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WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson football team looks to improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2009 with a 7 p.m. kick-off at Westminster on Saturday, Sept. 13.

The Series: Washington & Jefferson holds a dominating 33-2 lead in the all-time series with Westminster, dating back to a 16-0 win on Nov. 10, 1894. Last season, W&J posted a 38-6 win in New Wilmington, which marked the 13th-consecutive win in the series for the Presidents. The Titan's last victory came in 2000 when Westminster edged W&J, 19-17, thanks to a school-record 10 sacks. At the time, Westminster was a provisional member of NCAA Division III after transitioning from NAIA Division II.

The Head Coaches: Mike Sirianni (Mount Union, '94) owns a 102-24 (.810) record at W&J in his 12th season as head coach. The five-time PAC Coach of the Year and two-time South Region Coach of the Year (2004, 2012) is fourth among all active NCAA coaches in winning percentage (minimum of 10 years). The Presidents have made 10 postseason appearances under Sirianni. Scott Benzel (Mercyhurst, '97) begins his first season as head coach at Westminster after arriving in New Wilmington from NCAA Division I Saint Francis, where he served as the associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator for the Red Flash. His first game as head coach didn't go as planned as the Titans squandered a 27-3 lead mid-way through the first quarter en route to a 30-27 home loss against Hiram.

W&J vs. The PAC: W&J holds a 312-134-10 (.695) winning percentage against current football-playing members of the Presidents' Athletic Conference. Washington & Jefferson has claimed 23 PAC Championships throughout the history of the league. Although Saturday will not count in the PAC standings, W&J is 55-10 (.846) in conference games since Sirianni took over in 2003.
The Last Meeting (Oct. 19, 2013 -- W&J 38, Westminster 6): Senior quarterback Matt Bliss passed for 264 yards and four touchdowns to help Washington & Jefferson record a 38-6 PAC football victory at Westminster. Junior defensive end Jon Lowery had three sacks for the Presidents' defense which limited the Titans to 299 total yards. Bliss completed 17-of-28 passes for the Presidents, who racked up 490 yards.  Senior Alex Baroffio returned the opening kickoff 60 yards and W&J scored seven plays later on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Bliss to senior running back Dion Wiegand. On Westminster's second series, senior safety B.J. Monacelli intercepted the ninth pass of his career, but W&J was unable to convert. The Presidents strung together a 13-play drive in between the first and second quarters and senior Craig Popp booted a 21-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead. W&J was stopped inside the Westminster 10-yard line on its next possession, but the defense forced a punt and the offense responded with a touchdown drive. Running back Ryan Ruffing gained 16 yards on a run and then finished the drive with a 1-yard rush a play later for a 17-0 advantage. One of Lowery's three sacks ended the next Westminster possession and Bliss fired a 62-yard touchdown pass to senior Dan Lucas for a 24-0 halftime lead. Westminster scored on its second possession of the third quarter, but a pair of Bliss scoring passes to Baroffio later in the quarter put the game out of reach. Baroffio finished the game with 199 all-purpose yards, including eight receptions for 139 yards. Wiegand continued to pile up yards on the ground with 30 carries for 157 yards, while Lucas totaled 90 yards on three catches. Linebacker Jared Pratt led the defense with 10 tackles, while safety Bryce Merrill had eight stops and intercepted a pass which set up the first Bliss-to-Baroffio scoring pass. 

Scouting Westminster: The Titans held a 24-3 lead at halftime and built it to 27-3 mid-way through the third quarter before allowing Hiram to come back for a 30-27 win at Harold Burry Stadium to kick off the 2014 season ruin Scott Benzel's opener as head coach. The visiting Terriers scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to mount the comeback. With 2:32 on the clock, Hiram drove the ball 79 yards in 12 plays to erase a 27-22 deficit. Freshman running back Jametrius Bentley hit the ground running in his first collegiate contest, posting 150 all-purpose yards on 25 touches (22 rushes for 114 yards and three catches for 36 yards).  Freshman QB Paul Columbo completed 15-of-27 passes for 206 yards with a touchdown and interception in the loss. His favorite target was junior Taran Sifontes-Lavine, who caught four passes for 42 yards. Freshman Dominique McKinley had a team-high 171 all-purpose yards thanks to 135 kick-return yards. Defensively, Westminster was led by senior free safety Jared Heck and redshirt freshman cornerback Todd Jeter who recorded eight and seven tackles, respectively. Freshman outside linebacker CJ Armstrong made five stops with 2.0 being for loss and 1.0 being a sack.

