Titanic chance for Oshkosh
Stagg Bowl awaits if it beats John Carroll
UW-Oshkosh coach Pat Cerroni wasn’t about to deny that this is the biggest football game in school history.
“I would say so,” Cerroni said. “It’s our best chance ever to get to the Stagg Bowl.”
The Titans (12-1) are one step away from playing for their first NCAA Division III national title, but it’s a big step. They play host Saturday to giant killer John Carroll (12-1) in a semifinal game at noon at J.J. Keller Field.
This isn’t the first time Oshkosh has advanced to the semifinals. They reached that level in 2012 but had to play against a powerful St. Thomas team on the road and fell behind early en route to a 28-14 loss.
This time, the Titans are playing at home. And they are facing a team they beat in the first game of the season at home, 33-14.
Suffice it to say the Blue Streaks are playing much better than at the outset of the season. Exhibit A was a 31-28 victory over
perennial champion Mount Union in the final game of the regular season, snapping the Purple Raiders’ incredible 112game winning streak (regular season).
Exhibit B was a dominant 31-14 takedown of another national power, UW White water, in the quarterfinal round last Saturday. Both of those impressive victories came on the road, so don’t look for John Carroll to be intimidated by playing at Oshkosh a second time this year.
“We are identical teams,” Cerroni said. “We beat them here in the first game but they had a firstyear quarterback and he struggled a bit. Now, he’s got experience as the season has gone on and he’s grown up. He has a bunch of senior talent around him.”
Cerroni referred to freshman Anthony Moeglin, who passed for 199 yards and two scores in that season opener but also threw a couple of picks. The Titans’ offense swamped the Blue Streaks in that game, compiling 474 yards as quarterback Brett Kasper threw for 270 and two scores, and tailback Devon Linzenmeyer rushed for 106 and two more TDs.
Oshkosh is coming off a heart-pounding 34-31 quarterfinal victory at St. Thomas, a game in which the Titans took a twotouchdown lead, only to see the Tommies draw even late in the game, blocking a punt for a touchdown.
“We jumped them and got an early lead but it wasn’t over,” Cerroni said. “We had some trouble with our kicking game. They blocked a punt and scored and all of a sudden we have a tie game. That’s when we had to dig deep. It was ‘go time.’
“I think we’re ready again. I’ve got a tremendous amount of confidence in this team right now. They’re focused.”
In the other semifinal, Mount Union — forced to play on the road in the tournament after the loss to John Carroll — will take on No. 1 Mary HardinBaylor. Should the Crusaders win that game, it would be the first time since 2004 that neither Mount Union nor Whitewater played in the Stagg Bowl.
“That would be something,” Cerroni said. “They wouldn’t know what to make of that in Salem. They are used to the same teams being there every year. It has been unbelievable.
“We worked hard to get here. We have a ton of seniors. It might take three or four years to get back to this point. That’s why this is big for us.”
Biggest game ever, a designation the Titans would like to duplicate next week.