The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will open the 2010 season at home, hosting Adrian College (MI)at 12:00 Saturday in Perkins Stadium.

Won-Lost:  Both teams are 0-0.

By the Numbers:  Adrian offensive line averages 279 pounds.  The Adrian offense will start two seniors, four juniors, and five sophomores.  The Adrian defensive line averages 238 pounds.  The defense includes six seniors and five juniors.  The Whitewater offensive line averages 289 pounds.  The offense will start seven seniors, three juniors and one sophomore.  The UW-W defensive line averages 260 pounds.  The Warhawk defense will start six seniors, four juniors and one sophomore.

Streak in Openers:  Lance Leipold is 3-0 in season openers.  The Warhawks have won seven consecutive openers, counting back from a 38-3 win over Dickinson State in 2009, 24-9 over Saint Xavier in 2008, 41-7 over Lakeland College in 2007, 75-14 over Lakeland in 2006, 45-7 over Saint Norbert in 2005, and Saint Norbert again by a 41-9 score in 2004.  The last season opener that UW-W lost was 2003, a 40-17 win for Mount Union College.

Non-Conference Streak:  UW-W has won eight straight non-conference games dating back to the 31-26 loss to Mount Union in the December 20 in the 2008 Stagg Bowl.

Win Streak:  UW-W has a fifteen game win streak, through the 2009 season, dating back to the 2008 loss to Mount Union.

Home Streak:  The Warhawks have won fourteen consecutive games at Perkins Stadium, dating back to a 17-16 loss to UW-Stevens Point, October 25, 2008.

Special Day:  The 2009 championship team will be recognized at the game.  It is also Welcome Back Students Day with a pass to a pre-game cookout to the first 300 students to sign up for the Purple Reign program.  The game is sponsored by University Dining.  See http://www.uwwsports.com/news/2010/8/31/GEN_0831103816.aspx for additional information.

National Polls:  UW-W is ranked first in the Lindy's preseason poll and the D3football.com poll.  The Warhawks are second in the USA Today Division III preseason poll.  Adrian is not ranked, but fellow Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association member Trine University is listed on all three polls (fifth, twenty-second, nineteenth respectively).  

UW-W Head Coach:  Lance Leipold is beginning his fourth year at UW-Whitewater, his only head coaching position.  He is 42-3 (.933) over his first three seasons.  The Warhawks have won Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles all three years (and five in a row) and advanced through the NCAA III playoffs to the Stagg Bowl all three years, winning national titles in 2007 and 2009.

Adrian Head Coach:  Jim Deere begins his first season as the Bulldogs head coach.  He isn't a stranger to the program, however.  A 1989 Adrian grad, Deere is beginning his eighteenth year on the coaching staff.  He was promoted from the defensive coordinator position where he engineered a highly regarded unit.

About the Bulldogs:  Adrian College is located in Adrian, Michigan in southeast Michigan.  The school was founded in 1859 and has an enrollment of 1,650.  Their colors are gold and black.

Adrian is picked by MIAA coaches to finish third this season, behind defending champion Trine and Albion College.  Adrian did receive one first place vote (and coaches cannot vote for their team), so they have to be figured in contention for the league crown.  Adrian went 6-4 overall last year, with second place finishes in the MIAA the last two seasons.

Deere has established a tradition of stout defense at Adrian, with the Bulldogs racking up impressive numbers in his three years as the coordinator.  Last year AC led the MIAA in five defensive categories and was ranked 28th in scoring defense among all NCAA III schools.  In 2008 the Bulldogs ranked fourth in Division III in both scoring defense and total defense, and in 2007 that unit was sixth in total defense and twelfth in scoring defense.  Senior linebacker Jarred Kwiatkowski was First Team All-MIAA last year, with fellow 'backer Danny Taylor, also a senior, named to the second team and senior defensive end also a second team honoree.  Kwiatkowski and Fritz tied for second on the team last year with 11.5 tackles for a loss.

