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The Little Giants will begin the final leg of their 2012 regular season schedule Saturday with a home contest against the College of Wooster. The game marks the first of four straight North Coast Athletic Conference games culminating with the 119^th Monon Bell Classic. Kickoff will be at 1 p.m.

The Fighting Scots will come in with a 2-4 overall record (1-2 conference), but have kept the score close in all four losses. The worst defeat for Wooster was by 10 points to Wittenberg (17-7). The Scots' defense has kept them in games.

“They have excellent defensive linemen and linebackers,” Wabash Coach Erik Raeburn said. “They held Wittenberg and Allegheny to 17 points each. They're also really talented at defensive back. Their corners press the receivers which allows the two safeties to get up to the line of scrimmage and help against the run.”

The physical secondary has held opponents to just 176.5 yards passing per game, the second fewest in the conference. Two-time All-Conference cornerback Girard Ogletree-Crawford leads that unit with 32 tackles and an interception.

It's still unknown which Wabash quarterback will face Wooster's defense Saturday. Starter Chase Belton suffered a slight concussion early in the second quarter of last weekend's victory at Washington University. Junior backup Andy Walsh came in and threw a touchdown and an interception. Belton completed the first step towards recovery Sunday when he passed the Impact Test. Raeburn is cautiously optimistic about his quarterback's health.

“He thinks he'll be ready by Saturday,” Raeburn said. “As soon as the trainer or doctor tells me he is, I'll be happy. I think everything is progressing like the medical staff hoped it would.”

If Belton can't go, Raeburn is confident Walsh will get the job done.

“It's a tough situation when you're not taking all the reps and you get thrown into the fire in the heat of battle with the game still on the line,” Raeburn said. “Obviously the interception was a mistake — he didn't see the linebacker. Other than that play, I thought he did really well. The touchdown pass to (Sean) Hildebrand was a great throw.”

A reliable running game is any quarterback's best friend, especially one with minimal experience. The Little Giant ground attack has been more than reliable the past three weeks.

In those three games—all victories—Wabash has averaged 297.67 rushing yards. The team is now the top rushing team in the conference, despite an anemic start to the season.

The offensive line has stepped its game up while receivers have made downfield blocks to spring big runs. Running backs have shrugged off more defenders in the past few weeks and made more guys miss. Junior CP Porter has become more comfortable with the offense and it's shown. He had 85 yards and a touchdown on just 10 carries last week.

“I'm a lot more comfortable with plays and my teammates now than I was at the beginning of the season,” he said. “I know they'll do their job so I can do mine. Our offensive line has improved tremendously. If they keep playing this well, we'll keep running the ball down team's throats.”

Porter was a freshman on the team in 2007. He moved on to Ball State University before he found his way back to Crawfordsville for the start of the 2012 season.

The Wabash defense had another solid performance in last week's 34-14 win at Washington University - St. Louis. Wooster's offense appears to present a better challenge, however, led by dual-threat quarterback Richard Barnes.

“He played against us last year and made some incredible plays,” Raeburn said. “He's a really athletic guy who seems to find a way to elude the pass rush and extend the play. He does a great job of keeping his eyes downfield and will find a receiver breaking open for a big completion.”

Wabash has recently faced this style of quarterback. Two weeks ago, in a win at Wittenberg, the Wabash defense held speedy quarterback Reed Florence in check all game, except for one run which busted for 72 yards. Junior defensive lineman Zach Breuckman said the key is to finish the play.

“The big thing, especially against Wittenberg, was just finishing,” he said. “We're there, we just have to wrap up and tackle. Their (Wooster's) quarterback can make people look stupid if we don't.”

The Scots are inexperienced on the offensive line with no seniors and two freshmen starting. Breuckman will look to establish the line-of-scrimmage against their youth.

“They're relatively small too so hopefully we can take care of them,” he said. “If I'm outside, I'll really look to put some pressure on the edge against their tackle.”

However, the overall pressure is on Wabash to win another difficult conference game in which it's favored. The “home stretch” of the season means the team can't afford any slip ups to make the playoffs.

The Little Giants will also recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month by wearing pink. Jim Amidon '87 and Steve Hoffman '85 will announce the game while Clayton Randolph '16 will serve as the sideline reporter.

Watch the video broadcast of the game here. Follow the live statistics from the game here.