OSHKOSH, Wis.- For the third-straight game, UW-Oshkosh football recorded a win over a nationally ranked opponent at home. In Saturday's (Sept. 14) win, the Titans defeated Linfield University (Ore.) 28-21 in their first home overtime win since 2003.
 
The Titans (2-0) are currently ranked No. 17 in the nation by D3football.com and the Wildcats (1-1) are ranked 21st. The two teams met once before, in the quarterfinal round of the 2012 NCAA Division III Championship in McMinnville, Ore. That contest also went to overtime with Oshkosh advancing to the first national championship semifinal in program history by posting a final score of 31-24.
 
The last Titan game that went to overtime at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium was on Sept. 20, 2003, as UW-Oshkosh went four overtimes with Lakeland University before winning 26-23 on a field goal. Oddly enough, current UW-Oshkosh football offensive coordinator Rich Worsell was in his first season as the assistant wide receivers coach for the Muskies in 2003.
 
UW-Oshkosh totaled 17 first downs during the contest, seven on the ground, nine through the air and one on a penalty. The Titans accumulated 167 rushing yards, averaging 4.2 yards per carry while holding the Wildcats to just 56 yards, the lowest total for Linfield since a 49-24 loss to eventual national champion University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (Texas) on Dec. 4, 2021, in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championship. Oshkosh's two quarterbacks that attempted a pass combined for 282 passing yards, going 24-of-37 and averaging 11.8 yards per completion.
 
Cole Warren (Fr. • Roscoe, Ill.) saw action in his first collegiate game after coming in for starting quarterback Quentin Keene (Jr. • Waunakee) in the second quarter. He went 15-of-19 with 180 yards and two touchdown passes. Of six Titans that rushed on Saturday, Justice Lovelace (So. • Kenosha) totaled 136 yards and a touchdown on 23 attempts. He also scored the game-winning touchdown for the second consecutive week. Clayton Schwalbe (Jr. • Waukesha) led Oshkosh with 67 yards and a touchdown on three receptions.
 
Ben Wellhoefer (Jr. • Omro) recorded nine tackles (three solo), Curtis Jaskulke (Jr. • Stoughton) registered 1.5 sacks for 15 yards and Dayshawn Henry (So. • Oshkosh) notched half a sack for four yards while Kyle Dietzen (Jr. • Omro) took his turn intercepting the game-sealing play.
 
Linfield began the game with the ball and worked its way down the field in 12 plays to score on a 14-yard pass to take an early lead. The Titans took the ball back at the 25-yard line after a touchback on the kickoff. They scored in half the number of plays and just two minutes and 17 seconds with AJ Korth (Fr. • Menasha) running 35 yards to the end zone, tying the game up at 7-7 before the end of the first quarter. The Wildcats retook the lead on a 33-yard field goal after Michael Wind (So. • Downers Grove, Ill.) and Jaskulke forced an incomplete pass on third-and-10.
 
The following six drives did not result in a score change and over half of the second quarter was gone before either time found the end zone again.
 
The first play of Oshkosh's third possession of the quarter was a 51-yard pass from Warren to Schwalbe, putting the Titans at the Wildcats' 36-yard line. Linfield stopped three straight rushing attempts short of the first down marker which brought up fourth-and-3. Oshkosh, who went 2-of-4 on fourth down conversions on the day, capitalized on the opportunity and Jon Mathieu (Jr. • Sheboygan Falls) moved the markers on a 4-yard catch. Cade Oiler (Sr. • Watertown) and Trae Tetzlaff (Sr. • Waukesha) moved the first-down line inside the red zone on catches of three and five yards, leading up to a catch in the end zone by Mathieu, making the score 13-10 with Nolan Mobley (Jr. • Oak Creek) connecting on his second of four point-after attempts to make the score 14-10. The Wildcats kicked another field goal with three seconds remaining in the second quarter and the teams headed to the locker room at halftime with a score of 14-13.
 
The teams traded punts at the start of the third quarter and Linfield missed a 49-yard field goal attempt after getting the ball on a turnover on downs. Another two punts were exchanged before the end of the period and neither team scored in the quarter.
 
The Wildcats retook the lead on a 1-yard touchdown run with 10:19 left in the fourth quarter and successfully converted a 2-point attempt, making the score 21-14. Oshkosh started the ensuing drive on the 35-yard line and took almost seven minutes off the clock, pushing the ball downfield before Warren completed a pass to Schwalbe in the endzone to retie the game.
 
At the end of regulation with Linfield looking to escape its side of the 50-yard line, Jaskulke registered a sack fumble for a loss of 11 yards that was recovered by the Wildcats.
 
Oshkosh started the overtime with the ball and took just three plays to get inside the 10-yard line. Three plays later, Lovelace ran two yards to the right side of the endzone for his second score of the season.
 
After an 11-yard pass for Linfield's first play of the overtime, Bryce Hinn (Sr. • Oshkosh) and Jose Muñoz-Dominguez (Sr. • Ripon) stopped a rush short of the first down marker and Mitch Borkovec (Sr. • Muskego) broke up a pass, bringing up third-and-6 at Oshkosh's 10-yard line. On the following play, Dietzen intercepted a possible game-tying touchdown at the 1-yard line, sealing the score at 28-21 and handing Oshkosh its second straight win of the season.
 
The Titans will wrap up their season-opening homestand next Saturday (Sept. 21) against NCAA Division II Michigan Tech with game time set for noon. UW-Oshkosh and the Huskies met once before during the 1987 season. The Titans won 34-3 at then-named Titan Stadium.