By: Jake Krier, UWEC Sports Information
WHO: University of Wisconsin-River Falls vs. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
WHEN: Saturday, September 30 @ 1:10 p.m.
WHERE: Carson Park - Eau Claire, Wis.
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) - Following a tough trip out west, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire football team has the opportunity to respond this Saturday against UW-River Falls on Homecoming. The Blugolds lost 44-0 last time out against George Fox and will need to quickly put that in the rearview mirror and focus on the task ahead with hosting the Falcons.
"You're going to have a bad couple of drives; you'll have a stretch where a team will get a couple of first downs on you," said Head Coach Dan Larson. "But, it's that next play. You can't try to do too much and think it's all falling on your shoulders."
That "next play" in this case is their impending match-up with River Falls. The Falcons have proven early on this season that they are one defensively-sound team. On their way to a 2-1 start, they have allowed only 28 combined points in their three games.
"The River Falls defense has a lot of different packages and movements that they work," added Larson. "From our standpoint, it's going to be really important that we handle those."
One key change the Blugolds will need to make in order to be successful offensively is to finish drives. Last week, they struggled in late-down situations, going 5-for-16 on third down and 1-for-4 on fourth down.
As for what the Eau Claire defense can expect from the Falcons attack, a more run-savvy approach may be the game plan for the team coming off their bye week. So far, River Falls has averaged 172 rushing yards per game to their 166 yards passing.
How the game script plays out is yet to be seen, but time of possession may play a big part in it. The Blugolds are nearly dead-even at 30 minutes per game of possessing the ball. If they can control the clock, particularly in the early parts of the game, they will give themselves the best shot to leave Homecoming victorious. Thus far, River Falls has been a strong-starting team but not so much finishers. They have only scored 15 of their total 59 points in the second half this season.
The quarterback battle between JT DenHartog (Jr.-Hopkins, MN) and the Falcons' Travon Hearns may just dictate who takes this one. Whoever can best limit mistakes and lead their respective offense down the field will surely be impactful in this Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) opener for both teams.
Follow all the action on Blugold Game Day.
