The DePauw Tigers and Wabash Little Giants Both Have a Lot at Stake in the 130th Monon Bell Classic
The DePauw University Tigers and Wabash College Little Giants have met on the gridiron almost every year since 1890. They have competed for possession of the Monon Bell since 1932 when it was introduced as the rivalrie’s trophy. This year, the DePauw “Tigers” will host the Wabash “Little Giants” on Saturday afternoon, November 16th, at 1:00 PM EST, for the 130th Monon Bell Classic. The Monon Bell Classic is one of the oldest college football rivalries in the country. The Schools are located about 25 miles apart which makes them great rivals on and off the gridiron.
The Tigers (9-0) are ranked nationally 8th in the NCAA Division III Coaches Poll and 9th in the D3football.com Poll. Although Wabash is not ranked nationally, they are 8-1, and tied with DePauw for the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) title at 7-0. The game has more at stake than just taking the “Bell” as a trophy, as the winner of the Monon Bell Classic will be crowned Champion of the NCAC and receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoff tournament.
DePauw enters the game seeking their fourth consecutive outright NCAC championship, their third consecutive victory against the Little Giants, and their second consecutive undefeated regular season and Division III Playoff Tournament appearance. Since the 300-pound “Monon Bell” entered the rivalry as the trophy for the annual winner. Wabash has led the series 44-41-6, (44 wins 41 losses, and 6 ties). But that is not the whole story of this rivalry. The actual first “rivalry game between DePauw and Wabash began back in 1890.
History of the Monon Bell
The two schools had played for 109 consecutive years starting back in 1911. That made the series the oldest, continuous rivalry west of the Allegheny Mountains, until 2020 when, like a lot of other events, it was canceled due to Covid. (***As a side note, Covid claimed the life of our beloved Head Coach Emeritus, Nick Mourouzis. The playing field is now named in his honor. Nick served as the head football coach at DePauw from 1981 to 2003, compiling a record of 138–87–4***)
In total, since 1890, the two schools have played against each other 129 times with Wabash leading the series 63-57-9.
So, why is the rivalry now called the “Monon Bell Classic”? Well, according to legend, in the winter of 1932, a DePauw alumnus, Orien Fifer, (Class of 1925) wrote a letter to Indianapolis News sports editor, Bill Fox. In that letter, he suggested to Fox that a trophy should be awarded to the winner of the DePauw/Wabash game with the schools swapping possession of it based on each year’s winner, a traveling trophy, if you will.
Fox contacted his sources seeking a suitable trophy and the Monon Railroad offered up the 300 lbs “Bell” which once sat on top of the front of an old 1870s steam locomotive. The Bell, in its present form, was ready for the 1932 contest….but that game ended in a tie.
Monon Bell Shenanigans
Since its inception, the losing team has attempted to steal the Bell 16 times over the years, succeeding 9 known times. (1941, 1965, 1966, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1988, and 1998). ( I might, might mind you, personally know a little something about those 1978 and 79 thefts.)
A little-known fact: the Bell has actually been “stolen” 10 times! In 1966, after the Tigers won that game 9-7, some DePauw students decided to take matters into their own hands. In order to prevent Wabash Student’s from stealing the Bell again, a week after DePauw’s 1966 victory, some of DePauw’s students stole the Bell from their own school and buried it near Blackstock Stadium’s football field’s northern end zone. It remained buried for 11 months! The evening before the 1967 game, those same DePauw students frantically sought to uncover the Bell in time for the game. But Mother Nature didn’t want to cooperate. The recently frozen ground caused them to struggle unearthing the trophy. But for the ground thawing that morning, the Bell would have been unavailable for the trophy presentation at the end of the game which Wabash won, 7-0.
The Monon Bell Classic has had Notoriety Over the Years
Over the years the game has been the subject of national media attention and featured in articles by Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Charles Kuralt’s CBS Sunday Morning Show, The Slant, from Fox Sports Net. The game has also been regularly televised on ABC, ESPN2, AXS TV, Fox Sports.
The game is usually sold out, as it is once again this year. However, annual alumni viewing parties are held in over 50 cities all across the country. Generally, both schools’ alumni will attend the same viewing party in a given city which adds to the rivalry. For the past few years, realizing the stadiums are usually sold out, the schools hold throw viewing for those that could not get a ticket. This year a jumbo screen in the Olive Street parking lot. Fans who cannot attend in person can still catch every snap through ISC Sports Network’s live broadcast or by downloading the DePauw Video Network app to stream the game from a connected device.
Last year’s contest saw a powerful, undefeated, DePauw Tiger Team win in double overtime by a score of 33-30. Once again, DePauw comes into the 2024 contest undefeated. But Wabash comes into the contest having suffered only one loss and tied with DePauw, in the NACA, for first place at 7-0.
Wabash College “Little Giants” Bring an Impressive Team to the 2024 Monon Bell Classic
Wabash’s head coach, Don Morel brings his team into Blackstock Stadium with his offense scoring 322 total season points this season. Wabash’s defense has allowed its opponents only 132 points so far this season. The Little Giants have scored a total of 44 touchdowns, 23 rushing and 19 passing. The defense has allowed only 18 touchdowns against 9 opponents.
The “Little Giants” Present Balanced Offensive Attack, But a Potent Run Game
Wabash features a sophomore, Brand Campbell, at quarterback. Campbell has thrown for 1468 passing yards this season, completing 110 of 153 attempts for 1764 passing yards so far in 2024. He has thrown for 17 touchdowns having thrown only one interception.
