Game Notes (PDF)
Coach Doup's Weekly Radio Show


WESTERVILLE, Ohio—The Otterbein University football team, all alone in third place in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), is scheduled to travel to Baldwin Wallace University Saturday for a critical OAC matchup. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. in Berea.
 
The Cardinals, 4-2 overall, head into the game with a 4-1 conference mark. The Yellow Jackets, 4-2 overall, sit hot on the heels of the Cardinals, sharing fourth place with Heidelberg University, each 3-2 in league play.
 
"This is a huge game for us," said Otterbein head coach Tim Doup. "This is a pivotal game for us in the OAC, spring boarding us into the rest of the year. Momentum-wise and attitude-wise, I think our guys are OK—but they're tired and beat up.
 
"How do we respond at BW because we're at that point in the season where our players' bodies are just a mess," Doup continued. "But I think we will be OK, I really do. We are trying not to do as much banging (in practice) and keep them a little fresher. I'm looking forward to going up there with a lot of energy."
 
The Cardinals come into the game riding a two-game winning streak, most recently, defeating Muskingum University, 32-20, last Saturday in New Concord.
 
The Cardinals made every possession count in the win at Muskingum, taking advantage of a big-play offense and converting all four field-goal attempts. Otterbein scored touchdowns on runs of 54 and 36 yards, and a pass play of 67 yards. Otterbein rushed for a season-high 296 yards in the win. Four backs rushed for at least 50 yards, led by Reid Hutchison, with 111 yards and one TD on 10 carries.
 
"I didn't think we had that much energy before the Muskingum game," Doup said. "And that made me a little nervous. We were very quiet during pregame. Bus ride was dead silence. It just felt like we had no energy, but once we got going, I felt our energy pick up. I think we need to come into this game (with Baldwin Wallace) with a lot of energy right out of the gate. We can't be down or lackadaisical."
 
Baldwin Wallace, under head coach John Snell, won its third-straight game, a 56-17 victory at Wilmington College last Saturday. Quarterback Tyler Moeglin threw three touchdown passes to wide receiver Kyle Dunne in the game. Dunne also scored on a 40-yard punt return.
 
In addition to Wilmington, the Yellow Jackets have OAC wins over Muskingum, 35-7, and Marietta, 40-33. Their conference losses have come to Ohio Northern University, 37-35, and seventh-ranked John Carroll University, 45-7.
 
Otterbein has won four of the last six meetings with Baldwin Wallace, including a 19-7 win in Westerville last season. The two losses over that period were close, 27-21 in 2011 and 35-34 in 2010.
 
"I don't know what it is, but people seem to think that when we play BW, BW is automatically going to win," Doup said. "I don't know how to say it the right way—for us to win four out of the last six, and only to lose by 1 and by 6, shows that we are evenly matched with BW.
 
"Baldwin Wallace has a great program," Doup added. "Every time we play them, it's just a hard-fought, evenly-matched game. You never know what the outcome is going to be."
 
Following the Yellow Jackets, Otterbein is scheduled to play third-ranked University of Mount Union Nov. 1 at home in Westerville. Mount Union and John Carroll sit atop the OAC standings, each 6-0 overall and 5-0 in the OAC.