MENOMONIE, Wis.- UW-Oshkosh football shut out UW-Stout in the first half of Saturday's (Oct. 11) conference contest in Menomonie and added two points early in the third quarter with a rare safety, however the Blue Devils scored all 27 points for the remainder of the game to earn a 27-16 win.
 
The Titans, ranked in the top-15 in the most recent D3football.com and American Football Coaches Association polls, managed just 49 rushing yards but held the Blue Devils to 59 yards on the ground. Both teams instead opted for the air attack. Quentin Keene (Waunakee/Waunakee) completed 24 of his 39 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns and AJ Korth (Menasha/Menasha) went 2-for-2 for 11 yards. The tandem threw 15 of the Titans' 20 first downs for 324 combined passing yards. The remaining five first downs came on four rushing attempts and a penalty.
 
While the WIAC foes both went 1-of-2 on fourth down chances, UW-Oshkosh converted two of its three trips into the red zone against UW-Stout's two of four.
 
Korth was also Oshkosh's leading rusher by netting 21 yards on seven attempts.
 
Jon Mathieu (Sheboygan Falls/Sheboygan Falls), Clayton Schwalbe (Waukesha/Waukesha North), and Hunter Gibson (Chicago, Ill./Glenbard South) all reached 50 receiving yards while Londyn Little (Columbia, Ill./Columbia) and Doug Burson (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) both caught a touchdown with total yards of 48 and 37 yards, respectively.
 
Kyle Dietzen (Omro/Omro) was again UW-Oshkosh's leading tackler with eight (five solo) and a quarterback hurry. Kellen Wright (West Salem/West Salem) recorded a sack and a tackle-for-loss and Curtis Jaskulke (Stoughton/Stoughton) had 2.5 tackles-for-loss.
 
Ben Wellhoefer (Omro/Omro) added his second interception of the season to five tackles (two solo), including half a tackle-for-loss.
 
The Titans and Blue Devils traded punts to open the contest, neither reaching the other's 40-yard line. In their second possession, the Blue Devils marched down to Oshkosh's 10 before an early touchdown was nullified by an offensive pass interference call. Wellhoefer intercepted Stout quarterback Adam Moen's next pass in the end zone, giving the Titans control of the ball at their 20-yard line.
 
UW-Oshkosh ate up 3:19 of the clock, using six plays, including a 38-yard reception by Gibson, to reach the Blue Devils' 22-yard line before Keene connected with Burson in the endzone to jump to a 7-0 lead.
 
Following a pair of three-and-outs, the Blue Devils again advanced to the red zone but could not capitalize. Jaskulke caught Blue Devil receiver Daniel White (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way West) behind the line of scrimmage on 4th-and-3 for the Titan defense's second turnover on downs.
 
The Titans used the opportunity to create a lead of more than a score. Capping off a 12-play, 88-yard drive, Keene found Little in the end zone with 4:17 left in the half. Axel Vera Trejo (Appleton/Appleton East) connected for his second point-after of the day to make the score 14-0.
 
UW-Oshkosh received the ball to start the second half and John Abernathy (Valdese, N.C./Draughn) punted for the third of seven times, setting the ball down on the Blue Devils' 2-yard line. He ended his day with 282 punting yards with 20 inside the 20 and a long of 52 yards.
 
In Stout's first play of the succeeding drive, Jaskulke came up with his second big stop of the game by tackling Moen in the end zone for a safety.
 
For the remainder of the game, the Titans were held scoreless with four punts, an interception, and a turnover on downs while the Blue Devils scored four times and punted just once.
 
The Titans' loss at Don and Nona Williams Stadium is the first since dropping a 28-14 decision on November 13, 2010.
 
The Titans host UW-Eau Claire (3-2, 0-2 WIAC) during homecoming week on Saturday, October 18. UW-Oshkosh has won each of the last five matchups with the Blue Devils by scores of 31-3 (2019), 54-31 (2021), 61-0 (2022), 35-7 (2023), and 42-31 (2024). Before a 20-14 loss in 2018, UW-Oshkosh won seven consecutive games for a 12-1 record since 2011.