CHICAGO – University of Chicago football returned to Hyde Park in dominant fashion as the Maroons rocked in-conference opponent Beloit College by a score of 43-10 on a gusty yet humid Saturday.

Finally back on their home turf at Stagg Field, the Maroons improved their record to 3-0 with the home opener victory, and the Bucs fell to 0-3. UChicago has now won 10 in-a-row in the all-time series with Beloit.

The Maroon defense made its presence felt throughout the afternoon. The front seven showed out against the Buccaneers' shotgun offense, exhibiting excellent containment and gang-tackling ability on run plays. They stuffed Beloit's rushers and held them to a paltry 13 net rushing yards, for an average of 0.5 yards per rush. After averaging 123 rushing yards per game in the opening two weeks, Beloit running back Drake Marquez was limited to 29 yards on 13 attempts.

UChicago bullied the Beloit offensive line, clocking seven tackles for loss. Sophomore Nikulas Soska led the way with 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks, the second of which came on a bull-rush that saw him race off the edge into the Beloit backfield and wrap up the quarterback almost as soon as the ball was snapped.

The Maroon linebacking core showed versatility, moving quickly to stop the run and demonstrating excellent coverage on several intermediate Beloit pass attempts, while blitzing sparingly but effectively. In particular, junior William Skowronski was all over the stat sheet. The Glen Ellyn, Ill. native paced the team with nine tackles, and threw in a tackle for a loss and a pass break-up. Skowronski's highlight of the day however came on a run play. As the Beloit back was being stood up near the line of scrimmage in the third quarter, Skowronski joined and ripped the ball from the runner's hands, recovering the fumble himself.

Save for the occasional big completion, the UChicago defensive backs took advantage of the pressure provided by the line. From his position covering the deep middle third in the cover zone scheme, senior Jason Heine was able to track down and snatch an interception on a deep pass right in front of the end zone in the third quarter, while compiling two pass deflections as well. All told, the defense allowed no touchdowns through the air. Beloit finally crossed the plane on a one-yard quarterback rush late in the fourth quarter.

Senior quarterback Wesley Gow stepped up as the focal point on Saturday, as he completed 23 of 32 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns – all season highs. While the passes were spread around well with 12 players making a reception, the Californian duo of Colman Smith and Luke Degner led the way with five catches for 76 yards and two touchdowns, and four catches for 57 yards and a touchdown, respectively.

On the ground, the Maroons' strategy took advantage of Gow's running ability by incorporating several read-option plays into the rushing attack. The size and strength advantage of the Maroon offensive line provided opportunities for the platoon of running backs that UChicago utilized. The leader was Chicago local Kyle James, who torched Beloit for season highs of 115 yards and two touchdowns, good for 9.6 yards per carry. Gow himself picked up 37 yards and a rushing score. Seven Maroons combined for 237 rushing yards (5.5 YPC).

UChicago's first score came midway through the first quarter. Set up by a 17-yard Gow scramble, James took the handoff, reversed course and scored from two yards out.

In the second quarter, Gow stood his ground in the pocket after faking a hand-off. With the pressure bearing down on him, he saw Smith breaking on a post route and heaved a pass while absorbing contact. Smith leapt over the defensive back to haul in the acrobatic 29-yard score.

Later in the second, the Maroons found themselves with a critical red zone opportunity. Gow took the snap from center and immediately rolled left. Degner beat his man, and Gow targeted him on the run, finding him by the back pylon for the five-yard touchdown. UChicago went into halftime with a 19-3 lead.

At the beginning of the third quarter, three consecutive Marcelo Alanis runs brought the Maroons within striking distance. Gow then fired the ball to Smith in the flat for another five-yard score.

Following Heine's pick, James again took the hand-off up the middle. After shaking off a couple of tacklers, he turned on the burners and made for the front left pylon. A last-minute shoestring tackle attempt by a Beloit pursuant wasn't enough; James tumbled into the end zone to cap off a spectacular 66-yard run, the team's longest of the year.

Early in the fourth, Gow took it upon himself to ice the game, keeping the ball on the read-option and dashing past a linebacker for a three-yard touchdown.

Junior kicker Will Goodman added a 35-yard field goal as well late in the third quarter.

All told, UChicago outgained Beloit 497-224. The Bucs' offense converted only 1 of 12 on third down in the game.

NEXT GAME:

• Saturday, Oct. 1 @ 1:00 PM – UChicago at Knox College