LINFIELD AT UWW: KEYS TO VICTORY

After a week of preparation, and months and months of hard work by players on both teams, the UW-Whitewater Warhawks and the Linfield Wildcats will put their dreams on the line when the ball is teed up at noon on Saturday at Perkins Stadium in Whitewater. The air will be appropriately chilled for a December Saturday in Wisconsin as kickoff temperature is expected to 26 degrees with a 15 degree wind chill. Here is what I see as the keys to victory at the Perk on Saturday:

LINFIELD WILDCATS KEYS TO VICTORY

1. Establish a running game. UWW (ranked 10th) will only be the second team this year the Cats have faced who rank in the top 25 nationally in stopping the run. Against UMHB (ranked 5th), the Cats managed just 70 yards in 33 carries. Considering the conditions, establishing some semblance of a running game will be important for Linfield to be able to open things up for the passing game.

2. Slow down the UWW running game. The Cats' own the 47th rated defense in the nation in stopping the run. UWW features Levell Coppage, who ranks 4th in the nation in rushing with 145 yards per game and 30 TD's rushing. Last week, the Cats' faced the 5th leading rusher in the nation in Ben Wartman. Wartman gained 143 yards and a TD in 27 carries.

3. Score TD's once in the Red Zone. UWW is 9th in the nation in Red Zone Defense and the Cats offense is 25th nationally in Red Zone Offense. If the Cats are to keep up with the potent UWW offense, they must make the most of their appearances in the Red Zone. UWW scores 88% of the time in the Red Zone to rank 12th nationally. The Cat defense ranks 101st in Red Zone Defense. So the Linfield offense MUST make the most of their opportunities to keep pace.

WHITEWATER WARHAWKS KEYS TO VICTORY

1. Ball Security. Linfield is a team that thrives on the takeaway. The Cats leads all of NCAA D3 football in takeaways with 47. On the other hand UWW has turned the ball over only 12 times in 13 games. Linfield ranks only 94th in scoring defense and 47th in overall defense giving up 300 yards per game. By contrast the UWW defense ranks #2 in scoring defense and #5 in overall defense in the D3 national rankings. If UWW doesn't turn the ball over, they will likely score plenty of points on Saturday.

2. Disrupt Aaron Boehme's rhythm. Boehme has thrown for 2983 yards and 32 TD's this year. In the Quarterfinals, Aaron Huffman completed 11 of 12 passes for 139 yards before leaving with an injury in the 2nd Quarter. To keep this game from being a track meet, UWW must use pressure packages to throw off Boehme's rhythm or risk turning this game into an unwanted track meet.

3. Pound the Rock. Last week, the Wittenberg Tigers brought the #1 defense in the land into Perkins Stadium. The Tigers fought valiantly for 41 minutes staying within 1 point of UWW at 14-13. However, the Warhawks ultimately wore down Wittenberg and outscored them 17-0 in the game's final 19 minutes. The UWW offensive line outweighs the Cat's defensive line by an average of 32 pounds per player. Staying patient with the running game could pay off huge dividends in the 4th quarter.

PREDICTION

There is little question that this is the strongest opponent either team has faced this season. The Wildcats come into the game battle tested, having defeated 6 teams ranked in the top 25 already this year. However, the reality is that none of those six plays at the level of UWW this year. The most likely scenario I see playing out is a very close first half. Look for the UWW offense to begin to click significantly in the 3rd quarter and for the Cats to be worn down by the 4th quarter. In a game that may well "feel" closer than the final score indicates, I'll call it UWW 38, Linfield 24.