VIDEO
LIVE STATS
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Bluffton University meet in a critical Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football matchup on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Cook Stadium.
Rose-Hulman and Bluffton are among four teams in the conference with just one loss in league play vying for the title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs. Rose-Hulman needs to win its final two games and have Franklin defeat Mount St. Joseph on Saturday to earn its first NCAA Playoff trip. Bluffton needs three wins and a victory by Mount St. Joseph over Franklin on Saturday.
Rose-Hulman earned its first win over a nationally ranked team since 1993 last weekend, knocking off No. 14 Franklin by a score of 23-22. The victory also marked Franklin's first loss at home in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action since 2009.
Junior Stanley Hogan III was named the HCAC Player of the Week for his efforts at Franklin. Hogan rushed for 121 yards on 33 carries for career-highs in both categories.
Senior Austin Swenson set single-game school records by completing 45 of 71 passes at Franklin. He also passed for 362 yards in the win. Swenson owns over 20 school records and has completed 713-of-1,104 passes in his career for 7,910 yards and 75 touchdowns with just 26 interceptions.
Senior Alec Fisher had a one-handed catch featured on ESPN College Football Final earlier this season. Fisher has the career school record with 33 touchdown receptions and has 197 catches for 2,415 yards as a Fightin' Engineer.
The Rose-Hulman defense leads the HCAC in fewest points allowed (17.8 ppg). Junior Alec Thompson paces the league in passes defensed (11), Kaelen Garner is No. 2 in sacks (6) and Connor Kispert is No. 3 in the league in tackles-for-loss (11).
Junior Matt Murray has been named HCAC Special Teams Player of the Week four times this year to lead the Fightin' Engineer special teams performers.
Bluffton seeks its first HCAC championship and its first seven-win season since 2000 this fall. The Beavers have not won eight games in a season since compiling a 10-1 mark in 1988.
Dante Carroll is the HCAC's leading rusher (92.7 ypg) and Micah Roberson is the league's leading receiver (100.3 ypg). On defense, Bluffton's Isaac Zickafoose leads the HCAC in sacks (7.5) and tackles-for-loss (15.5).
The game doubles as the annual Hall of Fame Game. The Athletic Hall of Fame Class for 2016 includes basketball guard Munchie Muskeyvalley ('06), baseball pitcher Nathan Soyer ('05) and football defensive lineman Jake Vieck ('06). The Hall of Fame Class will be introduced at halftime of Saturday's football matchup.
After Saturday's game, Rose-Hulman will have a bye week before hosting Earlham College on Senior Day on Nov. 12.
