The No. 4-ranked UW-River Falls football team will travel to Waverly, Iowa, this Saturday for a top-10 showdown against No. 6-ranked Wartburg College.

UW-RIVER FALLS (2-0) at WARTBURG (1-1)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 19
Time: 1 p.m.
Site: Waverly, Iowa // Walston-Hoover Stadium



AGAINST THE KNIGHTS

• Saturday marks the first ever meeting between UW-River Falls and Wartburg.

LAST TIME OUT

• The Falcons improved to 2-0 with a 38-6 win at No. 21-ranked Coe College last Saturday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa during their first road trip of the season.
• UWRF totaled 472 yards of offense while holding Coe to 159, including just 0.5 yards per rushing attempt. The Falcons also recorded seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss.
• Cade Fitzgerald led the way offensively after entering early in the game, completing 19 of 24 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns while adding 68 rushing yards and a score, combining for 289 yards of total offense. Austin Rush caught five passes for 70 yards and a touchdown, while Stephen Reifenberger and Trevor Asher also hauled in touchdown passes.
• The Falcons scored 38 unanswered points after Coe took an early 3-0 lead. Noah Nusbaum and Andre Hall added a defensive touchdown on a fumble recovery and lateral in the third quarter.
• Beau Schrot led UWRF with seven tackles, while Noah Nusbaum recorded six tackles and 1.5 sacks. Kody Curtis added 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss.
• Freshman kicker Johnny Figgins went 5-for-5 on PAT attempts and made his first career field goal, a 44-yard attempt.

IN THE RANKINGS

• UWRF improved from No. 5/6 to No. 4 in both this week's AFCA Coaches and D3football.com Top 25 national polls.
• The Falcons were tabbed to finish third in the 2026 WIAC Preseason Poll. UW-La Crosse was picked to claim the conference title after making its fourth consecutive NCAA appearance a year ago.

FITZGERALD, CURTIS EARN WEEKLY HONORS

• A pair of Falcons collected weekly honors following UWRF's road 38-6 road victory over No. 21 Coe College.
• Cade Fitzgerald was named the WIAC Offensive Player of the Week after stepping in for injured starting quarterback Peter McDevitt and orchestrating the Falcon offense in his first start of the season. Fitzgerald completed 19 of 24 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns while adding 68 rushing yards and another score on 14 carries. He accounted for 289 total yards and four touchdowns in the victory.
• On the defensive side, Kody Curtis earned national recognition as a D3football.com Team of the Week selection at defensive tackle. Curtis was a disruptive force along the defensive front, recording four total tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss totaling 16 yards and 1.5 sacks for 10 yards. He also broke up a pass and helped lead a defensive effort that limited the nationally ranked Kohawks to just 159 total yards in the contest.

FALCON NOTES

• Interim head coach Jake Wissing, in his 16th season at UWRF and first as head coach after five years as defensive coordinator, earned his first career victory in the Falcons' 73-7 season-opening win over Southern Virginia on Sept. 3.
• UWRF has outscored opponents 111-13 through two games and is averaging 55.5 points per game.
• The Falcon defense has been among the nation's stingiest units through two weeks, allowing just 165.5 total yards and 19.0 rushing yards per game. Opponents are averaging only 2.7 yards per play and have scored just one touchdown all season.
• UWRF has excelled on third down defensively, holding opponents to 5-of-32 (15.6%) on third-down conversion attempts. Opposing offenses have been forced to punt 14 times through two games.
• A balanced offensive attack has UWRF leading NCAA Division III with 59 first downs through two games. The Falcons are averaging 499.0 yards of total offense per game, including 272.5 passing and 226.5 rushing yards per contest.
• The passing game has spread the ball around early, with 12 different Falcons recording a catch, eight players posting at least three receptions and six players hauling in touchdown receptions. Austin Rush leads the receiving corps with eight catches for 178 yards and three touchdowns.
• Four Falcons have rushed for at least 80 yards this season, led by Trevor Asher (116), TJ Washtock Jr. (101), Ashten Quade (89) and Cade Fitzgerald (81).
• The Falcons have recorded nine sacks from eight different players through two games. Noah Nusbaum and Kody Curtis share the team lead with 1.5 sacks apiece.