The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team opens the 2024 campaign Saturday against John Carroll University, a member of the Ohio Athletic Conference. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at Perkins Stadium in Whitewater.

The Warhawks are ranked 3rd in both the D3football.com and American Football Coaches Association Division III Preseason Polls. Heading into the 2024 campaign JCU is ranked 19th on the D3football.com list and 20th in the AFCA poll. 

UW-Whitewater is predicted to finish second in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference this season. The Warhawks have captured at least a share of the WIAC title 14 of the last 18 seasons. 

The Warhawks are led by three Preseason All-Americans including center John Pekar (Franklin, Wis./Franklin), offensive lineman Alex Pethan (Oak Creek, Wis./Oak Creek) and running back Tamir Thomas (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls). Tyler Vasey (Crystal Lake, Ill/Prairie Ridge) returns to the squad after a breakout season at wide receiver and on special teams. The sophomore was named the WIAC Newcomer of the Year a season ago. Defensive back Kyle Koelblinger (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) returns to help lead the defense after claiming Newcomer of the Year recognition in 2021. 

Additional all-league players returning to the squad this season include tight end Drake Martin (Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander), wide receiver Steven Hein (St. Charles, Ill./North), defensive linemen Matt Burba (Lake in the Hills, Ill./Huntley) and Nehemiah Lomax (Park Forest, Ill./Crete-Monee), and linebackers Ethan Gallagher (Homer Glen, Ill./Lockport Township) and Mason Stepanski (Appleton, Wis./Kimberly). 

UW-Whitewater finished second in the WIAC last season with a 6-1 record against conference opponents. The Warhawks earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Division III Playoffs and advanced to the quarterfinals. 

John Carroll finished second to perennial powerhouse Mount Union in the Ohio Athletic Conference last season. The Blue Streaks are picked to finish second in the OAC again in 2024.  

SERIES

This is the third meeting between the Warhawks and Blue Streaks. The teams first met in a quarterfinal of the NCAA Tournament on December 3, 2016. John Carroll won that contest 31-14 in Whitewater. Last season, UW-Whitewater won 27-23 on the road in University Heights, Ohio. 

NOTABLE

-Since the start of the 2004 season, UW-Whitewater is 54-5 in regular season non-conference games, good for a .915 winning percentage. Two of those losses came during the 2017 season and another came against Division II St. Cloud State (2007).

-Since 2004, the Warhawks are 17-2 in season openers.