No. 15 Football hosts UW-Oshosh in regular season finale

The 15th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team hosts UW-Oshkosh on Saturday for the final regular season game. 

• In the latest NCAA Regional rankings, the Pioneers are ranked fifth and are the top possible at-large team in the West Region. 

• In this week's D3football.com projected 2014 playoffs, the Pioneers are projected to receive one of six at-large berths and play the first-round at Wittenberg if the season ended today. 

• A key matchup for UW-Platteville could be its rushing offense, which has the WIAC leading rusher, Andy Puccini, at 122.8 yards per game, against UW-Oshkosh rushing defense, which surrenders 179.7 yards per game on the ground.  

• UW-Platteville has struggled in the red zone the last two weeks only scoring six of 10 chances. On the flip side the Titans are one of the best in the league, scoring nearly 83 percent (24-29) of their trips to the red zone.  

A LOOK AT THE TITANS
• UW-Oshkosh is 5-4 on the year with the Titans' first three losses coming by the hands of scholarship programs. The Titans are coming off a 52-13 victory over UW-Eau Claire and are tied for second with the Pioneers at 5-1 in league action.  

• The Titan offense struggles on third down with a league worst 23-percent third-down conversion, but are one of the most successful teams in the red zone, scoring nearly 83 percent (24-29) of its trips to the red zone.   

• The Titans are a run first team with 329 rushing attempts and just 221 pass attempts. In conference play, UWO ranks second in the WIAC with 179.7 rushing yards per game. Freshman Dylan Hecker leads the running game with 429 yards on 86 carries and seven touchdowns.   

• The Titan defense ranks third in the WIAC, surrendering 331.7 yards of total offense per game and are led by a pair of linebackers, Reese Dziedzic and Beau Steffens. The sophomore Dziedzic ranks fifth in the conference with 70 tackles, followed by senior Steffens with 60 stops. 

SERIES HISTORY
UW-Platteville and UW-Oshkosh are meeting for the 99th time and the Pioneers hold a 48-46-4 all-time series advantage over the Titans. The Pioneers have had trouble with UWO of late, dropping four of the last five meetings. The Pioneers are 11-9 in Pioneer Stadium versus the Titans, and are looking to snap a four-game skid at home against UWO.

NOTING LAST MEETING
Zach Litchfield booted a 37-yard field goal through the uprights with two seconds left on the clock to give the 10th-ranked Pioneers a 17-16 win at No. 8 UW-Oshkosh. UW-Platteville's John Kelly threw for 340 yards, and Trevor Whitehead caught 14 passes for 131 yards. Cole Myhra led the Titan's offense with 194 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The victory gave the Pioneers a 9-1 record and helped them receive an at-large berth to the NCAA Division III Playoffs.

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