How DePauw can win Monon Bell Game
Victory in rivalry could also start a playoff run
One goal for the DePauw football team remains the same every season, year in and year out for 128 years: Defeating Wabash in the Monon Bell Game.
Defeating your rival is always viewed as an accomplishment. It’s something the program can look back on with pride even after a subpar season. But DePauw’s goals are evolving under coach Brett Dietz. Coming off back-to-back nine-win seasons, the Tigers want to make a run in the Division III Tournament.
The Tigers’ 2022 season reached its pinnacle in a dominant 49-14 win over Wabash. Winning the Bell Game can produce a euphoric feeling for a program, but DePauw had another game to play. Waiting for the Tigers the following week was Carnegie Mellon in the D-III Championship first round. After a backand-forth first quarter, CMU pulled away for a 45-14 win. Was there a letdown after the Bell Game? It’s hard to say. But DePauw wants to find a way to balance its goals of winning the Bell Game and having postseason success.
“That’s hard for both of our programs,” Dietz said of the emotion surrounding the Bell Game. “It just means so much to all the alumni and all the students, and it’s what you look forward to all year. But our goal is to make it to the championship game every single year.
“We always want to be playing for a championship. We’ve got to be able to handle that emotional win and then move on to the playoffs and still play really, really well.”
Leading the way for an offense that averaged 37.6 points per game is senior running back Gus Baumgartner. The Guerin Catholic grad rushed for 770 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. His production on the ground will help ease the load for starting quarterback Nathan McCahill. The Cathedral grad has appeared in 18 games with DePauw but he’s taking over as the full-time
DePauw Tigers linebacker Brevon Gude, center without a helmet, celebrates with his team on Nov. 12, 2022, at Blackstock Stadium in Greencastle.
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starter this season. Baumgartner said improved strength and psychically gained through increased weight training during the offseason has changed the mentality of the offense.
“During practice we’ve been pretty dominant against the defense, more dominant than usual,” Baumgartner said. “The defense usually beats up on us a lot because they’re very good. I think having some good practices on offense daily has given us some confidence that we’re doing better than we were last season.”
Moving the ball against this DePauw defense should be considered a sign of a strong offense. Last season the Tigers
defense recorded four shutouts and only allowed more than two touchdowns in a game four times. The battles between the offense and defense breed competition within the program. With seven returning starters on offense and 10 on defense, Dietz has experienced playmakers on both sides of the ball.
DePauw’s defense is led by its linebacking corps. Senior linebacker Brevon Gude (Avon) is the reigning NCAC Defensive Player of the Year. Luke Marsh is a two-year starting middle linebacker and first-team All-NCAC performer. Junior linebacker Jake Comer may be the best athlete on the defense, showing off his speed with a 54-yard pick six during
the Bell Game last season.
“I think that our defense is always the heart and soul of our team, bringing energy and getting everybody fired up,” Gude said. “Whenever we make big plays and then everybody starts to get up, it ricochets over to the offense.”
A stout defense and a strong rushing attack is always a recipe for success. DePauw hopes to lean on those principles and use the loss to CMU to fuel it through another successful campaign.
“That experience has really gotta come into play at some point,” Dietz said. “We’re hoping to use that not only this year in the playoffs, but throughout the regular season as well.”