UWP is 2-0 in the blue uniforms this season.

Posted October 21, 2009

UW-Platteville plays host to UW-Oshkosh on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. UWP Coach Mike Emendorfer discusses the upcoming game and other issues with Sports Information Director Paul Erickson.

Saturday's game is home, where the Pioneers are undefeated. How important is that to you and to play well in front of the home fans?

"One of the things I told the team was 'good teams win at home and great teams win on the road.' Unfortunately, this past weekend we had a great opportunity to step up our game and we had some things that didn't go our way. Now we have another great opportunity this week, playing in front of our ome fans and facing a very good team, Oshkosh. We need to get back to our winning habits and sort of get that bad taste out of our mouths that occurred in Eau Claire, especially in the last quarter or so."

Life in the WIAC seems to come down to a handful of plays here and there. Oshkosh seems to be no exception, beating River Falls by two points and taking a seven-point loss to Stevens Point last week. What kinds of things can make the difference on Saturday?

"One of the things we have to take a look at is getting those hidden yards on special teams, kickoff returns, punt returns. Oshkosh has had some big plays off those, and we have to create some big plays off our special teams and hidden yards. That's a key, as well as, what it is every week, turnovers and capitalizing on turnovers. Another key is that overall, this year, we've been a very physical team and we need to continue playing that way."

I think you had a first in your career last week in that you missed practice when you were sick. With the flu bug going around Platteville, how is the health of your team?

"Right now we have one or two players who have been out, and our trainer is out with the flu. It's just one of those things unfortunately we have to be conscious of, especially with the H1N1 scare that's going on. We're trying to protect our team the best we can and educate them and keep them healthy. Part of it is, we just need some luck in having many of them coming down with the flu."

Last week you also had a junior varsity game and played awfully well in beating Augustana. How much fun is that for you to watch the young guys go out there and play?

"It's a big part of our program, taking care of our younger players. One of the things you'll see is Chad Roscoe, who played in the first JV game who is now starting for us at running back. John Kelly is a quarterback who was fourth- or fifth-string and due to the injury to Nick Anderson is now two or three. John played very well in the JV game (throwing five first-half touchdown passes). Those JV games give us an opportunity to evaluate our players, and those younger players get a chance to showcase their talents. As the season goes on, with injuries, many times it does promote them to Saturday afternoons."