Nick Godsey

Wooster Weekly Release (Sept. 30) | Wooster Football Media Guide | DePauw Tailgate & Ticket Information

The College of Wooster football team's (2-1, 1-1 North Coast Athletic Conference) annual Indiana trip is on tap this weekend, as the Fighting Scots will be in Greencastle to take on DePauw University (1-2, 1-1 NCAC). Kickoff from the 3,350-seat Blackstock Stadium is set for 1 p.m. Both teams are coming off close losses to Wittenberg University. Wooster fell 14-12 in Springfield, Ohio back on September 21, while DePauw lost 17-10 on September 28 at home. Wooster is coming off its bye week.

On The Air: DePauw will provide a live stream of this week's contest, which can be viewed at https://www.depauwtigers.com/sports/fball/2019-20/boxscores/20191005_ar91.xml. Live statistics of the game will be available at the same link. WKVX 960 AM will not be traveling to Indiana.

All-Time Series: DePauw leads the all-time series 6-3. Wooster snapped the Tigers' four-game series winning streak last year with a 24-21 win on Black & Gold Weekend. DePauw won the first meeting between these two programs 28-8 in 1975, and Wooster rebounded to win 31-0 in 1977. The two teams didn't meet again until 2012. Since DePauw joined the NCAC, Wooster's 2-5 in the series with the other win coming in 2013 (27-24).

Last Meeting: Then-freshman Mateo Renteria (Houston, Texas/Cypress Creek) electrified his squad with 388 yards passing in his first collegiate start, and the Scots' defense protected a three-point lead with an interception and fourth-down stop down the stretch, as Wooster beat DePauw 24-21 on Black & Gold Weekend.  

In the second quarter, current sophomore Chase Flanagan (Dellroy, Ohio/Carrollton) forced a fumble after a bad snap on a punt, and alumnus Derrick Florence scooped and scored from three yards out. Just before halftime, current junior Cam Pollard (Cleveland, Ohio/John Hay) intercepted a Chase Andries pass, and Renteria wasted no time finding current senior Nick Strausbaugh (Fredericksburg, Ohio/Waynedale) for a 73-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

Down the stretch, current junior Beau Greenwood (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) logged his second interception of the game, and the Tigers couldn't convert on a fourth-and-12 play from their own 20-yard line with under a minute remaining.

Offense Notes: Strausbaugh enters this week two yards shy of 2,500 receiving stripes for his career. In two games versus DePauw, Strausbaugh's logged 17 receptions for 284 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Troy Baughman (McKinney, Texas/Frisco Independence) is settling in as one of the primary offensive weapons for the Scots. Baughman's tied for the team lead with 13 receptions, while he's logged 65 of the Scots' 118 rushing attempts. Baughman's found the end zone three times this year, and ripped off a long run of 50 yards at Wittenberg. Renteria's completed at least 20 passes in seven of his 10 starts, and he's now 216-for-367 for 2,673 yards and 16 touchdowns in games he's started. 

Defense Notes: Wooster's defense has been phenomenal all season long, as the Scots have allowed 20 points in three games, and no opponent thus far has scored more than 14. In fact, Wooster allowed 14 or fewer points just three times in the last four seasons, and one has to go all the way back to 2008 to find the last time the Scots allowed 14 or fewer points in three straight games. That year, Wooster opened the season by holding four straight opponents - Waynesburg University (27-6), Ohio Wesleyan University (20-2), Denison University (21-10), and Earlham College (16-14) - to under 14 points, and the Scots went on to do so three more times before season's end. Only Wheaton College (Ill.) has allowed fewer points (10) than Wooster in 2019, while the Scots' 6.7 per-game average trails the Thunder (3.3) and Battling Bishops (5.8) for the national lead. Junior Kea'Shaun Phillips (Toledo, Ohio/Toledo Central Catholic) is the Scots' leading tackler at 23. He made 13 stops and had an interception versus Wittenberg.

Special Teams Notes: Freshman Lake Barrett (Columbia, S.C./Hammond School) is part of an elite company, as the rookie is a perfect 4-for-4 on field goals. Of those who have attempted at least four field goals this season, Barrett's one of 14 that has yet to miss. Classmate Matt Pardi (Arlington, Va./Washington-Lee) is currently in the top 50 in punting average at 38.9 yards per boot. Matt Ulishney (Greensburg, Pa./Serra District Catholic) - yet another freshman - logged a 49-yard kickoff return against Wittenberg. That was the longest by a Scot since Pollard's school-record 97-yard return that opened the 2017 Hiram College game.

This and That: Wooster's been whistled for nine penalties this year, and that's tied with Hope College, Illinois Wesleyan University, and Southwestern University (Texas) for the second-fewest in Div. III. Misericordia University has been flagged five times, but the Cougars have only played two games. The Scots' 18.67 penalty yards per game are the best within Div. III. Junior Bryce Gresham (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington) is now a defensive back after starting the year as a wide receiver. He'll now be wearing No. 15. Wooster won last year's game versus DePauw despite having negative 50 net yards rushing (the NCAA counts sack yardage and yads lost on bad snaps as rushing yards).