The No. 6-ranked UW-River Falls football team closes out its 2024 nonconference schedule this Saturday, traveling to Mount St. Joseph University.

UW-RIVER FALLS (2-0, 0-0 WIAC) AT MOUNT ST. JOSEPH (2-1, 0-0 HCAC)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024
Time: 12 p.m. (ET)
Site: Cincinnati, Ohio // Schueler Field


 
THE SERIES
This Saturday's game will mark the first ever meeting between UW-River Falls and Mount St. Joseph.

IN THE RANKINGS

• UW-River Falls improved from No. 7 to No. 6 in this week's D3football.com poll and from No. 8 to No. 6 in the AFCA Coaches' poll.
• UWRF was tabbed to finish third in the 2024 WIAC Preseason Poll. UW-La Crosse, the defending league co-champions, has been picked to capture the 2024 WIAC Championship.
• Last season, the Falcons were ranked among the top 25 throughout the season and earned the program's highest national rankings by a coaches' poll and national media outlet, ranked as high as No. 4 by D3football.com and the AFCA Division III Coaches' Poll. UWRF led the WIAC with 298 total first downs (2nd/NCAA DIII), 43 points per game, passing offense (329.5 yards per game), 527.1 yards of total offense per game, and red zone defense (71.9%).

LAST TIME OUT

• UWRF defeated Greenville University 66-7 during its home opener last Saturday, Sept. 21 at Ramer Field. The victory marked the sixth consecutive season in which the Falcons won their home opener. Last year, UWRF upset then-ranked No. 3 Mary Hardin-Baylor.
  • A strong start guided the Falcons to victory, scoring 35 points in the first quarter alone, followed by another 21 in the second half to claim a 56-0 halftime lead. UWRF added another 10 in the second half before the Panthers found the end zone late in regulation to break the shutout.
  • Cade Fitzgerald earned his first start at quarterback and had 179 yards of total offense, headlined by a 79-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, one of his two rushing scores to go with his three passing touchdowns. His quarterback cohort Ben Wesolowski added 83 passing yards and a game-high 117 rushing yards.
  • Defensively, UWRF limited the Panthers to under 200 yards of total offense, tallying 11 tackles for loss with two interceptions and one forced fumble. Cade Schmidt led the way with eight tackles while Ian Gould had three tackles for loss and a sack that forced a fumble. 
  • Jake Barnard and Trevor Asher both scored their first touchdowns as a Falcon, just two of nine Falcons in the scoring column on the day.

FALCON NOTES

• During the season opener at No. 7-ranked Alma College, senior quarterback Kaleb Blaha compiled 426 yards of total offense with five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) in just three quarters to become UW-River Falls' all-time leader with 8,234 career yards of total offense. The previous record of 7,880 total yards was set by Ryan Kusilek (2012-15). He was named the WIAC Offensive Player of the Week for the fifth time in his career.
• Through two games, linebacker Gage Timm leads the Falcons with 23 total tackles. He tallied 20 at Alma, UWRF's most by an individual since 2019, and he was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week.
• Wide receiver Austin Rush, who scored his first touchdown as a Falcon at Alma, followed up with another receiving touchdown against Greenville. He leads the team with nine receptions for 91 yards.
• Senior defensive back Aaron Borgerding was named a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation's Campbell Trophy, an award that recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.