The Adrian offense has an experienced hand under center.  That hand (or hands) may belong to sophomore Justin Hemm or senior Mike McGee.  McGee has played in 30 games for Albion, passing for over 4,300 yards and 30 TD's.  He went off for 27-39 and four touchdowns in a win over Kalamazoo last year.  Hemm, a transfer from Ball State, played in all ten games his freshman year.  The Bulldogs' version of Chip Hilton, Hemm threw for five TD's and ran for one in a win over Olivet College in the 2009 finale, he rushed 69-295 (4.3/carry), and he even caught 17 passes when McGee was the signalcaller.  

McGee and Hemm will count on junior running back Jared Edwards, the most experienced returnee, who averaged 5.4/carry.  Like most teams this time of year, the Bulldogs will be trying to sort out who plays, with the receiving corps losing their top three pass catchers, and the right side of the line up for grabs.

About the Warhawks:  John Madden likes to look to the trenches, and he would be pleased with the Warhawks' foundation.  The left side is manned by tackle Robbie Ustruck (West Allis/Hale) and Matt Weber (Oregon/Oregon), both preseason All-Americans.  Last year's starter at right guard, Matt Gawronski, has moved to center, with Logan Allemand (Kenosha/Tremper), who was second on the depth chart at right guard, moving into the starting lineup.  Grant Murray (Waukesha/Homestead) is back at right tackle, and tight end John Novak (Michigan City, IN/Michigan City) returns.  The defensive front returns just one starter, John Baldwin at end, but Luke Hibner (Elmhurst, IL/York Community) and Wesley Hicks (Milwaukee/Vincent) were on the two deep and saw plenty of action through fifteen games last year.  Only the other end, Jake Keeser (Fort Atkinson/Fort Atkinson), is new to the depth chart.

Linebacker Lane Olsen is back, and Greg Arnold (Big Bend/Mukwonago) returns to the starting lineup after missing some games because of an injury.  Even the "new guy", Max Ford (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park River Forest), was on the two-deep all of last year.  Three of the four DB's, corners Matt McCulloch and Jared Kiesow (Horicon/Horicon) and safety Sam Overton (Milwaukee/Riverside) were on the two deep last year with McCullough a starter.

Unstoppable force versus unmovable object?  That might be the case with the Warhawk offense faces the Adrian defense.  In addition to the lineman returning, two-time All-American running back Levell Coppage (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park) is still just a junior.  has amassed 3,568 yards, 55 touchdowns and a 5.3 per carry average in his first two seasons.  He contributed 2,107 of those yards, 35 of the touchdowns, and a 6.8 average to those totals in 2009.  Coppage isn't a one man show, with Antwan Anderson (Madison/Madison Memorial) (5.0/carry, 9 TD's) and former Badger Booker Stanley (Milwaukee/Whitefish Bay) pressing him.   The receiving stable includes Aaron Rusch (Hartford/Hartford), 72 catches for eight touchdowns in 2009 and poised to break every receiving mark in the school record book, and Adam Brandes (Burlington/Catholic Central), 58 receptions for eight scores last year.  

It may seem like giving the keys to your prized Jaguar to a teenager, but the UW-W coaches haven't been hesitant to tab 2009 backup Matt Blanchard (Lake Zurich, IL/Lake Zurich) as the starting QB.  Blanchard completed 10-14 passes for 122 yards, one interception and no touchdowns as the man in the middle of things on offense.  

Follow the Warhawks:  The game will be carried by long-time partner WKCH radio, 106.5 FM.  UW-W TV, Charter Cable (channel 19 or 20 depending on your local system) will also telecast the game live in south central Wisconsin.  UW-W will also provide live stats off a link on the Follow the Warhawks page or the 2010 schedule.  Both WKCH's audio and UW-W TV's video will be streamed, with links to both on the UW-W athletics site at www.uwwsports.com. 

Next Week:  UW-W will host Dakota State University Saturday, September 11 with a 12:00 kickoff in Perkins Stadium.  The game is being sponsored by Generac, and CEO Aaron Jagdfeld receiving the inaugural Director of Athletics Award of Excellence.