GALESBURG, Ill. -- The University of Chicago football team put together a dominant performance on both sides of the ball Saturday afternoon, cruising to a 52-0 shutout win over Knox College. The win is the Maroons' largest margin of victory since their 63-0 win over Knox in 2023.

From the opening kickoff, UChicago showed its dominance, scoring on its first three drives to build a 21-0 first-quarter lead. Senior quarterback Jack Ruff showed out, leading two quick scoring drives that ended with touchdown passes of 45 yards to Luke Degner and 39 yards to Collin Argue to get the Maroons rolling. UChicago's third score came on the ground with Jake Lowry capping a short-field drive with a 9-yard touchdown run.

The offensive onslaught continued into the second quarter as  Walter Kilgore extended the lead with a 34-yard field goal, and sophomore running back Miles Parlet powered through the Knox defense for a 9-yard touchdown run to give UChicago a commanding 31-0 lead at the halftime break. The defense of UChicago also showed its dominance heading into halftime as they held the Prarire Fire to just four first downs in the first half. Hugh Rolls also capped the half with his first interception of the season to halt the best drive of the game for Knox.

Sophomore quarterback Max Ruff entered in the third quarter and immediately kept the offense rolling, finding Degner again for a 19-yard touchdown pass — Degner's second score of the day. Then, following an Alex Zeppos forced fumble and recovered fumble, Avondre Kelley needed just one play to burst through the defense for a 24-yard touchdown run. 

Kelley would add another score late in the fourth quarter, this time punching it in from 5 yards out to close out a 10-play, 63-yard drive that consumed nearly seven minutes of clock. The final touchdown pushed the Maroons past the 50-point mark for the first time since November 2, 2024.

Defensively, UChicago was just as impressive. The Maroons pitched their first shutout since September 16, 2023, limiting Knox to just 177 total yards — including only 92 passing yards and 67 rushing yards. The defense consistently won at the line of scrimmage, disrupted plays in the backfield, and kept the Prairie Fire out of the red zone for the entire afternoon. Knox only ran five plays in UChicago territory, and they did not cross midfield until 6:50 remaining in the third quarter.

Jack Ruff led the passing attack, crossing the 100-yard threshold for the first time this season, with 185 yards and 2 touchdowns. Avondre Kelley led the ground attack with 56 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Luke Degner tallied 5 catches for 143 yards and 2 scores.

On the defensive side of the ball, Cole Ostendorf made a team-high 5 tackles, and Alex Zeppos and Declan O'Donovan added 2 tackles for loss.

With the win, the Maroons improve to 3-1 on the season and 3-0 in the MWC. UChicago will return to action next weekend as they return home to Stagg Field to take on Lawrence.