No. 17 Football heads north to UW-La Crosse

The 17th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team travels to UW-La Crosse on Saturday for the Pioneers final road trip of the regular season.

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No. 17 Football heads north to UW-La Crosse
November 7, 2014

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. -- The 17th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team travels to UW-La Crosse on Saturday for the Pioneers final road trip of the regular season.

• A key matchup for UW-Platteville could be its rushing offense, which has the WIAC leading rusher, Andy Puccini, at 116.1 yards per game, against UW-La Crosse rushing defense, which surrenders 202.5 yards per game on the ground. Puccini rushed for 221 yards last year in a 20-10 victory over the Eagles. 

• Another key matchup for the Pioneers could be their passing offense, which leads the league at 253.6 yards a game, against the Eagles pass defense that is allowing 181.2 yards per game in the air. 

• UWL has the worst passing offense in the WIAC at 136.9 yards a game, and will be going against the best pass defense in the league, which is giving up just 147.5 yards per game in the air. 

A LOOK AT THE EAGLES
• UW-La Crosse enters Saturday's matchup 2-6 and 1-4 in WIAC play. The Eagles are coming off a 16-13 overtime loss at UW-River Falls. A blocked 33-yard field goal gave the Falcons the OT victory. 

• The Eagles are a run heavy team with 289 rushing attempts to 210 passes. Ben Hertrampf ranks second in the WIAC with 78.5 rushing yards per game and 138 carries. He has only found the end zone twice this year. 

• UWL has the worst passing offense in the WIAC at 136.9 yards a game, and hasn't named a starting quarterback for Saturday's matchup with Trent Cummings and John Tackett both listed on the two-deep. 

• Freshman John Tackett received the start last week against UW-River Falls, after junior Trent Cummings threw four interceptions two weeks ago at UW-Stevens Point. Tackett went 6-18 for 64 yards in last week's overtime defeat to the Falcons. 

SERIES HISTORY
UW-Platteville and UW-La Crosse are meeting for the 75th time and the Eagles hold a 51-24 all-time series advantage over the Pioneers. The Pioneers have won five of the last six meetings, and head coach Mike Emendorfer is 8-7 against UW-L during his 15-year tenure 

NOTING LAST MEETING
Andy Puccini rushed for 221 yards, carrying the UW-Platteville past UW-La Crosse, 20-10, on Nov. 9 at Ralph E. Davis Pioneers Stadium. Defensively, the Pioneers gave up a season-low 216 total yards of offense with 153 of them coming from the air. 

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