Wabash plays its final home game of the 2024 regular season on Saturday when the Little Giants face Denison University in a 1 p.m. contest at Little Giant Stadium.
The Little Giants enter the game with a 6-1 overall record and a spotless 5-0 mark in North Coast Athletic Conference contests. Denison is 4-3 with a 4-1 NCAC record. The three Big Red losses came against teams ranked in the D3football.com and AFCA top-25 polls, including a 53-34 home loss to DePauw on October 19 when the Tigers were ranked tenth and 13th in the two polls.
Wabash enters the weekend tied with DePauw for first place in the NCAC standings with four games remaining in the regular season. The Little Giants play the top-five conference teams over the next four weeks, with games against Kenyon, Denison (4-1 NCAC), Wittenberg (2-1 NCAC), and DePauw (4-0 NCAC) on the horizon.
Wabash is 21-7-1 all-time versus Denison, dating back to a 0-0 tie between the two teams in their first meeting in Crawfordsville in 1931. The Little Giants lost four of the first seven games against Dension before going on a 17-game winning streak against the Big Red, including 16 consecutive victories in NCAC contests. Denison has won three of the last five games between the two squads, with a 45-42 win in its previous trip to Crawfordsville in 2022. The Big Red scored the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter of last year's game in Granville, Ohio, to claim a 28-24 victory. The previous three games were decided by fewer than four points, including a 39-38 Wabash overtime win at Denison in 2021.
LAST WEEK
Wabash tied a school record with ten sacks and recorded its third defensive shutout of the season with last Saturday's 38-0 home victory over Kenyon College. The Little Giants limited the visiting Owls' offense to 91 yards of total offense, including 11 rushing yards on 38 attempts for an average of 0.3 yards per carry. Gavin Ruppert led the Wabash defense with 11 tackles. Jordan Cree provided a mix of defensive plays with five tackles, 2-1/2 sacks for 17 yards, 3-1/2 tackles for losses totaling 20 yards, and a quarterback hurry. Cree also blocked a field goal attempt on Kenyon's opening possession that Avery Epstein returned 64 yards to give Wabash a 7-0 lead. Michael Hegwood extended the Little Giants' streak of games with an interception to eight with an almost-pick six in the third quarter to set up an 18-yard Brody Rucker field goal.
Wabash was held to 282 yards of total offense by a stout Kenyon defense. Xavier Tyler led the rushing attack with 58 yards on 16 carries with one touchdown. Cole Dickerson and TJ Alexander each added rushing touchdowns for the Little Giants. Brand Campbell completed 15 of 19 passes for 199 yards. Connor Thompson paced the receivers with seven catches for 77 yards and one touchdown.
Saturday's 38-0 win was the third shutout of the season for the Little Giants. Two of the three have come at home, where Wabash has limited opposing teams to 21 total points in four games this season. The last time Wabash posted three shutouts in a season was in 2015, with victories over Allegheny (54-0), Hiram (38-0), and Kenyon (34-0). The last time Wabash recorded four shutouts in a season was in 1980 with wins against Central (17-0), Heidelberg (35-0), Marietta (42-0), and Centre (51-0). The 1946 Wabash football team finished 7-1 overall with six shutouts, only giving up seven points in a win against Franklin and 25 points in its loss to Butler. The 1921 Wabash squad recorded seven shutouts to finish 7-2 with losses to Army (21-0) and Marquette (7-0).
Wabash is holding opponents to an average of 11.6 points a game this season, 16th best among Division III teams and best in the NCAC.
The ten sacks recorded by the Wabash defense last Saturday against Kenyon equaled the school record set in 2001 against Denison and matched in 2004 versus Washington-St. Louis and again in 2006 versus Oberlin. Current defensive coordinator and associate head coach Jake Gilbert was the Little Giants' offensive line coach for the 2006 squad.
BY THE NUMBERS
Saturday's game features the top two running backs in the NCAC this season. Wabash junior Xavier Tyler leads the conference through seven games with a 103.1 yards-per-game rushing average and seven touchdowns. Denison's fifth-year back Trey Fabrocini has rushed for an average of 93.1 yards per game and has scored six rushing touchdowns.
Wabash ranks fourth among DIII programs in red zone defense, with opposing teams scoring on only 50 percent of their trips inside the 20. The Little Giants' offense is fifth in Division III in red zone offense, scoring 94 percent of the time this season. Wabash ranks 29th and is second in the conference in scoring offense, averaging 40.4 points per game.
Quarterback Brand Campbell leads the NCAC and is tied for tenth among Division III quarterbacks in completion percentage at 71.4 percent. He has completed 75 of 105 pass attempts for 979 yards and 13 touchdowns with one interception through six games. Campbell is tied for second in the conference in touchdown passes and second in passing efficiency with a rating of 188.7.
Junior kicker Brody Rucker is third in scoring in the conference, averaging 7.9 points per game. He is third in the NCAC in field goals with a 6-for-6 season performance and an average of 0.9 field goals per game.
SCOUTING THE BIG RED
Denison saw its four-game winning streak snapped on October 19 with a 53-34 loss to DePauw. All three of the Big Red's losses this season have come against nationally ranked opponents. Denison dropped games to #22/#23 Linfield (31-7), #13/#15 Alma (38-30), and #10/#13 DePauw. Fifteen-year veteran head coach Jack Hatem's squad averages 28.3 points a game on offense and holds opponents to 24.6 points on defense.
Denison ranks third in the conference in both rushing and passing offense, averaging 133.3 yards a game on the ground and 214.9 through the air. Three-time all-conference fifth-year running back Trey Fabrocini averages 93.1 yards a game and has scored six rushing touchdowns this season. Junior Cade Nowik adds another three rushing touchdowns to the Big Red season totals and a 19.8 yards-per-game average.
Freshman Tyler Green has thrown for 1,403 yards and 12 touchdowns in his first year at the helm of the Denison offense. He has completed 118 of 175 passes with four interceptions. Seniors Tommy Asleson and Aidan Brownlee share the team lead with 37 receptions apiece. Asleson has accounted for 554 receiving yards and six TDs. Brownlee has yet to find the endzone but has 302 receiving yards this season. Senior Billy Guzzo adds another 16 receptions for 223 yards and three touchdowns to the receivers mix.
Sophomore Nick Pellicciotta leads the defense with 42 total tackles at linebacker. The Big Red have recorded 12 sacks this season, with senior defensive tackle Shawn Ugbana topping the list with 2-1/2 for 17 yards. Sophomore defensive tackle Drew Duffy is the chart-topper with ten tackles for losses of 32 yards. Senior safety Collin Murphy and senior cornerback Sean Carr share team-high honors with two interceptions apiece.
