads the NCAC with 1,092 receiving yards, and his 121.3 receiving yards per game also ranks fourth in the nation. His 76 receptions place him fifth nationally, and his 14 receiving touchdowns rank sixth in Division III and first in the conference.
 
Running back Caden Whitehead anchors the DePauw ground attack with 527 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, ranking first in the NCAC in rushing scores and 38th nationally. The senior ran for 199 yards and two scores in last year's Monon Bell Classic to help the Tigers claim their third straight victory over Wabash with a 42–21 win. Carson Johnson adds 297 yards and three touchdowns. The Tigers have totaled 52 touchdowns, with an offense that ranks 40th nationally in red-zone efficiency at 86.7%—second-best in the NCAC. 
 
Defensively, DePauw brings one of the most dominant units in Division III into Saturday's rivalry game. The Tigers lead the entire nation in rushing defense, allowing just 10.1 rushing yards per game through nine contests. They rank sixth nationally and first in the NCAC in scoring defense at 10.8 points per game, and stand 16th in total defense, giving up just 241.1 yards per game. The unit has also been among the best in the nation in creating negative plays, ranking 12th nationally in sacks per game (3.11).
 
Defensive lineman Dominic Seibal leads a ferocious pass rush with 9.5 sacks, ranking first in the NCAC and eighth nationally, and his 13 tackles for loss also lead the conference. Linebacker Luke Nolan has complemented him with 0.81 sacks per game, ranking second in the NCAC. In the secondary, Holt Heldebrand and Danny McCoy have combined for four interceptions, as the Tigers rank second in the NCAC with 11 passes intercepted. DePauw also ranks 36th nationally and first in the conference in red-zone defense at 68.4%. The Tigers have forced 19 turnovers, ranking second in the NCAC.