Granville, Ohio - DePauw grabbed a 28-0 lead in the first half but, after Denison scored 28 straight, it was Caden Whitehead's 1-yard run with 1:22 left which gave the Tigers a 35-28 North Coast Athletic Conference road victory over the Big Red. The Tigers, ranked 16th in the latest coaches' poll and 17th by D3football.com, improved to 6-1 overall and 4-2 in the NCAC, while Denison dropped to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the NCAC.

DePauw grabbed a 7-0 lead on its second drive of the game as Scott Ballentine connected with Lleyton Lukowski for a 14-yard score with 7:25 left in the opening stanza. 

The Tigers made it 14-0 after Scott Ballentine's 11-yard scoring pass to Robby Ballentine early in the second. Luke Nolan's strip sack of Denison quarterback Tyler Green on the first play of the Big Red's next drive gave the Tigers the ball at the DePauw 47. DePauw needed just six plays with the Ballentine brothers teaming again for a 25-yard score to make it 21-0 with 6:07 remaining in the half.

After Denison advanced to the DePauw 22, the Tigers' pressure helped force an intentional grounding on second down and incomplete passes on the next two plays to hand possession back over to the Tigers. A 6-yard touchdown pass from Scott Ballentine to Robby Ballentine capped an 8-play, 72-yard drive and gave DePauw a 28-0 lead with 24 seconds left in the half.

The Big Red responded, however, as Green drove them down the field and put his team on the board with a 36-yard touchdown pass to Cade Nowik as the first-half horn sounded.

Denison carried that momentum into the second half as Green tossed a 2-yard scoring pass to Jack Williams on the opening drive of the second half to cut the DePauw lead to 28-14.

After a series of punts, Denison took over on its own 24 late in the third. Green's 1-yard pass to Grayson Kerscher with 11:26 left in the fourth trimmed the Tigers' lead to 27-21.

The teams exchanged punts and DePauw started on its own 39. The Tigers advanced to the Denison 43 and Scott Ballentine tossed a touchdown pass to Robby Ballentine, but holding and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on the play moved the ball back to the DePauw 32. The Tigers regained 22 of those yards after Lukowski's 22-yard reception. Buddy Gomez's punt was downed at the Denison 1 with 7:15 remaining.

The Big Red evened the score on the next play as Green tossed a pass to Kerscher who outran the Tigers for a 99-yard score.

DePauw's game-winning drive started on its own 25. The Tigers picked up 28 yards on the first play as the Balletine's teamed again. Whitehead converted a fourth-and-1 at the Denison 38 with a 3-yard run. Two plays later Carson Johnson carried for 17 yards to the Denison 18. Johnson later picked up three on a third-and-one to the Denison 6.

Scott Ballentine was sacked for a 10-yard loss on first down and failed to connect on a second down pass. His third-down pass to Palmer Samuels went to the Big Red 1 before Whitehead scored on fourth-and-goal with 1:22 remaining.

Denison wasn't done yet as Green drove the Big Red to the DePauw 24 before a couple of penalties and clock runoffs ended the comeback bid.

Johnson rushed for 62 yards on 10 carries, while Whitehead totaled 51 yards on 15 tries. Scott Ballentine threw for 342 yards on 30-of-42 passing with four touchdowns. Robby Ballentine equaled Jay True's 1978 program record with 16 catches and broke his own single-game receiving yards mark with 246 yards.

Green completed 38-of-58 passes for 519 yard and four touchdowns. Kerscher had 12 catches for 197 yards and Yater caught 11 for 135 yards.

Owen Rossell led the DePauw defense with 11 tackles and Nathan Creed finished with 10. Nolan and Dominic Seibal had 1.5 sacks each. Rory Ralston led Denison with 11 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Denison outgained DePauw, 504-455, but the Tigers held the Big Red to minus-15 rushing yards.

DePauw travels to Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday, Nov. 1, for a 1 p.m. NCAC game with the Battling Bishops.

NOTES

• The win was DePauw's ninth straight road win overall and 19th consecutive regular season victory away from home.
• Scott Ballentine established career highs with 30 completions and 42 attempts. 
• Robby Ballentine's 16 catches equaled the DePauw single-game record held by Jay True against Butler (11/4/1978).
• Robby Ballentine's 246 receiving yards broke his own program record of 244 set against Centre (9/13/2025).
• Caden Whitehead has topped the 2,000-yard career rushing yard plateau and now has 2,028 which ranks eighth in program history.
• Whitehead's 27 rushing touchdowns are tied for fourth in DePauw history.
• Robby Ballentine entered the game leading players on all NCAA levels in touchdown catches and now has 50.
• Luke Nolan's 1.5 sacks pushed his career total to 21.0 which ranks 14th in program history.