The UW-La Crosse football team has been in playoff mode for five weeks.
The Eagles (6-3) started the season with aspirations of a National Championship. And, that’s still true, but they have to make the playoffs first. In Week 5, they lost to UW-Oshkosh, 34-33, blowing a 19-point, second-half lead.
That was the last of three consecutive losses. The other two came to the second-ranked team in Division II and a UW-Platteville team that shot up the rankings in the first few weeks of the season.
Since Week 5 though, UW-L has rattled off four consecutive wins, including over then-10th-ranked UW-River Falls. The Eagles are now a win away from putting their fate in the hands of the playoff committee — a season after they lost in the Division III quarterfinals.
UW-L hosts UW-Stevens Point (1-8) in the regular-season finale Saturday, which will stream live on WKTY, beginning with pregame at 12:45 p.m.
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Pregame Saturday at 12:45 P.M., kickoff at 1:05 PM.
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It’s been a massive turnaround, and one that couldn’t have happened without player leadership and captains, according to UW-L coach Matt Janus.
“When we addressed the problems we were having internally, with winning became everything, the players responded to that,” Janus said. “I have not talked to our team about any opponent. We talk about our values.”
This season has also produced lessons that Janus says he’ll personally take away going forward.
“I’ve learned more this year than I ever have. I learned the value of being true to yourself,” Janus said. “There was the pressure, and you can’t make a mistake, and all of a sudden I was no longer Matt Janus the person, I was this other guy. I could write a book on this year and what not to do as a coach.”
Before kickoff will be a Senior Day ceremony. Janus hopes the game is a great send off for a historic group of 23 players.
“It has to be one of the winningest group in UW-La Crosse history,” Janus said. “It’s a group that’s been to the playoffs three times, hopefully four, and had two conference championships, hopefully three.”
Off the field, Janus said this group, his first full recruiting class, carries a different meaning.
“We’ve seen the highest of highs of winning championships and going to Italy, and the lowest of lows — whether it be a season-ending injury,” Janus said. “Some of them were here, pre-COVID. It’s hard to imagine this program without them.”
Seniors that started their careers at UW-L with COVID cancelling the 2020 season, have gone 35-10 overall.