GREENCASTLE, Ind. (October 7, 2023) – The Denison University football team suffered its second-straight loss in North Coast Athletic Conference action, falling 17-6 on the road at DePauw University on Saturday. DePauw, the two-time defending NCAC Champion, is ranked No. 23 in the AFCA DIII Coaches Poll and is the second team receiving votes in the D3football.com Top 25 Poll.

Bringing a 3-0 road record into the contest, the Big Red outgained the Tigers 111-95 in the first half and had three more first downs (9-6) in the opening 30 minutes, but could not make it pay off on the scoreboard as a fumble by Denison on a punt return set DePauw up for the first touchdown of the game at the end of the first quarter.

Earlier in the game, the Denison defense got a big stop on fourth-and-one from its own 12-yard line as Jack Nimesheim and Clay Denstorff combined for a two-yard tackle for loss on a rush attempt.

Starting at its own 14-yard line, the next Denison drive proceeded to go three-and-out, leading to a short punt that was followed by a 26-yard return to set DePauw up at the Big Red 25-yard line.

Yet again, the Big Red defense held strong and kept the Tigers out of the endzone, resulting in a 24-yard field goal for the first points of the game.

Then after the two teams traded three-and-outs on offense, the ensuing punt by the Tigers resulted in a fumble by the Big Red that gave the ball right back to DePauw at the Denison three-yard line. Two plays later, a one-yard rush by Gus Baumgartner made it 10-0 DePauw after the opening quarter.

Late in the second quarter, Denison was driving (14 plays; 43 yards) down to the DePauw 26-yard line until an interception stopped that drive in its tracks.

The Big Red held DePauw to minus five rushing yards in the second quarter and held a 64-12 advantage in overall yards and a 6-2 advantage in first downs in the period, but could not turn it into points.

Then on its first drive of the second half, Denison was stopped on a rush play on fourth-and-two from the DePauw 43-yard line.

The Big Red got to the DePauw 43-yard line on their next drive as well before a quarterback fumble on a 17-yard sack on second down.

After gaining possession in Denison territory on the fumble, DePauw proceeded to go 31 yards on five plays as a three-yard run for Caden Whitehead made it 17-0 Tigers a little bit over halfway through the third quarter.

Denison's first drive of the fourth quarter again saw the Big Red come up short on a fourth-down-and-two play, this time on an incomplete pass from the DePauw 40-yard line.

A one-yard tackle for loss on fourth-down-and-three from the Denison 30-yard line on the next DePauw possession got Denison the ball back with nine minutes remaining, but the Big Red ultimately had to punt four plays later.

In the final three minutes of the game, Denison started its final drive with an 18-yard pass from Jimmy Stines to Josh Aiello, and that connection continued with a 43-yard pick up three plays later to get the Big Red into the redzone for the first time in the game.

With just over one minute remaining, Denison was finally able to get it across the goal line as Stines found Aiello open in the back of the endzone on fourth-and-goal from the five-yard line, but the ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Tigers to effectively end the game. Aiello finished with eight receptions for 128 yards and a score to pace the Denison offense.

For the game, Denison outgained DePauw 268-226, out-passed the Tigers 201 yards to 68 yards, and finished with 18 first downs compared to 12 for the Tigers. The Big Red were, however, held to a season-low of 67 rushing yards and were hampered by two lost fumbles.

For the second game in a row, Nimesheim finished with a new career-high in tackles, this time totaling 14 tackles while adding two tackles for loss to lead the Denison defensive effort.

Layton Reesor and Jeff Moore both added 10 tackles and Michael Ballenger had nine tackles, three tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

With its first road loss of the season, Denison dropped to .500 both overall (3-3) and in the conference (2-2) while DePauw improved to a perfect 6-0 and 4-0.

Next up, Denison will host Wabash College at 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 14.