100-Plus: When sophomore quarterback Pete Coughlin rushed for 106 yards against Wooster, it marked the first time since before 2000 (if ever) that a W&J quarterback picked up over 100 yards on the ground. It was the highest rushing total by a Presidents' QB since Matt Bliss gained 92 yards on 16 carries on Oct. 22, 2011 against Geneva. 

End Zone Dance: Junior running back Ryan Ruffing reached the end zone five times against Wooster, matching his career total entering the game. His 37 carries in the game represent 58.7 percent of his 2013 total (63), while his 150 yards were 39.6 percent of his yardage (379).

It's Good!: Sophomore kicker Blake Davis converted six-of-seven extra points and his only field goal attempt last week. His 32-yard field goal as time expired in the first half was the longest since Eric Eberle's 32-yarder against Thiel on Sept. 28, 2013.

The Third Facet: W&J had 10 players record a total of 18 tackles on special teams last week. Of those tackles, eight were made by freshmen, including a team-best four by Jordan Yates. Classmate Zachary Walker and junior Anthony Tutino were next up with three apiece.

First of Many: Against Wooster, the Presidents accumulated 33 first downs, marking the 15th time in Mike Sirianni's tenure that W&J topped 30 first downs. The Presidents moved the chains 30 or more times four times in 2007, twice each in 2004, 2005, 2011 and 2013 and once in 2008 and 2012.

Ground Grinders: Of those 33 first downs against Wooster, 20 of them came on the ground, marking the first time during Sirianni's time as head coach that the Presidents accumulated 20 first downs on the ground. Three times previously W&J reached 19 rushing first downs in a game, but had not crossed 20. The last time was on Sept. 29, 2007 against Saint Vincent. Earlier that season, W&J had 19 rushing first downs against Hanover, whom the Presidents also racked up 19 chain-movers rushing against in 2005.

2-Ohno: W&J has not started 2-0 since 2009, when the Presidents started 7-0 before a week eight loss to Thomas More. In 2010, W&J lost the opener at Delaware Valley, 27-0, and in 2011 it was the second game of the year to the Aggies, 20-19 in Washington. In both 2012 and 2013, W&J lost to St. John Fisher during the second week of the season.

Youth Movement: The Presidents showcase just seven seniors on their offensive and defensive depth charts for the season, including only three on offense. Of the 44 players listed on both sides of the ball, 21 are juniors (13 offense), 13 are sophomores (five offense) and three are freshmen (one offense). The 2014 Presidents have just 10 seniors on the roster.

Strictly Business: Junior running back David Kincaid scored W&J's final touchdown on Saturday to make it 51-17 and carried five times for 27 yards on the drive. He then went down and made the tackle on the ensuing kickoff.

30 and Counting: W&J boasts 30-consecutive winning seasons as a football program. The Presidents 30 winning seasons rank fourth among all divisions of NCAA football behind Linfield (58), Florida State (37) and Mount Union (35). The last time W&J did not post a winning record was 1983 (3-5-1). That year, the top-grossing movie was Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the top single was "Every Breath You Take" by The Police, a first-class stamp cost $0.20, and a gallon of regular gas cost $1.24.

700 Club: The Presidents enter Saturday's contest with 698 all-time wins (698-383-40, .640) in this the 123rd season of varsity football. Only two NCAA Division III programs have reached 700 wins (Mount Union, 729 and Wittenberg, 727). With its third win, W&J will become just the 25th program in all NCAA divisions to reach 700 all-time wins. The Presidents currently rank behind Georgia Tech, the most recent member of the group at 702 wins.

Complete list, updated Sept. 9:
911    Michigan
876    Yale 
876    Texas
876    Notre Dame
867    Nebraska
850    Ohio State
844    Oklahoma
840    Alabama
838    Harvard 
828    Penn 
806    Tennessee
799    Princeton
798    Southern California
768    Georgia
755    LSU
732    Penn State
729    Mount Union
728    Auburn
727    Wittenberg
713    West Virginia
706    Virginia Tech
705    Syracuse
703    Texas A&M
702    Georgia Tech
698    Washington & Jefferson