THIS WEEK: Allegheny will kick off a two-game road swing to wrap up the 2015 campaign this Saturday, as they face North Coast Athletic Conference foe Ohio Wesleyan in a 1 p.m. battle in Delaware, Ohio.  The Gators are coming off of a 43-13 defeat to Hiram last Saturday night, as the Terriers spoiled Senior Night at Frank B. Fuhrer Field.  Hiram jumped out to a 19-0 lead in the opening minutes of the second half and never looked back, as the Terriers out-gained the Gators 541-167 in total offense and owned a 24-10 margin in first downs.  Allegheny senior Nick Deichler ran for both of the Gator scores, and finished with a season-high 83 yards rushing.

Ohio Wesleyan is also coming off of an NCAC loss last week, as they fell 34-10 at conference-leading Wabash.  A 31-yard field goal by Nolan Kovach pulled the Battling Bishops to within 21-10 in the opening stages of the fourth quarter, before the Little Giants answered with two touchdowns in a five-minute span to put the game away.  Tra'Von Wilkes scored a 62-yard rushing touchdown for the Battling Bishops, but the Little Giants owned a 494-248 advantage in total offense, including a 230-120 margin in rushing yards.  The Battling Bishops' defense tallied three quarterback sacks in defeat to boost their team total to 21 on the season, fourth most in the NCAC. 

GAME NINE - ALLEGHENY AT OHIO WESLEYAN
Saturday, November 7  - 1 p.m.
Selby Stadium - Delaware, Ohio
RADIO: COOL 101.7 FM (12:30 p.m. pre-game)
STREAMING AUDIO: http://bit.ly/1iFAPjr
STREAMING VIDEO: https://www.owu.edu/about/follow-owu/stream-owu/
LIVE STATS: http://go.owu.edu/~owusport/BishopLive/football/live.html

GAME NOTES (click for complete version)

NATIONALLY-KNOWN NICK:  Allegheny sophomore Nick Murgo currently ranks among the top-30 in NCAA Division-III in a trio of statistical categories.  The linebacker  ranks 11th nationally - and leads the North Coast Athletic Conference - with three forced fumbles, while his 52 solo tackles are currenly third in the conference and 18th nationally, and his 87 total tackles are good for second in the league and 27th in all of Division-III.  

WELL-DISCIPLINED:  Through eight games in the 2015 season, the Gators are the least-penalized squad in the North Coast Athletic Conference, and one of the most disciplined in the nation.  Committing just 31 penalties on the season, the Gators lead the NCAC and rank eighth nationally, while their 38.3 penalty yards per game also tops the conference, and places 17th in NCAA Division-III.  

BLOCK PARTY: Sophomore safety Travis Thomas is one of just 17 players nationally with multiple blocked kicks this season, as he tallied one in week four vs. Kenyon, and another in week seven vs. Denison.  As a team, the Gators rank second in the conference with three blocked kicks, as sophomore Frank Serbati posted the first one of his career in last week's contest against Hiram. 

MIGHTY MATT: Allegheny sophomore outside linebacker Matt Wetzel enters week nine with three fumble recoveries, good for first in the NCAC and fifth in NCAA Division-III.  Wetzel, who ranks second on the Gators with 51 tackles on the season, has also forced two fumbles on the season to rank second in the NCAC in that category, behind  teammate Nick Murgo.  

BALLA BRINGS IT:  After posting 96 kick return yards in last week's contest with Hiram, freshman Tyler Balla established a new Allegheny single-season program record with 522 kick return yards, eclipsing teammate Tyler Smith, who totaled 509 a season ago.  

WEALTHY RETURNS:  This week's matchup with Ohio Wesleyan will boast the three top kick returners in the North Coast Athletic Conference.  The Battling Bishops' Tim Shadoan leads the league with an average of 25.6 yards per kick, followed closely behind by Gator freshmen Jonah Tanner and Balla.  They are the lone three players in the league to average over 20 yards per try, with Tanner averaging 22.6, and Balla 20.1.  In the third quarter of last week's matchup with Hiram, Tanner busted off a 66-yard kick return, the longest for the Gators since John Opet's 85-yard kick return touchdown against Denison on Nov. 9, 2013. 

SMITH'S STREAK: In last week's home finale against Hiram, senior wide receiver Tyler Smith hauled in two catches for 16 yards.  It marked the 19th consecutive game in which Smith recorded at least one reception, with the streak starting on Nov. 16, 2013 at Wittenberg.  During the span, Smith has made two or more catches 17 times,  including three games with five catches, two with six, and two with seven. This season, Smith has tallied 32 catches, and ranks fifth in the NCAC with 588 receiving yards, and tied for fourth with six touchdown receptions. 

A DEUCE FOR DEICHLER: Last week against Hiram, senior running back Nick Deichler ran for a season-high 83 yards and two touchdowns.  It marked the first multi-touchdown game in Deichler's career, and the first time that a Gator ran for two touchdowns in a game since Nov. 5, 2011, when Brian Tamburlin tallied a pair of rushing TDs in a 44-14 home victory over Hiram. 

FAREWELL TOUR: On Oct. 26, Allegheny head coach Mark Matlak announced his retirement upon the conclusion of the 2015 season. A 1978 Allegheny graduate and 1989 inductee into the Allegheny Hall of Fame, Matlak is the longest-tenured head coach in program history, having presided over 140 games since being named head coach in April 2002.  The 2003 NCAC Coach of the Year, Matlak ranks second in program history with 62 career wins, and is also the second-longest tenured head coach in the conference, behind only Wittenberg's Joe Fincham, who is in his 19th year.  Matlak, who starred at running back for the Gators from 1974-77, began his career as an assistant under legendary Allegheny head coach Sam Timer in 1978, before spending 13 years at the University of New Hampshire, beginning as defensive coordinator and ascending to the role of associate head coach. 

UP NEXT:  The Gators will make their second trip to central Ohio in as many weekends, as they wrap up the 2015 schedule next Saturday at 1 p.m. at Wittenberg. 

THE SERIES:  Today marks the 30th all-time meeting between the Gators and Battling Bishops on the gridiron, with Allegheny holding a 21-8 advantage in the all-time series which spans to the 1984 campaign.  Allegheny won 15 of its first 17 against Ohio Wesleyan between 1984-2000, including 10 straight victories between 1990-2000, but the Battling Bishops have owned play as of late, winning the past three meetings.  Allegheny's last win in the series came in 2010, a 41-21 home win in week seven.

LAST MEETING (Oct. 4, 2014): Visiting Ohio Wesleyan scored 20 unanswered points, including 17 in the fourth quarter, to come back and top the Gators 36-19 at Frank B. Fuhrer Field.  Allegheny led for the first 40 minutes of play, before the Battling Bishops took control down the stretch and capped off the victory with two touchdowns over the final 11 minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Gators owned leads of 7-0, 10-3, and 19-16 in the first half, behind a two-yard touchdown run from Nick Deichler, a 40-yard touchdown reception by Jake Wilson from Jon Nigro, and a pair of Ben Ziolkowski field goals, including a 24-yarder in the waning seconds of the second quarter.  Ohio Wesleyan tied it at 19 with a field goal with four minutes left in the third quarter, before the visitors closed the game with 17 points in an eight-minute span in the fourth quarter to seal the win.  

Nigro completed 17 passes for a career-high 313 yards for the Gators, with Tyler Smith making four catches for 100 yards, and Lucas Morton two for 94.  Nick Murgo led the Allegheny defense with 12 tackles.  OWU quarterback Dominic Orsini racked up 363 yards of total offense, throwing for 211 yards and a score while rushing for 152 and a TD.