RIPON, Wis. - Ripon's football team opened their season two and a half weeks ago, losing both contests, but the only thing that matters is what happens from here on out, as the Midwest Conference season begins Saturday at Monmouth College. The Red Hawks, which have arguably the toughest start to their schedule in the MWC, will play their third consecutive road game this weekend against the defending conference champion Fighting Scots. Ripon leads the all-time series 35-24-2, but Monmouth has won five of the last six.

"After playing at UW-La Crosse last weekend, this will be like going from the furnace to the fire," Head Coach Ron Ernst said. "Monmouth is a very good team that does a lot of things well on offense and run to the ball very well on defense."

Ripon enters the game having lost their two non-conference games to start the year, while Monmouth won both of their non-conference contests by a combined score of 73-25. The Fighting Scots boast an offense that ranks second in the MWC with 36.5 points per game, leading the league with 535 yards per game, including 311.5 passing yards and 223.5 rushing yards per contest. Monmouth's offense is led by the reigning MWC Offensive Performer of the Week, senior quarterback Tanner Matlick, who completed 21-of-34 passes for 394 yards and four touchdowns in last week's 29-22 win against Wartburg. For the season, Matlick is tied for first in the conference for touchdown passes (5), while also leading the conference in completion percentage (69.1) and ranking third in passing yards per game (281).

The Monmouth defense has proven to be just as tough, allowing seven points or less in six of their last 10 games, dating back to last season. Through two games this year, Monmouth ranks second in the MWC in both total defense (267.5 ypg) and rushing defense (90.0 ypg) and third in pass defense (177.5 ypg). while allowing the second-fewest points in the MWC (12.5 ppg).

Ripon will try to combat that by sticking with their bread and butter - a ground game that controls the clock. Ripon ranks fourth in the league in both rushing offense (200.5 ypg) and time of possession per game (31:45). Oddly enough, the run-first team is also fourth in the league in pass efficiency this year (127.0).

Defensively, Ripon is yet to record a sack, but putting pressure on the opposing quarterback will be an emphasis going forward, especially with a talented defensive line like the Red Hawks have. Junior Brandon Bartel is one key cog on that D-Line, with 9.5 sacks in 22 career games. He is just one and a half sacks shy of breaking into Ripon's career top 10 and is on pace to break the school record for career sacks, which is held by Charles Foreman (1995-98) and Matt Snyder (1992), whom each recorded 17 during their career.

In the past, Ripon has fared well in their conference opener, winning nine of their last 11, while Monmouth has won 12 of their last 13 conference openers. This has been a hotly contested series, with the winning team scoring at least 35 points in each of the last six years. During that span, there have been three times where both teams have scored 35 points or more, including a triple overtime thriller six years ago. No matter how many points are scored this Saturday, the only thing Ripon is looking for is the 'W'.

"We'll have to play well in all three phases of the game in order to earn the win," Ernst said. "Everything that has happened so far this season doesn't matter any more, because all that matters is what we do the rest of the season."

Saturday's game will kickoff at 1 p.m. at April Zorn Memorial Stadium in Monmouth, Ill. Video and LiveStats of the contest will be available at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.