Monon Bell rivalry to renew Saturday

DePauw and Wabash will renew their bitter rivalry on Saturday for the 126th time as the Little Giants come to Greencastle to take on the Tigers.

Wabash has won the last two meetings and leads the all-time series 62-54-9. Since the Monon Bell was introduced in 1932, Wabash leads the series 43-38-6.

Wabash enters the game 7-2 and on a four-game winning streak. The Little Giants lost their season opener to Wisconsin-Stevens Point and suffered their only other defeat to Wooster in week five.

They have clinched at least a share of the North Coast Athletic Conference title with a 7-1 record.

The Little Giants are ranked seventh in the Midwest Region.

DePauw shut out Oberlin last Saturday 34-0 to improve to 3-1 at home for the season and 5-4 overall. DePauw lost a 17-10 home contest to Wittenberg on Sept. 28 before earning three consecutive home wins against Wooster (31-26), Allegheny (8-6), and Oberlin. Junior quarterback Chase Andries returned to the lineup for the Tigers in the win over Oberlin after missing two consecutive games. He completed 18-of-24 passes for 182 yards and three TDs against the Yeomen.

Last year, The Little Giants won the 125th meeting between the two schools 24-17 after Wabash raced out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and held a 24-14 edge at halftime.

FOX Sports Indiana and FOX Sports Midwest will once again televise the Monon Bell Classic. This marks the third consecutive year viewers around the nation will be able to see the action on FSI.

This year, the game will also be televised nationally on FOX College Sports Atlantic and streamed on FOX Sports GO and the FOX Sports app.

Where it Stands in History

The DePauw-Wabash rivalry was touted for years as the oldest continuous rivalry west of the Alleghenies, but in fact it is not. The oldest rivalry west of the eastern U.S. mountain range is the University of Cincinnati-Miami (O.) University series which began in 1888. The DePauw-Wabash rivalry is the sixth most-played Division III rivalry and equals the 11th-most played in college football.

Throw out the Records?

It’s often said that the records of the teams entering the game can be disregarded in trying to predict a winner. Since 1924, DePauw and Wabash have squared off in each team’s final game 92 times. The team with the better winning percentage entering the game has a 54-32-6 record for a .620 winning percentage.

In years where one team’s winning percentage is at least .500 better than the opponent, the team with the higher winning percentage has posted an 9-2-1 record (.792). When Wabash has entered with a winning percentage at least .500 higher than DePauw’s, the Little Giants are 9-1-1 (.864).

Monon Bell Record

Since the Monon Bell was introduced into the series in 1932, Wabash leads 43-38-6.

Turnovers are a Bell Win Factor

Since 1980, when there was a difference in the number of turnovers between the two teams, the team with fewer turnovers has posted a 25-3 record. DePauw held a +1 turnover advantage in 2005, 2013 and 2018 and Wabash won each time.

Home Field Advantage

In the 119 games played on either of the two campuses, the home team has a 56-55-8 record.

Series Dominance

Even though the overall series is close, there have been stretches where one team has dominated the other. In the early 1920s Wabash won seven straight, including the first six via shutout. The Little Giants later won six straight from 1949 to 1954. The Tigers then won eight of the next 10, but kept possession of the Bell for 10 years because of two ties. In fact from 1955 to 1975, Wabash only beat the Tigers four times. The Tigers won only twice from 1976 to 1986, but then won four straight from 1987-90. Wabash held the bell from 1991-95, but DePauw won five straight from 1996-2000. Wabash then won three straight from 2001-03 and seven in a row from 2009-15.

Tie Games

The longtime rule has been that the team in possession of the bell entering the game retains possession in the case of the tie. Early rules indicated that the schools shared possession (each keeping it six months) following a tie. The first Monon Bell game in 1932 ended in a 0-0 tie, but since neither team had possession, it remained in hiding for the entire year.