Pioneers Kentucky bound

The game: The University of Wisconsin-Platteville travels to suburban Cincinnati - Crestview Hills, Kentucky to take on the Saints of Thomas More College on Saturday at noon EDT/11 a.m. CDT.

The records: The Pioneers bring a 1-0 record out east, while Thomas More is 1-1.

The rankings: UW-Platteville is ranked 16th in the latest d3football.com poll. Thomas More is unranked.

The coaches: Saturday's matchup is a classic battle between rookie and veteran coaches. Mike Emendorfer is UW-Platteville's all-time winningest coach, compiling a 98-95 record in his 20th season. Trevor Stellman entered his ninth season with the Saints and first at the helm of the program two weeks ago. Stellman's Saints are 1-1 after opening with a fall to North Carolina Wesleyan (35-28) before defeating Hanover (27-18) last weekend. Emendorfer has taken the Pioneers to their only two NCAA playoff appearances in school history, in 2013 and 2016.

Streaking: UW-Platteville has won all 20 of its season openers under Emendorfer. The last time the Pioneers dropped their first game came during the 1998 season, a 21-14 setback at Lakeland.

Season Openers Under Mike Emendorfer

1999           W         20-17       Lakeland

2000           W         26-19       at Mount Senario

2001           W         64-0         Mount Senario

2002           W         17-6         at Olivet Nazarene

2003           W         27-24       Olivet Nazarene

2004           W         40-14       at Thiel

2005           W         26-0         Dubuque

2006           W         34-20       at Dubuque

2007           W         16-6         St. Ambrose

2008           W         21-14       at Buena Vista

2009           W         15-10       Buena Vista

2010           W         31-2         at Buena Vista

2011           W         38-3         Buena Vista

2012           W         56-13       at Buena Vista

2013           W         42-17       Buena Vista

2014           W         63-3         at Buena Vista

2015           W         49-13       Buena Vista

2016           W         35-0         at George Fox

2017           W         30-28       George Fox

2018           W         59-44       East Texas Baptist

The Pioneers: UW-Platteville 2018 season opened with a thrilling comeback at ETBU two weeks ago in Marshal, Texas.  The Pioneers racked up 35 points in the third quarter and 42 in the second half to defeat of the Tigers 59-44 after trailing by 20 at the half.  The Pioneers had two running backs, Sean Studer and Bo Babich, rush for over 100 yards a piece in the game.  Sophomore Donald Allendar led with 140 yards receiving while sophomore quarter back Colin Schuetz showed veteran composure in the tense comeback during his first college game at starting quarterback. In all, the Pioneers outscored the Tigers 42-7 in the second half and went 3-3 on fourth down conversions.

The Saints: Thomas More has won its league eight of the last ten years and advanced to the NCAA Division III Playoffs six of the last ten years. The Saints fell to North Carolina Wesleyan 35-28 in Week 1 and topped Hanover 27-18 last weekend.  Thomas More out-gained Hanover 487-336 yards last week with 280 yards net rushing with 207 yards passing.  The win gave Stellman his first win as head coach after coaching for eight years with the Saints with six of those years as offensive coordinator with the program.

Odds and ends:

• The Pioneers are playing in Kentucky for the first time since 1974 when they traveled to Frankfort for a game against Kentucky State. UW-Platteville has traveled east before for matchups against Wagner College in New York City, New York in 1989, Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania in 2004, and Hampden-Sydney in Hampden-Sydney, Virginia in 2017.
• Set your clocks: kickoff on Saturday is Noon Eastern Daylight Time, which is 11 a.m. in the Central time zone.
• The Pioneers' next game is Sept. 22 at 6 p.m. in Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium. It will be the Pioneers' first home game of the season after seeking out national competition with two 9+ hour bus trips to Texas and Kentucky. 

D3football.com poll

Dropped out: No. 13 Wartburg; No. 18 Johns Hopkins; No. 21 Illinois Wesleyan.

Others receiving votes: Susquehanna 50; Wartburg 44; Baldwin Wallace 31; Alfred 29; Ohio Northern 25; Cortland 18; Johns Hopkins 17; Ithaca 16; Millikin 13; Illinois Wesleyan 12; Salisbury 11; Redlands 10; Wabash 9; Monmouth 9; Centre 5; Huntingdon 4; Southwestern 4; Whitworth 4; Trinity (Texas) 2; Washington and Lee 2; Albion 1; Concordia-Moorhead 1.

The D3football.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly. Points are awarded on a 25-24-23-22-etc. basis.