Football: Ohio Northern (3-2 Overall, 2-2 OAC) at John Carroll (3-2 Overall, 3-1 OAC)

Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017, 1:30 pm - Don Shula Stadium, University Heights, Ohio

| Game Notes (.pdf) |

Saturday's Contest: Saturday is the third road game and the sixth game overall of the 2017 season for Ohio Northern. The winner of today's game will improve to 4-2 on the season and keep its playoff hopes alive.

ONU Head Coach Dean Paul: Paul is in his 14th season at ONU with a 92-47 record. He is 132-59 in 18 seasons overall and is 8-5 against JCU.

JCU head coach Rick Finotti: Finotti is in his first season at JCU with a 3-2 record. He is 0-0 against Ohio Northern.

ONU Last Week: RB Christiaan Williams ran for a school record 407 yards and 3 TDs to lead ONU to a 51-21 victory over Capital on a rainy, windy night in Ada. Williams' 407-yard effort came on 29 rushing attempts and surpassed the previous record of 307 yards set in 2000 by All-American, 6-year NFL veteran and ONU Hall of Famer Jamal Robertson against Marietta. Williams also caught one pass for five yards and had 412 all-purpose yards, breaking Robertson's record of 406 set in the same Marietta game in 2000. Defensively, S Cyler Caldwell had 10 tackles and a PBU. ONU out-gained Capital 643-317 in total offense, including a 470-74 advantage on the ground.

ONU Leaders: The ONU running game is led by All-OAC RB Christiaan Williams (134 att, 873 yards, 5 TDs). All-OAC QB Will Freed is 102-of-160 passing for 1,265 yards and 14 TDs. WR Chad Rex (24 rec, 474 yards, 8 TDs), RB Rodney Holmes (22 rec, 174 yards) and RB Christiaan Williams (20 rec, 133 yards) lead the receiving corps. LB Mark Niles, LB Zach Schmerge and S Greg Dennis lead the defense with 39, 33 and 29 tackles, respectively. DL Justin Croswell leads the team with 3.5 sacks.

JCU Last Week: The ONU running game is led by All-OAC RB Christiaan Williams (134 att, 873 yards, 5 TDs). All-OAC QB Will Freed is 102-of-160 passing for 1,265 yards and 14 TDs. WR Chad Rex (24 rec, 474 yards, 8 TDs), RB Rodney Holmes (22 rec, 174 yards) and RB Christiaan Williams (20 rec, 133 yards) lead the receiving corps. LB Mark Niles, LB Zach Schmerge and S Greg Dennis lead the defense with 39, 33 and 29 tackles, respectively. DL Justin Croswell leads the team with 3.5 sacks.

JCU Leaders: he JCU running game is led by RB Ro Golphin (53 att, 277 yards, 3 TDs) and RB Sam Kukura (39 att, 246 yards, 4 TDs). QB Anthony Moeglin is 79-of-131 passing for 1,022 yards and 7 TDs. WR Brian Kornowski (33 rec., 436 yards, 1 TD) and WR William Woods (14 rec., 185 yards, 2 TDs) lead the JCU receivers. LB Mason McKendrick, LB Todd Green and DL Conner Bogard lead the defense with 37, 27 and 24 tackles, respectively. DE Jimmy Thomas leads JCU with 4.5 sacks.

Last Year's Game: ONU RB Christiaan Williams rushed for more than 100 yards for the sixth consecutive game, but five turnovers were too much to overcome as John Carroll won 20-16 in Ada. Williams snapped off a 63-yard run in the first quarter and finished the day with 113 yards rushing on 20 carries. QB Will Freed completed 15-of-28 passes for 227 yards and a score and senior Reed Allen caught six passes for a season-high 134 yards and a score for ONU. LB Zach Schmerge had a game-high 12 tackles to lead the Polar Bear defense. A 22-yard field goal by K Joe French put ONU up 16-13 with 8:27 left in the third quarter. But the next four Polar Bear possessions would end in turnovers. The ONU defense would allow only a 13-yard TD run by Ro Golphin with 10:26 left in the game, but those would prove to be the winning points in the defensive battle. Northern would outgain John Carroll 310-309 in total offense.

ONU Statistical Leaders:

All-Time Series: JCU leads the series between the two schools by an 18-12 margin. JCU has won 4 of the last 5 in the series, including a 20-16 win in Ada in 2017. JCU is 8-7 in games in University Heights, but ONU has won 4 of the last 5 games at Don Shula Stadium since 2006, including a 30-27 decision in 2015.

Tickets: Tickets are priced at $7 for adults and $3 for seniors and non-OAC students and children.