The No. 5 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team continues postseason play Saturday at top-ranked Mount Union (Ohio) in an NCAA Division III Playoffs semifinal showdown at Mount Union Stadium. The Warhawks are making their 10th NCAA appearance in the last 11 years, and the program's 13th overall. They were one of six at-large, or Pool C, selections. The Purple Raiders are making their 27th trip to the national tournament after earning the Ohio Athletic Conference's automatic bid. Mount Union has won a record 11 national championships.


Saturday's game can be viewed live on ESPN3.com or the WatchESPN App, and can be heard live on KOOL 106.5 FM WKCH or online at 940wfaw.com. For those traveling to Mount Union, advance tickets will be available for pickup and tickets will be available for purchase at McPherson Academic & Athletic Complex (just south of Mount Union Stadium) from 12-2 p.m. Eastern Time Friday and starting at 9 a.m. Eastern Time Saturday until kickoff.

UW-Whitewater (12-1 overall) scored 21 points in the third quarter and made a defensive stand on a two-point conversion attempt late in the fourth quarter to hang on for a 31-29 victory at fifth-ranked UW-Oshkosh in last Saturday's quarterfinal. The Warhawks rushed for 240 yards and forced a pair of first-half turnovers to pick up their second straight road playoff win.

The Warhawks are ranked fifth in the latest D3football.com Top 25 and eighth in the most recent American Football Coaches Association poll. UW-Whitewater was ranked No. 1 in the nation in the preseason by D3football.com, second by Lindy's Sports and third by The Sporting News. 

Mount Union (13-0) recorded 49 first-half points, including 28 unanswered in the second quarter, en route to a 56-35 victory over No. 11 Wesley (Del.) in a quarterfinal last Saturday in Alliance, Ohio. The Purple Raiders totaled 603 yards of offense, including 330 through the air, and forced four turnovers. Quarterback Taurice Scott led Mount Union with 330 passing yards and six touchdowns, including one rushing.

SERIES

Saturday's game is the 12th meeting between the two teams. UW-Whitewater leads the all time series 6-5. After the Purple Raiders claimed five of the first six games, the Warhawks enter Saturday on a five-game win streak against Mount Union, including a 43-34 triumph in last season's Stagg Bowl national championship game. Ten of the 12 games in the series have come in the postseason.

WHAT'S NEXT

The winner of Saturday's contest moves on to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the NCAA Division III national title game, on Friday, Dec. 18, in Salem, Va., against the winner of the other semifinal, which features No. 2 Linfield (Ore.) at No. 4 St. Thomas (Minn.). The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.

NOTABLE

Mount Union and UW-Whitewater have met in nine of the last 10 Stagg Bowls (2005-14). The Warhawks have won six of those meetings, claiming national championships in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014. The Purple Raiders defeated the Warhawks in 2005, 2006 and 2008, and bested St. Thomas for the national championship in 2012.