NEWBERG, Ore. -- A few days removed from a frustrating loss against Pacific Lutheran at home, Fox has reset and will focus on returning to its winning ways against Willamette in Salem this weekend.

The Bruins came up just short of a fourth straight win in front of their homecoming crowd, despite outgaining the Lutes nearly two to one on offense in a 13-12 defeat. Willamette is also coming off a loss after getting shut out by Pacific (Ore.), 35-0, in Forest Grove last weekend. Willamette punted on nine of its 11 drives, threw an interception to end the tenth, and elected to run out the clock on the 11th while crossing the 50-yard line twice en route to 135 yards of offense. 

Fox has all the tools to make this a blowout in Salem as their offensive averages lap the Bearcats - playing at full strength, the Bruins have averaged 39 points per game on offense while the Bearcats average just 19.5 per game. On defense, the Bearcats and Bruins allow nearly-identical averages of 28.3 and 27.8 points per game, respectively.

The team's respective strengths of schedule also favor the Bruins - Willamette's opponents are 6-9 so far this year, while the Bruins' opponents have combined for a 9-9 record. That, along with the Bruins' higher averages on offense, indicates that Fox is the stronger opponent in this weekend's matchup.

Leon Johnson III continues a blistering senior campaign with averages of 156 yards and two touchdowns per game this year. Haiden Schaan has done an excellent job feeding Johnson the ball and has been willing to look for wide-open players when Johnson is bracketed by opposing defenses. Dillan Dobbins, his second-favorite target so far, averages almost 70 yards on four catches per game this year. Schaan has also kept defenses honest with his legs, either prolonging plays before finding open targets or taking off for long open-field scrambles.

The Bearcats are relying on the experience of senior QB Aidan Kuykendall this season and have gotten an average of 141.8 yards and just under two touchdowns per game through the air this year. Kuykendall has completed 63.1% of his passes with an impressive 165.1 efficiency rating and has distributed the ball evenly between his top three receivers — Justin Genovia, Tyler Epefanio, and Jared Paredes — for the bulk of the Bearcats' yardage and passing scores this year.

On the ground, the Bearcats average 117.5 yards per game from both sophomore halfback Joseph Castillo and Kuykendall's carries. The backfield tandem has accounted for roughly two-thirds of the Bearcats' rushing attack this season and has scored all four of Willamette's rushing touchdowns. Kuykendall has scored three of those himself and is responsible for 10 of the 11 WU scores this year with his arm or his legs.

On defense, Fox leads the conference in sack yardage (109 yards) and is third in total sacks with 13 — the Bearcats average a little over two allowed per game, so the Bruins should have an edge there. Despite losing the turnover battle to PLU, Fox is still in positive territory in the turnover game for 2022 and has five picks this season — the most in the conference — while having forced and recovered two fumbles.

The Bearcats' defense has given opponents nearly 400 yards per game this season and is sixth of the eight NWC teams against the pass this season - if the Bruins can fire their passing attack up once again this weekend, they should find plenty of success through the air. The Bearcats allow over 160 yards per game on the ground, which should allow Fox to run a balanced offense. As a team, the Bearcats have generated seven sacks in four games and average one forced turnover per game with six pass breakups to date.

"Our staff has great faith that our players will respond to the challenge of coming back strong after a tough loss last week," coach Chris Casey said. "They have tremendous togetherness and trust in each other, the coaches, and in our identity. We are very much looking forward to playing Willamette."

This week's matchup should come down to which defense can answer the bell more consistently. Both teams are near the bottom of the conference standings in both scores and yardage allowed to opponents, but the Bruins' offense has been more potent this season. Fox fans should expect a bounce-back victory this weekend if all goes well on the offensive side of the ball this week. History backs that up as well; the Bruins have an active six-game winning streak over the Bearcats and average 34 points per game for the seven-year series. The last time that Fox played at Willamette's stadium, the Bruins put up their largest winning margin in school history with a 61-13 victory in 2019. 

For those unable to make the trip to Salem, live stats and video are linked on the Bruins' schedule page. Tickets must be purchased online in advance of the game — no cash purchases are available at the gate for Willamette events.