Chicago football is on an upward trend. Five days after the NFL’s Chicago Bears beat the Dallas Cowboys, the Maroons maintained the pattern of success at the collegiate level, beating Oberlin 28–9. Sure, that school up north may be having a pretty decent season, too, but keep an eye on these South Siders.
This Saturday, Chicago (2–2) takes on Allegheny (3–1). The Gators are coming off a convincing victory over a good Wabash team. The Maroons will need to put up a good offensive showing if they want to beat Allegheny. In three victories this year, the Gators have given up 14, 17, and three points, respectively. Their only loss occurred in a game against Carnegie Mellon, when they yielded 37. The South Siders will have to aim closer to that number on Saturday—as opposed to the zero they put up two weeks ago against Elmhurst—if they hope to pull out a victory.
“The season is going well, but there is always room to improve,” fourth-year kicker and punter Jeff Sauer said.
Fourth-year wideout Dee Brizzolara was a bit less pleased with the season’s path thus far.
“I would have liked to have been 4–0 at this point, but unfortunately we didn’t do enough to earn two more wins,” he said. “[But] I really believe we’re on the upswing here, and I’m excited for the next game.”
Looking ahead to Saturday, Sauer sees this game—and the rest on the schedule—as winnable.
“We started slow against Oberlin but finished very strong and we’re looking to continue executing in all facets against Allegheny,” he said. “They recently beat Wabash who is a very good football team so the game on Saturday is going to come down to who executes better on offense, defense, and special teams. The goal for the rest of the season is to finish 8–2 and win another UAA championship, and we certainly have the players and coaching staff to do so.”
The Maroons are hoping that their road towards that 8–2 season will start Saturday at Stagg Field. The game, their first home matchup of the academic year, starts at noon.
“We just have to play Chicago football,” Sauer said.
And no, he doesn’t mean Bears football, or Wildcats football. The Maroons are ready to show Chicago how it’s done.
