WAVERLY, Iowa—The No. 12/12 Wartburg football team (13-0 overall) will travel to face No. 2/2 Mount Union (13-0) Saturday, Dec. 10 at 12 p.m. (Eastern) in an NCAA Playoff Semifinal game. This marks the first time the Knights have advanced to the semifinal round in program history.

Wartburg won the American Rivers Conference Championship, and the Purple Raiders won the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Championship for the automatic bids.

Click here for photos from the Media Availability session. 
Click here for the complete bracket.

Tickets
Tickets are $10/adults and $4/students. Gates open at 10:30 a.m.
Click here to purchase tickets. Wartburg fans are encouraged to sit in sections 11 and 12.
No cash accepted at the gate.

Pregame Tailgate
There will be a pregame tailgate at the Aeonian Brewing Co. from 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday (5 minute walk to the stadium) Free food, cash bar.

Follow the Knights
The game will be televised on ESPN+. Click here for the live video (fee required).
Click here for the live stats.
Click here for the live audio, brought to you by KWAY FM.

The Series
This will be the inaugural meeting between the programs.

Press Clippings
Click here for the feature in the Waterloo Courier.
Click here for the feature story on Tucker Kinney and Sam Reyes in the Quad City Times.
Click here for the feature story on KCRG.
Click here for the feature story on Nile McLaughlin in the Waterloo Courier.
Click here for the feature story on Luke Summers in the Salem News.

Wartburg

• This is the first trip to the semifinal round in program history, and is the 15^th appearance in the NCAA Playoffs for the Knights. 
   
• Senior Hunter Clasen leads the team with 1,516 yards on the ground and 20 touchdowns. He became the 18th member of the 1,000 season rushing yards club in the game against Coe.
   
• Senior Nile McLaughlin (Eldridge) has thrown for 2,712 yards and 24 touchdowns.
   
• Drake George leads the receivers with 613 yards, and Thomas Butters leads the group with five TD catches.
   
• Ben Bryant, who set the season record for punt return yards last year, leads the team with 20 punt returns for 317 yards. He also has 383 rushing yards for five touchdowns, and 145 receiving yards for two touchdowns.
   
• Senior Owen Grover leads the defense with 96 tackles and 10.0 TFLs.
   
• Junior Nate Link follows with 89 tackles.
   
• Senior Jordan Downing leads the team with 19.0 TFLs for a loss of 121 yards and 13.5 sacks for a loss of 107 yards.

Career Record Watch

• Ben Bryant is third in punt return yards (666), fifth in average yards/punt return (14.5), and tied for fifth in punt return TDs (1).
   
• Clasen is tied for ninth in rushing TDs (30).
   
• Cael O'Neill is seventh in field goals (14) and ninth in PATs (56).
   
• Antonio Santillan is tied for fifth in interception return TDs (1) and assisted tackles (134), and eighth in total tackles (264).
   
• Downing is fourth in yards from TFLs (189),tied for fifth in sacks (21.5), and tied for 10th in TFLs (33.5).

Season Record Watch

• O'Neill is tied for first in field goals (13), and third in PATs (56).
   
• McLaughlin is second in pass completions (233), sixth in passing yards (2,712) and tied for seventh in passing TDs (24).
   
• Bryant is third in punt return yards (317) and fifth in average yards/punt return (15.9).
   
• Clasen is second in rushing yards (1,516), third in rushing TDs (20), points scored (126) and total TDs (21), and 10th in rushing attempts (236).
   
• Downing is first in sacks (13.5), second in yards from sacks (107), third in yards from TFLs (121), and tied for sixth in fumbles forced (2).
   
• As a team, Wartburg is first in rushing TDs (41), interceptions (28), and yards from sacks (343), tied for first in punt return TDs (3), sacks (47) and field goals(13), second in yards from TFLs (530) and points (537), tied for second in PATs (62), third in punt return yards (511) and pass completions (241) and total TDs (72), tied for fifth in TFLs (105), sixth in pass receptions (241), passing yards (2,839), pass reception yards (2,834), and rushing yards (2,788).

National Stat Rankings
Wartburg ranks in the top 50 of 27 national stat ranking categories. The Knights are: first in interceptions (28), turnover margin (2.23), turnovers gained (43), winning percentage (1.000) and rushing defense (43.8), fourth in fumbles recovered (15) and scoring defense (8.0), fifth in red zone defense (.542),  sixth in team passing efficiency (87.54), eighth in first downs offense (293) and team sacks (3.62), ninth in total defense (213.8), 11th in fourth down conversion percentage defense (.258) and defensive TDs (4), 12th in third down conversion percentage defense (.271), 14th in blocked punts (3) and punt returns (16.33), 15th in scoring offense (41.3), 20th in team TFLs (8.1), 22nd in rushing offense (215.7), 23rd in sacks allowed (.92), 29th in TFLs allowed (4.31), 34th in total offense (434.1), 41st in kickoff return defense (15.86), 45th in passing yards allowed (169.9), 48th in blocked kicks (4), and 49th in red zone offense (.831).

Individually, 10 players rank in the top 50.

Clasen is third in rushing TDs (20), fourth in rushing yards (1,516), sixth in points (126) and total TDs (21), 15th in scoring (9.7), 16th in rushing yards/game (116.6), 17th in rush yards/carry (6.42), 23rd in all purpose yards (140.38), 

O'Neill is 10th in field goal percentage (.812), and 13th in field goals/game (1.00).

Downing, Justin Grieff, Grover and Rolling are all 25th in fumbles recovered (2). Downing is 16th in sacks (1.04), 

Rochford is seventh in passes defended (1.7) and 22nd in interceptions/game (0.5).

McLaughlin is 18th in passing yards (2.712), 27th in passing TDs (24), and 44th in points responsible for (152).

Thane Alexander, Rochford, and Kaleb Lamphier are eighth in punt return TDs (1), and Bryant is sixth in punt returns (15.8).

Pregame press conferences
Coach Winter



Offense


Defense


Mount Union

• The Purple Raiders have won 15 National Championships, with the most recent title in 2017.
• DeAndre Parker leads the team on the ground with 1,251 rushing yards for 18 TDs.
• Quarterback Braxton Plunk has thrown for 3,921 yards and 46 TDs.
• His top receiver has been Wayne Ruby with 1,573 yards for 27 TDs.
• Mason McMillen leads the defense with 99 tackles and 19.0 TFLs.
• Rossy Moore has a team-best 10.5 sacks.