Just over three months ago the 10 teams in the OAC and members of the media gathered at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton for the OAC Football Media Day. Picked fifth in both the coaches and media polls, the John Carroll University football team was not high on anyone's radar.

Instilling 'Nuestro Modo' into the team, an old Jesuit ideal meaning 'Our Way' the Tom Arth-led Blue Streaks went to working climbing to the top and are now on everyone's radar in easily the Division III game of the week and perhaps the season thus far with the No. 9 Blue Streaks squaring off against No. 1 Mount Union with the OAC title on the line.

It's been 18 years since a name besides Mount Union reigned on top of the OAC standings with John Carroll and Baldwin Wallace joining the Purple Raiders as tri-champions in 1994. Overall, Mount Union has won the last 21 conference titles and 24 overall.

Now with an identical 9-0, 8-0 OAC record, John Carroll has a prime opportunity to snap Mount Unions' streak and win a fourth conference crown of its own to couple with conference titles in 1938, 1989 and 1994. Additionally, the Blue Streaks will be aiming to stop Mount Union's 24-game win streak.

Winning the battles in the trenches was also another point of emphasis for Arth, a battle the Blue Streaks have won week after week this season. The offensive line has only allowed three sacks on the season, a mark good for second nationally. The Brandon Staley-led defense has sent scheme and scheme down the throats of opponents leading to 3.22 sacks per game, tops in the OAC and 21st nationally.  

Coupling a lights out offense with a stifling defense and stellar special teams, John Carroll has set the tone early and often only trailing once this season.

Led by Mark Myers, the passing offense shredded opponent secondary units from the start of the season. The junior quarterback set the single-game school record with 526 passing yards in 41-0 shutout tossing touchdown passes of 57, 49, 67 and 50 yards.

Up next was then-No. 23 Baldwin Wallace in Berea, a place where John Carroll had not won since Arth was the quarterback of the Blue Streaks in 2002. Unfazed, the Blue Streaks went in and took care of business against their cross town rival 27-7. With the defense taking over John Carroll did not allow a completion until the second half.

Shutouts became the norm the next two weeks with a 28-0 blanking of Otterbein and then a 54-0 shutout over Capital. The defense took over once again against the Crusaders with Matt Feeney recording more interceptions (2) than the entire Capital offense had receptions (1).

Heading to Marietta it was the ground game's time to get rolling with DaQuan Grobsmith gashing the Pioneers for 127 yards on 10 carries and two scores in the first quarter alone and Tommy Michaels rushing 97 yards for a touchdown, the longest rush in school history.

Special teams took over the next two weeks with opponent punters diving for cover. Jovon Dawson and Choe Samba blocked punts in
the win over Muskingum. Samba and Andy Bryan blocked punts at Ohio Northern with Randy Greenwood deflecting a Polar Bear field goal attempt.

Heading to Wilmington, John Carroll needed to make sure they did not overlook the Fightin' Quakers with monster contests looming in the next two weeks.

The Blue Streaks put on a clinic with Myers completing 22-of-26 passes for 363 yards and five touchdowns in the first half. Jordan D'Orazio, after weeks of near misses, finally sprung free for a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown.

Last week JCU faced off against No. 12/10 Heidelberg a game many expected to be tough battle for both teams. Just as they have done countless times this season John Carroll took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field for the touchdown and never looked back. Slowly but surely the points started piling up until the final scoreboard read 48-7 in favor of John Carroll setting up this week's showdown.

Now, with a chance to carve their own legacy the Blue Streaks will need to put together another complete performance just as they have done all season.

Strength against strength will be evident on every possession with each team trying to impose its will on the other. Both teams average over 450 yards of offense and 45 points per game. Both teams give up less than 200 yards of offense per game.

Kickoff is set at 1:30 p.m. Fans searching for questions about tickets, parking, and other common questions can check here for answers to frequently asked questions provided by Mount Union athletic officials.

SportsTime Ohio will broadcast the game via tape delay at 11 p.m. on Saturday, 3 p.m. on Sunday and noon on Monday. WJCU 88.7 FM will carry the game live. Live stats will be available for the game.