Week 1 Football Preview: Blue Streaks Set for Top 25 Showdown in Home Opener

9/1/2023 1:10:00 PM | By: Dylan Feltovich, Senior Staff Writer

Joe Collins will steer the Blue Streaks as a second-year starter.

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – Football season is back.

The 101st season of John Carroll Football holds plenty of promise, with new leadership, including first-year Head Coach Jeff Behrman '95. The campaign begins on Saturday with a fantastic Top 25 matchup.

The D3football.com #11 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (UWW) will challenge the #19 Blue Streaks to open the season with a highly-anticipated showdown.

While the Blue Streaks enjoyed a nice 8-2 season, UW-Whitewater found themselves in the NCAA Division III Football Playoffs last year after tallying eight wins. While the Warhawks may have lost in the first round to Aurora, the Warhawks begin the season just outside the top ten and have been picked to win their conference, the WIAC.

Both JCU and UW-Whitewater are hungry for more this season. Both teams will be battle tested in one of the biggest week one matchups in all of Division III Football.

This is not the first time these two teams have met — the teams squared off in the 2016 NCAA Division III Quarterfinals, where the Blue Streaks did the unthinkable, beating the former #1 ranked Warhawks, 31-14.

Led by first-year Head Coach Jace Rindahl, the Warhawks are notorious for their stout, physical play on the defensive side of the ball. John Carroll will turn to graduate student quarterback Joe Collins to face UW-Whitewater's stifling defense.

Collins will be accompanied by a terrific run game that begins with Matthew Buser and Evan McVay and a three-headed wide receiving core of Brennan Fugh, Joey Torok, and Tyler Mintz. To help protect him up from, Matt Wrather and the offensive line will match up with a hard-nosed defensive line.

To complement UW-Whitewater's talented defense, the Warhawks have a strong offensive line and a balanced run game to complete their offense. And even with a powerful run game, the Warhawks are fully capable of taking big shots at any moment. In order to contain the offense, it all begins in the front seven for the Blue Streaks.

Head coach Jeff Behrman has put his trust in senior captain Bricker Thiel to contain UW-Whitewater up front, along with Jake Phiilips and Ben Grafton in the middle to stop the run. Behind them, Tyler Thimons, Jahiem Peake, and Chris Golson highlight the linebacker room, while Elijah Chungu and JonMarcus Roland will protect the Blue Streaks deep as members of a stout secondary.

Rounding out the special teams, both kicker/punter Yanni Volas and long snapper Chad Harpster had great camps, and look to be key contributors in critical moments of the game.

The fun does not begin at 1:30 pm for JCU Fans. This year, John Carroll is proud to announce the new Fan Experience Zone, located on South Belvoir Blvd. Fans can participate in games in activities before kickoff starting at 10 am.

Fans who cannot make the game can watch online at JCUSports.com and OAC TV. In conjunction with the new Blue Streak Media Group, JCU Sports Information will have an improved broadcast. On the mic for Week 1 will be Jack O'Rourke '24 on play-by-play and Max Loeb '23 as the color analyst.

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