UW-Oshkosh
Fast Facts:
Head Coach: Pat Cerroni; 5th season at UWO; 19-20
Starters Returning/Lost on Offense: 7/4
Starters Returning/Lost on Defense: 8/3
Starters Returning/Lost at Kicker: 2/0
Returning All-WIAC: Garrie Fox (Sr., WR, 2010-Second); Vince
Sciano (Sr., DL, 2010-Second); Nate Wara (Jr., QB, 2010-Second)
2010 Recap:
2010 was a somewhat disappointing year for the Titans. After finishing 4-6 in 2009 Oshkosh looked
to improve on their record in 2010 but they finished an identical 4-6, albeit
against much tougher competition.
Oshkosh played teams that were ranked #7, #2 and #1 at the time they
played them in Central College (IA), Mt. Union and UW-Whitewater. Oshkosh played pretty well at home but
only hosted 4 games in 2010 and went 2-2 but those 2 loses were to Mt. Union
and Whitewater. Hitting the road
was more of a struggle. Oshkosh
went 2-4 on the road with wins coming against lowly River Falls and NAIA Lambuth. The Titans failed to beat teams that
finished in the middle to bottom of the pack on the road including losses at
Point, Stout and probably the worst game Oshkosh played all year in Eau Claire. The highlight of the season came when
Oshkosh beat Lacrosse on October 2nd for their first win against
Lacrosse since 1972. Nate Wara had
a breakout year completing 66% of his passes for 2,135 yards and 22 touchdowns
with only 4 interceptions. One of
the Titans’ biggest weaknesses was the run game. UWO lost starter Jeremy Roach against UWL and Charlie
Weismann was unavailable against Whitewater and Stout, meaning UWO was down to
its 3rd and 4th running backs for it’s final 2
games. The struggles in the run
game are typified by the fact that Nate Wara led the team in rushing with 555
yards. Garrie Fox meanwhile caught 47 balls for 716 yards and 9 scores, pretty
good for a guy who is 5’11” with his cleats on.
2011 Outlook:
Many of the key players from that 2010 team are back this
year including Wara, Fox and Roach.
Gone however are Paul Coburn, Juston Wara, Craig McClelland, and Matt
Haass all big, tall red zone targets for Wara as those guys caught a combined
11 scores. Also gone are Alex
Mueske on the offensive line and Nate Heard at corner. The entire defensive line is back
starting 3 seniors and a junior in Andrew Thompson. The linebacker is also deep with 5 major contributors for 3
spots. Major areas of concern are
at Superback and Defensive back.
Opponents averaged 12.3 yards per catch against the Titans’ defensive
backfield last year and now they have to replace a real talent in Nate
Heard. Jack Breese is back at Free
Safety and Charlie Stueck is back at corner but Manfred Johnson will need to
step up in Heard’s spot and former kickoff specialist Zach Wettengel steps in
at Strong Safety. Jon Krysiak and Brad Weiler look to fill the void at Super
Back. Krysiak did letter and
played primarily special teams last season. Other spots of concern are at wide out and offensive
line. Wara will have to make a bit
of an adjustment from throwing to the like of Coburn, McClelland and his
brother Juston who were all 6’3” or taller to a group of guys who are all less
than 6 feet tall with the exception of Caleb Voss a 6’2” sophomore out of Van
Dyne. On the O-line coach Cerroni
has managed to piece together a group with game experience, though not all
necessarily at their current spot.
The Titans will need to up their ground game on both sides of the ball
in order to have a successful season, which leads to my big question.
Big Question:
Will the defense be good enough for the Titans to make a step up?
The 2010 unit allowed 383 yards per game in total offense
and 28.4 points per game. Particularly alarming was the defense against the
rush. The Titans’ gave up 197.7
yards per game on the ground, which was actually more than they gave up through
the air. The hope for the Titans
is that the experience in the front seven will turn into production. The UWO defense will always have an up
hill battle due to the up-tempo nature of the offense, but if this team wants
to be up there with the Stevens Points and Stouts of the world the defense will
have to step up. If it doesn’t it
will be another disappointing season for the team with the longest conference
title drought in the league.
Player to Watch:
Garrie Fox
Nate Wara might have been an obvious choice but I’m not here
to simply state the obvious. Wara is spectacular and makes this offense go no
doubt but I’ve been told that Garrie Fox, not Nate Wara, is the best player at
his position on this team (i.e. Fox is a better wide out than Wara is a
quarterback). That is some high
praise but Fox backs it up. Fox
isn’t very big but he is fast and runs routes well. Folks in camp have been raving about Fox and with good
reason, Fox seems primed so an outstanding final campaign.
Bottom Line:
This team will go as far as the defense allows them. The schedule gets no easier despite
adding a home game. The Titans
will have to play at Mt. Union, Stout (in a non-conference game), Eau Claire,
Point and Platteville. The Titans
will have to do what they couldn’t do last year; win a game on the road against
a tough opponent. If they can to
that, this season will be a success.
I wrap team previews up tomorrow with looks at Platteville
and Lacrosse. Friday I will have
an overview of the conference as a whole with key games to watch and my
predictions of how the season will go.
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