Game Notes vs. Beloit College

RIPON, Wis. - The Ripon College football team is in the midst of their first losing streak of the season, after dropping their second game in a row in a 15-6 loss at Carroll last week.

"I thought we had a good game plan and played well offensively against Carroll - except for our five turnovers," Ripon Head Coach Ron Ernst said. "Turnovers are part of the game, but one thing we're working hard on this week is taking care of the football, and if we do that, I think we can move the ball on anybody and have success."

This weekend, they'll return home, looking to avoid their first three-game losing streak since the middle of last season, when they battle Beloit College. Ripon has had a lot of success against Beloit in recent years, winning the last nine meetings by an average of 22 points per game. This will be the 101st meeting on the gridiron between the two schools, with the first coming in 1893. Ripon leads the all-time series, 67-29-4.

"I expect Saturday's game to be very competitive," Ernst said. "This has always been a strong rivalry and the two teams always play hard against each other, so I don't see why that would be any different this weekend."

Both teams enter the weekend with a 1-2 conference record, as each is trying to claw their way up the MWC standings with two games to play.

Beloit's offense has been a juggernaut at times this season, as they are fourth in the MWC in scoring (29.9 ppg), despite getting shutout last week in a 33-0 loss to conference leading St. Norbert College. The Buccaneers have scored more than 30 points in four of their seven games, and currently rank third in total offense (416.7 ypg), second in passing offense (238.4 ypg), and seventh in rushing offense (178.3 ypg).

"Beloit has some very good talent on the offensive side of the ball, including what I think is the best receiving core in the league," Ernst said. "They may not have the best receiver in the MWC, but collectively, they have a group that is capable of doing big things."

With playmakers at receiver, and a quarterback in Danny May that ranks second in the MWC in passing yards (231.4 ypg), third in pass efficiency (142.0), and fifth in total offense (250.4 ypg), not to mention a league-leading three 300-yard passing games this season, the Buccaneers may seem like a one-dimensional team. That assessment would be incorrect however, as they also boast the league's leading rusher in junior Mason Dixon, who is averaging 133.3 rushing yards per game. Dixon is also tied for second in the MWC with nine rushing touchdowns, and is averaging 5.6 yards per carry, while entering Saturday's game just 67 yards shy of 1,000 for the season.

"We have to get a lot of hats on him because he's not going to be tackled by just one player," Ernst said. "He gives a great second, third, and fourth effort, so we have to rally to him and give him as little space to run as possible."

Conversely, Beloit's defense has been on the opposite end of the spectrum, allowing 37.1 points per game, which ranks 11th in the MWC. In four of Beloit's seven games, both teams have scored more than 30 points, while the Buccaneers have allowed at least 28 points in all seven contests.

"We go into every game with ideas about how a defense can be attacked in certain areas, and this is no different," Ernst said. " We've had a very good week of practice and we're looking forward to Saturday's game."

The Red Hawks enter the weekend ranking 10th in the MWC in scoring offense (19.4 ppg) and fifth in points allowed (21.4 ppg). They continue to lead the league in Red Zone Defense, allowing opponents to score just 60 percent of the time when they get the ball inside the 20-yard line.

Saturday's game will begin at 1 p.m. at Ingalls Field in Ripon and can be seen live at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.