Take a step back and think about how much has changed for DePauw’s football program and it’s easy to see how much progress they’ve made in just one calendar year.
“We’re a different team in the fact that at some of the key spots, we know who were are this time around,” head coach Bill Lynch said.
Meeting almost exactly a year ago today at Blackstock Stadium, the Wittenberg University Tigers rolled over DePauw 45-0 in week three of the 2013 season. Now as the teams get set to meet again, things look radically different on DePauw’s side.
For one, it wasn’t current sophomore Matt Hunt who started at quarterback, it was Justin Murray, a junior no longer with the program (or at DePauw). Murray had only three completions in the game when Lynch made the switch to Hunt and the Tigers never looked back.
“The biggest thing that has changed for me is the experience I have gained,” Hunt said. “People underestimate this, but there is a huge difference in a veteran versus a rookie.”
Playing in his first collegiate game against what could have been the top defense the Tigers faced all year, Hunt put up impressive numbers for the situation. He completed 50 percent of his passes for just under 100 yards and one interception.
From there, the Tigers were off and running with Hunt as their quarterback. He would go on to start the remaining eight games for the Tigers and put up stellar numbers. Hunt threw for nearly 2000 yards and tossed 17 touchdowns in the final eight games.
Now, instead of relying solely on Nikko Sansone to carry much of the ground attack, the Tigers have an impressive three-headed monster in the backfield. Hunt, junior Amen Galley and sophomore Jason Kirchhoff combined to run for nearly 150 yards and three touchdowns against Sewanee: The University of the South.
Galley and Kirchoff will need to improve their individual performances, however, as the two only combined for 57 yards on the ground in week one.
“Personally, I need to be more aggressive at the point of attack but patient enough to let the O-line cover their grounds,” Galley said looking forward to Wittenberg.
The key here is depth. Now Galley and Kirchhoff can be relayed in and out, thus limiting wear and tear and keeping both fresh and ready to go against what will be a stout Wittenberg defense once again.
Defensively, there haven’t been many changes, just another year of buying into Lynch’s system. When Wittenberg and DePauw met a year ago, Lynch had only had Spring practice to teach his new team their defensive scheme. That was brutally evident as Wittenberg put up more than 450 yards of offense on the young DePauw defense.
However, fans saw the defense grow and gel as a unit as 2013 wore on as they allowed less than 14 points in three of their final six games. Now as this year’s matchup with Wittenberg approaches, the Tigers look to have improved even more. They allowed only 13 points to Sewanee on opening day and have had two weeks of preparation and rest to prepare for Wittenberg.
Key for the Tigers defense will be the ability to force the Wittenberg offense into turnovers.
“One of our game goals every week is to win the turnover battle,” Lynch said.
“We talk about taking care of the ball every week [on offense] but if the defense can force a few turnovers and get us more chances that will be big for us,” Hunt said.
Motivation could play a role as well for the Tigers. Despite Lynch saying last year’s game was done and the emotion from it was gone, his quarterback had a different view.
“Any time you lose to a team like we did last year you can only be more motivated to see them again,” Hunt said. “I would love nothing more than to go into their place and beat them.”
After winning 10 games last season and taking home the NCAC title, it’s easy to label the Tigers as underdogs. Don’t tell that to Galley, though.
“We respect Wittenberg, but we do not fear them,” he said.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Saturday evening.