Willamette Concludes Season at Puget Sound

By Timothy Walsh, Athletics Communications Writer

SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University, which is receiving votes in both the D3football.com and the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 polls, will conclude its regular season with a matchup against the University of Puget Sound on Saturday, Nov. 16 at Baker Stadium in Tacoma, Wash. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. (PST).

Willamette enters the game 6-2 overall, 3-2 in the Northwest Conference, while UPS is 1-7, 0-5 in NWC play. The Loggers, who will be celebrating Senior Day, are coming off a 79-3 defeat at the hands of Linfield College last week.

Despite registering a 42-33 victory over Whittier College earlier this year, UPS has lost its five NWC games by an average of 37.4 points. The Loggers have not won an NWC contest since the 2010 season, and have not defeated the Bearcats since 2007.

In Willamette's home finale last week, the Bearcats rallied from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat Pacific University, 21-17, at McCulloch Stadium.

Senior quarterback Josh Dean (Dana Point, CA/Dana Hills HS) completed eight of nine passes for 155 yards in the decisive quarter, including a 58-yard scoring strike to Beau Smith (Jr., WR, Roseville, CA/Roseville HS) and a flip pass to Taylor Wyman (Jr., RB/P, Bellevue, WA/Issaquah HS) that went for 20 yards and the go-ahead touchdown.

Earlier this week, both Dean and Jack Nelson (Jr., ILB, Portland, OR/Jesuit HS) were chosen First Team Capital One Academic All-District VIII.Dean owns a 3.66 cumulative grade point average and is majoring in Economics. Nelson, who is also working on a degree in Economics, has achieved a 3.78 GPA.

Nelson leads both Willamette and the NWC with 102 total tackles this fall, including 58 unassisted stops. He has earned 6.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, intercepted one pass, broken up two passes, recovered two fumbles, and forced a fumble. Nelson is ranked eighth in NCAA Division III with 12.8 total tackles per game and is 10th with 7.3 solo tackles per game.

Additionally, senior cornerback Tyson Giza (Sr., Salem, OR/Sprague HS) was named NWC Special Teams Student-Athlete of the Week for his efforts on punt and kickoff returns in the victory over Pacific.

Giza returned three punts for a total of 30 yards and four kickoffs for a total of 80 yards. He provided a key play in the first half when he caught a punt at the WU 47 and returned it 18 yards to the Pacific 35. Willamette scored four plays later to tie the game at 7-7.

You can follow all of the action between the Bearcats and the Loggers through a live audio webcast on the Bearcat Network. All of WU's football games in 2013 are being webcast, with veteran play-by-play man Mike Allegre on the call. Former Willamette player Mark Meek will provide color commentary.

In addition, live video and live stats from the game will be available through the Puget Sound website.