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JACKSON -- After
suffering two heartbreaking losses to fall to 0-3, Millsaps has reeled
off three consecutive wins for the first time since 2001 to reach
the .500 mark. After last week’s 26-11 victory at Austin College,
the Majors are 2-0 in the SCAC for the first time since 1996’s
SCAC Championship season.
On offense, sophomore Juan Joseph is on his way to a record-shattering season.
Despite missing one game, Joseph has thrown for 1,342 yards on the season and
15 touchdowns. Equally as impressive is his 60 percent completion rate (102-of-170
passes). He currently leads the SCAC in both categories. Joseph is on pace to
break the school records for single-season passing yards (2,147), touchdown passes
(19), pass attempts (288), and pass completions (142) - all held by Beau Pollard
Joseph, however, has had the help of two of the most electrifying players in
school history in Tyson Roy and Chris Jackson. Roy, a junior, has followed an
injury-plagued 2005 campaign with a 513 yard performance in five games. Roy is
second in the SCAC in rushing yards and first in yards per carry (7.9). Jackson,
a senior transfer, leads the SCAC in receptions (28), yards (378) and touchdown
receptions (5).
Factor in what is perhaps the best offensive line Millsaps fans have seen in
years and you find a team that is averaging a league-best 36 points a game. This
is also the first time that the Majors have scored more than 25 points in six
consecutive games in school history.
The x-factor in the previous three games has been the drastic improvement of
the Millsaps defense. The Majors have four players that rank in the league’s
top 15 in tackles, with Shawn Gillenwater, Lee Klein, Casey Younger and Ray Kline.
Gillenwater, Klein and Younger have all amassed over 40 tackles for the season
thus far. They lead a defense that has given up an average of 11 points in their
last three games.
The Majors, however, will meet a DePauw team that is undoubtedly the best they
will have faced to this point. The Tigers enter the game with a 2-1 record in
the SCAC and a 5-1 record overall – the lone blemish coming on the road
against the 13-time SCAC champion Trinity Tigers four weeks ago. The Tigers handed
Rhodes its first SCAC loss of the year last week in Memphis, 27-6.
The Majors will have to exorcise a jinx of sorts against the Tigers, who have
not lost to the Majors since entering the SCAC in 1998. In turn, the Tigers lead
the overall series 9-3.
The Tigers average 25.3 points per game and 276.5 yards per game and it is no
secret who carries the load. Junior running back Jermiah Marks, along with a
6-0, 207-pound frame, brings in a SCAC leading 704 rushing yards. The two-time
All-SCAC first team honoree also leads the conference with 117.3 yards per game.
Though the Tigers are a run-first team, they have shown the ability to burn teams
with the pass. The Tigers run a two-quarterback system behind Spud Dick and Abe
Winkle. Dick, the likely starter, has completed 45-of 76 passes for 422 yards
and two touchdowns, while Winkle has completed 23-of-46 passes for 271 yards
and two touchdowns. The Tiger quarterbacks will look to Bryan Mulligan (17 catches,
192 yards, two touchdowns) or David Araiza (12 catches, 231 yards).
The always stingy DePauw defense holds true to form once again. The Tigers rank
third in the conference in scoring defense (14.8 ppg), pass defense (150 yards
per game) and total defense (273 yards per game).
The Tigers have held opponents
to just three passing touchdowns all season. Dustin Hertel, the reigning SCAC
Defensive Player of the Week, leads the league in sacks (8) and tackles for a
loss (15). Linebackers Eric Lewis (54) and Andy Brandstatter (53) lead the Tigers
in tackles.
This weekend will most likely decide who will compete with Trinity University
for the conference crown. Game time is slated for 1:30 p.m.
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