Campbell’s receivers included Conner Thompson who, this season, has 46 catches for 535 yards and 8 touchdowns. He averages 11.6 yards per catch. Campbell’s other two prime targets, TJ Alexander and Kannon Chase have caught 24 and 21 catches respectively. Alexander has 326 yards this season and 3 touchdowns. Chase has 236 yards, with 2 receiving and 1 rushing touchdown.
The Little Giants excel at the running game with featured back Xavier Tyler. So far in 2024, he has rushed for 1018 yards on 170 carries. Tyler has 9 touchdowns and has scored 54 points. Tyler is complemented by fellow Little Giant’s running back, Cole Dickerson who has rushed 46 times for 320 yards scoring 5 touchdowns this year. The little Giants have 1886 rushing yards this season
The little Giants score 90% of the time once in the Red Zone. Their Red Zone Touchdown record is 30 touchdowns out of 41 Red Zone appearances, a 73% success rate. Their total yardage in 2024 is 3394 yards. They convert 39% of the time on 3rd down and have a total of 183 first downs. Their offense, particularly their running game is potent.
Wabash’s Defense is a Tackling and Sacking Machine
Wabash’s defense is stout having allowed their 2024 opponents only 2426 total yards, 10 touchdowns, and 129 first downs. The most impressive part of the Little Giants’ defensive game is their ability to sack the opponent’s quarterback having recorded 32 sacks for -210 yards They have only let their opponents in the Red Zone a total of 15 times.
The little Giants lead tackler, Gavin Rupert has 69 total tackles, 42 solo, and 27 assisted, this season. He has 3 sacks and 2 interceptions. Jordan Cree has 33 total tackles, 12 solo and 21 assisted plus 5 sacks. Samuel Ringer had 21 solo tackles and 10 assisted tackles for a total of 31 tackles. Brock Robertson also has 31 total tackles and Mike Holsclaw has 28 total tackles, 26 of them solo plus 3 interceptions. Needless to say, the Wabash Little Giants appear to have a formidable defense, but DePauw’s offense will be their greatest test to date.
The 2024 DePauw Tigers are Flat Out Impressive
Coach Brett Dietz and his coaching staff have created a monster of a team in 2024. DePauw has won the last 3 NCAC Championships and sits one win away from a 4th ring. The fact that the Tigers have literally crushed every opponent during this 2024 season could see them make a deep run in the Division III playoffs…if they can beat Wabash by winning the 130th Monon Bell Classic, thereby clinching an automatic bid to the Division III National Championship Playoffs.
DePauw’s Offense is Simply…Ominous!
From the outset, it should be noted that, for the most part, DePauw and Wabash have played the same opponents many of them only a week apart. Therefore the stats are directly comparable.
DePauw’s offense averages 54 points per game. Let me say that again…DePauw’s offense averages 54 points a game! They have scored a total of 486 points in 9 games. They have 92 rushing first downs and 122 passing first downs. They have rushed for 1876 yards and passed for an additional, unbelievable 2890 yards, for a total Offensive yardage of 4567. They have scored 65 touchdowns, 44 passing and 21 rushing.
The “Captain of the Ship” is senior quarterback Nathan McCahill. He has thrown for 2555 yards to date, completed 168 out of 239 attempts, and has thrown an NCAC record 39 touchdown passes with nine games left to play.
McCahill’s primary receiving threat is junior, Robby Ballentine who has 56 receptions in 2026 for a total of 821 yards and 17 touchdowns. McCahill also has senior tight end, Gabe Quigley who has 4 receiving touchdowns, 170 yards, and has thrown 1 passing touchdown. Wide receiver Lleyton Lukowski has 19 receptions for 264 yards and 4 touchdowns.
DePauw’s running game features Caden Whitehead who has rushed for 656 yards and 9 rushing touchdowns and 10 receptions so far this season. DePauw has depth at running back with Carson Johnson, who has rushed for 265 yards, 4 TDs. and Jack Mencer 243 yards and 2 touchdowns.
DePauw’s Defense is Suffocating
In nine games played in 2024, DePauw’s defense has allowed a total of 93 points. In 251 passes attempted against them, the defense has only allowed 118 completions, intercepting the ball 12 times. Against the Tigers’ defense, 9 opponents have only had 1598 total offensive yards while scoring just 13 touchdowns. In nine games opponents have only managed to achieve 101 first downs.
Leading tacklers on the Tigers’ defense include linebacker, Johnathan Bruder with 37 solo tackles, and 17 assisted tackles for 54 total tackles, Luke Marsh has 52 total tackles, 33 solo and 19 assists, and 1 sack. David Guhl with 7 solo tackles and 12 assists. Jake Comer has 13 solo tackles and 13 assisted tackles for 26 total tackles.
The Outcome?
While the stats on paper may lead you to think the DePauw Tigers will trounce the Wabash “Little Giants” that simply won’t be the case. No matter how good one team looks over another after 9 games played, the Monon Bell Classic always has a way, like all rivalry games of leveling the playing field. This should be a very close, hard-fought, and competitive game. Both teams will have to play a near-perfect game if they want to win. The winner of this one takes all the marbles…the NCAC Championship, the automatic bid to the Division III Championship Playoffs, the Monon Bell itself…but most importantly: BRAGGING RIGHTS!!!… until next year.
That said, DePauw will prevail, 35-21.
The 130th Monon Bell Classic will take place on Saturday, November 16, 2024, at Blackstock Stadium, Nick Mourouzis Field at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Kickoff is slated for 1:07 PM (EST).
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