Game Notes

Belton, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team opens the 2015 season against a new face when the Cru travels to Delaware, Ohio to take on Ohio Wesleyan University in the kickoff contest for both teams this Saturday. The game is slated for a 7:00 PM Eastern Time start at Selby Stadium on the OWU campus.
 
The Cru enters the season opener ranked fourth in the nation by D3football.com and UMHB has won 54 consecutive regular season games. The Cru went 11-1 overall and won the American Southwest Conference with a 5-0 league record in 2014. Ohio Wesleyan is coming off a 6-4 campaign in 2014 and the Battling Bishops finished fourth in the North Coast Athletic Conference with a 5-4 league mark. Not only is this the first meeting between the two teams, it marks the first time UMHB has faced an opponent from the NCAC and the first time the Cru has played a regular season game in the state of Ohio.
 
This will also be the first time UMHB football has entered the season without a shot at an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Championships. The ASC lost its automatic bid this season with the drop to six football playing conference members. That means the Cru will have to compete for the only NCAA postseason berth reserved for non-automatic qualifiers and also means the margin for error is even smaller than usual for UMHB.
 
"With no AQ, we have to approach every game with the intensity of a playoff game," Cru Head Coach Pete Fredenburg said. "We as coaches have to make sure our players understand that and can bring that mentality into every week because you just can't afford to stumble along the way if you want to make the postseason. OWU really spreads the field and tries to create some match-up problems. They look very well coached and skilled on video and this game will be a great test to open the season."
 
The trip to Ohio Wesleyan is the longest road trip of the year for the Cru and will be the only road contest of the opening month of the season. UMHB will play its next four games at Crusader Stadium as part of a school-record seven home games in the regular season.
 
Saturday's game will also be broadcast live on K101.7 FM and through the station's web site with the pre-game show starting at 5:30 PM. UMHB will provide live video streaming for the game through this link: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/umhb/. Ohio Wesleyan will also provide live statistics for the game. All of the links to live coverage are also available on the UMHB athletic department web site at www.cruathletics.com.