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| Team Pages: EC, LC, OSH, PLT, RF, STP, ST, WW |
|
RELEASED: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 Defending National Champion Picked To Win Fourth Straight Football Title
Last season’s national crown marked the third for a WIAC program after UW-La Crosse claimed first-place trophies in 1992 and 1995. It also represented the third straight Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl appearance for UW-Whitewater. The Warhawks, ranked No. 2 nationally by D3football.com and Lindy’s and No. 3 according to USA Today, received seven first-place votes in the league poll and could become the first team since UW-River Falls (1984-87) to claim four consecutive WIAC championships. UW-Platteville and UW-La Crosse are the only other programs to win at least four straight titles with the Pioneers claiming four (1968-71) and the Eagles securing four (1939-42) and six (1949-54). UW-Whitewater enters the 2008 campaign riding a 21-game winning streak in WIAC contests with the league mark of 29 (including one tie) set by UW-La Crosse from 1949-54. The Warhawks have also won 26 consecutive games at Perkins Stadium - the longest home winning streak in league chronicles. Junior kicker Jeff Schebler leads this year’s returnees and ranks second on the conference’s all-time list with 39 field goals made. UW-Whitewater must replace a group of 24 seniors, including running back Justin Beaver who won the 2007 Gagliardi Trophy, WIAC Player of the Year and finished as the league’s all-time leading rusher with 6,584 yards. UW-Eau Claire, ranked No. 12 by Lindy’s, No. 14 by D3football.com and No. 15 by USA Today, secured the remaining first-place tally and is expected to finish second in the eight-team league derby. The Blugolds have won nine conference titles with the most recent in 2001 and are coming off the program’s second NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. UW-Eau Claire rated as the sixth most improved program in NCAA Division III and the 13th most improved in all of college football after increasing its record from 3-7 in 2006 to 9-3 in 2007. UW-La Crosse will play its four home games this year at Winona State University (Minn.) due to the construction of the Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex and is scheduled to return home contests back to campus in 2009. The Eagles led the conference in passing offense and total offense last season with senior quarterback Griffin Moe topping the WIAC in passing offense and efficiency, while ranking second in total offense. UW-La Crosse has finished .500 or better in 36 of the last 38 seasons. UW-Stevens Point started the 2007 campaign with six straight victories - extending its winning streak to 10 games from the end of 2006 - but dropped its final four contests after suffering injuries to top offensive weapons. Sophomore quarterback Jake Swank started all 10 games a year ago and completed at least 50.0 percent of his passes in six contests. The Pointers play four of their first five games at home in 2008. Head coach John Miech begins his 21st season with the program and is the longest tenured coach in the league, while ranking fourth on the WIAC all-time list with 129 wins. UW-Oshkosh begins its 114th season without a returning All-WIAC performer and must replace 10 starters on offense, seven on defense and starting placekicker and punter of a year ago. The Titans are seeking their fourth straight top-four finish in the league standings and enter the 2008 campaign with a three-game winning streak. UW-Oshkosh had 28 seniors last season, including running back Andy Moriarty who concluded his career as the WIAC’s second all-time leading rusher with 4,496 yards. UW-River Falls sophomore wide receiver Michael Zweifel set a NCAA Division III single-season record for receptions by a freshman with 97 a year ago and matched a WIAC single-game mark of 18 catches against UW-La Crosse on Nov. 3, 2007. He also established a school single-season record of 1,056 receiving yards. Head coach John O’Grady needs just two victories to reach 100 in his career and become the seventh coach in conference history to reach the milestone. UW-Stout had six of 10 games a year ago decided by three points or less and won three of those. The Blue Devils were second in the WIAC in rushing defense at 112.0 yards per game. Junior kicker Kyle Martin made all 24 of his extra point attempts and ranked second in the conference with 19 punts inside the 20-yard line. UW-Platteville scored 30 or more points in four straight games in 2007, the longest streak since 1969, and held leads in seven of the 10 contests. The Pioneers rushed for 1,645 yards during the 2007 campaign, the most in head coach Mike Emendorfer’s nine seasons, and highest total since gaining 1,970 yards in 1998. 2008 Team Vitals UW-Eau Claire UW-La Crosse UW-Oshkosh UW-Platteville UW-River Falls UW-Stevens Point UW-Stout UW-Whitewater 2008 Preseason Predictions (Voted on by WIAC Sports Information Directors) ( )--First-place votes # # # # # |
| Past Seasons Review |
| All Games Records: Career Records Team Season Records Team Game Records Individual Season Records Individual Game Records |
| Conference Games Only Records: Team Records Individual Records |
| Past Team Champions |
| Year-By-Year/Game-By-Game
Results (Since 1973) Series Results (Since 1990) All-Time Standings (Since 1913) |
All-Time All-WIAC Selections (Since 1966) |
| Players in the NFL Draft All-Americans Academic All-Americans |
| NCAA Division III Statistics |
| D3football.com American Football Coaches Association Don Hansen's Football Gazette |
Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the defending NCAA Division III champion, is the preseason favorite to win the 2008 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) football title, according to the league’s sports information directors.
