Game Notes vs. #19 Wheaton (IL)

WAUKESHA, Wis. - Three weeks and two games into the 2024 season, the Carroll University football team still doesn't know what it's like to play in front of their home fans. That will change on Saturday when the Pioneers welcome 19th-ranked Wheaton (IL) College to the friendly confines of Schneider Stadium in Waukesha.

"It's been a very long time since we've been in front of our home crowd," Carroll Head Football Coach Mike Budziszewski said. "Our players are excited and it should be a great game this weekend."

This will be the 42nd all-time meeting between these two teams, with Wheaton holding a 23-18 series advantage. The Thunder have won the last seven meetings, which is the longest winning streak by either team in the series, dating back to 1937.

Ranked number eight in the D3football.com Top 25 preseason rankings, Wheaton enters Saturday's game ranked 19th in Division-III. After losing their non-conference game 21-14 at UW-Oshkosh, the Thunder got back on track last week with a 42-3 conference-opening victory against Augustana (IL).

Through a small sample size of games this season, the Thunder are averaging 28 points per game, while also gaining 412 yards of total offense per game, including an average of 292.5 passing yards. In addition to his yardage total, Wheaton quarterback Mark Forcucci has completed 66.2 percent of his passes, while tossing four touchdowns. Not to be outdone, Thunder running back Giovanni Weeks enters the weekend ranking third in the CCIW with 71 rushing yards per game, while averaging 4.4 yards per carry.

"Wheaton does everything pretty well. They have a good O-Line and great receivers, so offensively, they're going to have a pretty balanced attack and can hurt their opponent in many ways," Budziszewski said. "Our defense has to be prepared to stop all of their weapons and I feel like we have a good game plan going into the weekend."

After defeating UW-Stout 28-16 in their season opener, the Pios fell 35-7 at WashU to open the conference season last week. One trend that is working in Carroll's favor is that Coach Budziszewski has never lost a home opener (3-0) during his tenure as the Pioneers' Head Coach. In order to keep that trend going, the team will have to make some adjustments from last week.

"The season is too short to dwell on anything whether it be a win or a loss. We focus on learning both good and bad things from the film and then moving on because we have another opponent in six days at that point," Budziszewski said. "I thought we learned a lot from the film this week and there are a lot of things that we can clean up. We really focused this week on what we can control and fixing what we're doing, rather than worrying so much about what the opponent will do."

One of the consistent bright spots for the Pioneers this season has been the play of their defense. One year after finishing second in the league in sacks, Carroll again ranks second in sacks among all CCIW teams, bringing the quarterback down behind the line of scrimmage five times already this year. The Pios are fourth in the conference against the pass (184 ypg), while ranking seventh against the run (129.0 ypg).

"The defensive scheme that Coach (Defensive Coordinator Garren) Holley has put together is amazing and allows our guys to play fast," Budziszewski said. "When we play fast, we're going to make some big plays, and we rotate a lot of guys on our defense, so a lot of different individuals have the opportunity to make an impact, while allowing our players to be fresh down the stretch."

Some of those impactful players include linebackers Damon Loker and Will Campbell, whom are tied for the team lead with 19 tackles apiece. That duo also has each recorded at least two tackles for loss and two QB Hurries, while Campbell has both forced and recovered a fumble. In addition to that, defensive linemen Clayton Huber, Riley Stobb, and Abe Stockwell all rank in the top 10 in the CCIW for tackles for loss. Stockwell also has a pair of sacks on the year, which leads the team.

"Loker is playing phenomenally right now and Campbell had a great game last week. They're both smart and physical and fly around the ball. Our entire defensive line has also been playing really well. We move our guys around a little bit to give them some one-on-one matchups and create angles where they can make some plays," Budziszewski said. "The most improvement we've seen at a single position has been in our secondary where our guys have been able to play mistake free football. That allows our linebackers and defensive line to get home because the quarterback has to hold the ball a little longer than normal."

Saturday's game will kickoff at 1 p.m. from Schneider Stadium. Digital tickets are available for purchase at https://carrolluniversity.vbotickets.com/event/Carroll_Pioneers_vs_Wheaton_College/136071.

"We're not as concerned about the outcome of the game as we are about the process," Budziszewski said. "Our main focus is understanding the brand of football that we want to play, going out there and executing, while correcting our mistakes from last week and improving as a team."