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

WESTERVILLE, Ohio—The Otterbein University football team enters the toughest portion of its schedule, facing two nationally-ranked teams in back-to-back weekends, beginning with third-ranked University of Mount Union Saturday in Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
 
The Purple Raiders, 7-0 overall, share the top spot in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) with seventh-ranked John Carroll University, each 6-0 in the league. Otterbein is scheduled to travel to John Carroll Nov. 8.
 
The Cardinals, riding a three-game winning streak, including a come-from-behind 20-9 victory at Baldwin-Wallace University last Saturday, hold down third place in the OAC at 5-1.
 
Quarterback Brick Davis, reigning OAC offensive player of the week, brought the Cardinals back from a 9-0 halftime deficit at Baldwin Wallace, engineering scoring drives on Otterbein's first four possessions of the second half. Davis completed 21 of 37 pass attempts for 243 yards in the win, with most of that coming in the second half where he was 14 of 19 for 170 yards, including a touchdown of 12 yards.
 
"Offensively, we played the worst we possibly could play in the first half," said Otterbein head coach Tim Doup about the BW game. "That's what I told them at halftime. Look at the scoreboard—be lucky you're only down 9-0. We weren't making plays like we had in the past. In the second half, our guys started making plays and we got into a little bit of a groove. Defense did great. The defense played very well."
 
The Cardinal defense recovered three fumbles, forcing two, in the victory.
 
Mount Union, meanwhile, ran its regular-season win streak to 90 games with a 74-7 win over Wilmington College last Saturday at home in Alliance. Quarterback Kevin Burke threw for three touchdowns and ran for another. The Raider offense rolled up 603 yards while the defense held Wilmington to 180 yards with three fumble recoveries and two interceptions.
 
The Raiders lead all teams in NCAA Division III in points per game (64.6),  first downs per game (30.3), total offense (637.9 yards per game), and total defense (181.9 yards per game). Mount Union has not a lost a game during the regular season since Oct. 22, 2005.
 
Although Doup knows Mount Union's track record, he's treating the game just like all the other games this season.
 
"I told the team Tuesday, put everything aside, it's just another game," Doup said. "Just play, do what you've been doing and don't let anything distract you. We are going to prepare the same. Do everything the same.
 
"It's a game and we have to play well," Doup continued. "We can't turn the ball over, get a punt blocked. We'll have to control the ball a little bit. We can't get OAC-ambushed—is what we call it—where everything starts going bad and gets worse. When all of a sudden, in one play they score, and then block a punt and score again."