Tiger football looks to rebound on Old Gold Day

Coming off its first loss of the season, a 55-13 defeat at Millsaps, DePauw football (301, 2-1 SCAC) enters this Saturday needing to bounce back on Old Gold Day. With the Birmingham-Southern Panthers (1-3) coming to town, the Tigers look to get back on track.

The DePauw offense struggled through a season-low 269 yards of total offense last Saturday. Spud Dick was 8-of-23 for 144 yards a touchdown and two interceptions. Alex Koors caught three passes for 95 yards and a score.

The rushing attack ran 39 times for 125 yards. Mitchell Willsey led the attack with 41 yards and a score on 10 carries.

However, DPU is still averaging 370 yards per game, and they will face a Panther defense that is allowing 367 per game, including surrendering an average of 183 on the ground. BSC is surrendering nearly 31 points per game while scoring under 18 themselves.

The Tiger defense also had a sub-par day in Mississippi, as Millsaps put up 590 yards of total offense, including 388 through the air.

DePauw will look to return to a defense that gives up only 101 yards per game on the ground and another 237 through the air.

Birmingham-Southern's offense is much more run-oriented, as they keep the ball on the ground 77 percent of the time. The Tigers hope that will play right into their hands, as they always attempt to stop the run first.

Saturday will mark just the second meeting between the two schools, as Birmingham-Southern is in the second year of NCAA Division III provisional status after moving from Division I two years ago. Once the provisional status is over, the Panthers will be a part of the SCAC.

In last year's meeting in Birmingham, DePauw trailed late, but Dick found Bryan Mulligan on a 21-yard pass with 44 seconds remaining, giving DPU a 28-24 victory.

In the victory, DePauw outgained BSC 224-123 on the ground and also compiled 254 yards in the air.

The game kicks off at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on WGRE 91.5 FM.