Game Notes at University of Chicago

RIPON, Wis. – Saturday's game between Ripon and the University of Chicago will mark almost a year to the day since one of the greatest comebacks in Ripon College Football history, involving these same two teams. In last year's meeting, Ripon erased a 15-point fourth quarter deficit to win 36-29 thanks to 22 unanswered points in the final 13 minutes.
 
"It's their Homecoming, so I know there will be a lot of excitement on their campus," Ripon Head Coach Ron Ernst said. "I'm sure their coaches may mention last year's game, but that was then and each team has new faces on both sides of the ball."

This will be the 15^th meeting on the gridiron between these two schools, but just the second since 1987. Ripon leads the all-time series 8-6, with the first meeting coming in 1928 when Chicago was a member of the Big Ten Conference, resulting in a 12-0 Ripon victory.
 
Both teams enter the weekend with identical 2-1 conference records in the MWC North Division, as the losing team will be eliminated from contention for the MWC Championship Game. Ripon is 5-2 overall, winning five of their last six games, including four games in which they shutout their opponents in the first half. Chicago is 4-3 overall, and have won four of their last five games, with three of those victories coming by way of shutout.
 
"We're looking at this game as another very tough opponent who is excellent in all three phases of the game," Ernst said. "It's a team that we have to play really well in order to have any kind of success."

Chicago is one of the more balanced teams in the MWC, ranking in the top half of the conference in nearly every offensive and defensive statistic. The Maroons are fourth in the league in scoring offense (36.3 ppg), while ranking third in scoring defense (10.7 ppg). They also rank fourth in total offense (374.7 ypg), pass offense (216.6 ypg), and rushing offense (158.1 ypg), while ranking third in both total defense (273.3 ypg) and pass defense (144.6 ypg), and fourth in rushing defense (128.7 ypg).
 
Leading Chicago's offensive attack are a set of brothers, Quarterback Jeffrey Jackson and Wide Receiver Jacob Jackson. Jeffrey is one of the top passers in the MWC this season, ranking second in the league in pass efficiency (146.6) and third in passing yards per game (201.7). He has also thrown for 12 touchdowns, while rushing for 200 yards and two more scores. Jacob is fourth in the conference in receptions per game (5.7), while ranking fifth in receiving yards per game (82.1) and scoring five touchdowns.
 
"They've probably been throwing the ball back and forth since they were five years old, so they have about 15 years of experience playing football together. I'm sure they can predict where each other are going to be on the field," Ernst said. "They have excellent timing and both are very good athletes, so we need to get pressure on the quarterback as much as possible to force them into some mistakes."
 
As good as Chicago's offense has been, no one has put up more points in the MWC than Ripon, who leads the conference with 43.3 points per game. Their 303 points already rank 10^th in program history with three games still to play, and they are 104 points shy of breaking the single season record. The Red Hawks also lead the league in first downs per game (22.4) and total offense (416.3 ypg), while their league-leading 330.9 rushing yards per game ranks third in all of Division-III.

"I knew our offense would be good because of the experience we had coming into the season, but I wasn't thinking about breaking a scoring record," Ernst said. "It's nice to see that become an attainable goal at the end of the season, but we want to take things one game at a time and let the rest take care of itself."

Although Ripon's on pace for a record-setting point total, it's not all because of the offense. The Red Hawks' defense has scored three times this season, including twice last week, while Ripon also has two special teams touchdowns on the year, including Brent Anderson's 88-yard kickoff return to start the game last week, marking the ninth-longest kick return in program history.

The defense has also given Ripon's offense great field position for much of the year, forcing 26 turnovers, which is the second-most in Division-III, just one shy of the number one total. The Red Hawks rank fifth in the country in fumble recoveries with a conference-best 12, while also leading the MWC in interceptions with 14, which is sixth in the nation.

"It's huge when the defense can score or get the ball back and put the offense in very good field position," Ernst said. "The defense and special teams have been able to take some pressure off the offense by scoring on some impact plays."

Those impact plays have led to some regional and national recognition for several players on the team. Anderson is the reigning MWC Special Teams Performer of the Week, while cornerback Cameron Gruenwald was named to this week's D3football.com Team of the Week for his two-interception performance in last week's win. That marks the third time Ripon has received a selection for that weekly honor with safety Lane Barnes earning the recognition twice. Barnes has also been named MWC Defensive Performer of the Week, while Cormac Madigan earned the offensive version of that award two weeks ago.

"It's nice to see our players get the recognition, and they're all very humble and credit their teammates for helping them be successful," Ernst said. "They have all worked extremely hard and have done a great job, so it's exciting to see hard work pay off."

Saturday's game at University of Chicago will begin at 2 p.m. in Chicago, Ill., and can be seen live at https://athletics.uchicago.edu/sports/fball/live-video, with LiveStats available at https://athletics.uchicago.edu/sports/fball/2018-19/boxscores/20181027_twak.xml.