Writer’s note: The following preview was written before the CCIW Week 9 (Oct. 27 – Nov. 2, 2025) matchups. Listed statistics are based on the performances through each team’s first seven games.
The Titans face off against College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) rival Carroll University on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025.
The match will be the Titans’ final home game of the 2025 season. The Titans are currently 2-2 at Tucci Stadium, with wins against conference rivals Elmhurst and North Park, a conference loss to Wheaton and a non-conference loss to Central (Iowa.)
The Titans and Pioneers have been battling for 92 years, with the Titans holding the edge with a 29-19 record overall and a 25-16 record at home.
IWU’s last meeting with the Pioneers was at Carroll on Nov. 9, 2024. The Titans came back in the fourth quarter, down seven, to win 24-21. Now-junior quarterback Dermot Smyth completed 19-of-26 passes for 161 passing yards, alongside two rushing touchdowns to finish the comeback, with a rushing TD from senior Danny Kent in the final 20 seconds to take the lead.
The previous year, Smyth made his first collegiate appearance as one of three Titans to complete passes in a brutal 23-70 thrashing against Carroll at Tucci Stadium. Still, Smyth threw his first career TD pass that day to senior Matt Young and went 7-of-11 and 105 yds with 2 TDs and no interceptions.
Buskohl’s predictions for Saturday
The Titans’ 2025 roster almost seems perfectly built to dissect a middle-of-the-pack Pioneers team. Carroll averages giving up over 150 rushing yards a game. The combination of senior running back Danny Kent and Smyth will carve them up, whether it’s RB runs or QB keepers, or Smyth just scrambling when given the chance.
It’s not much better defending the sky for the Pioneers either. In fact, it’s far worse. Carroll ranks dead last in the CCIW for opponent passing yards, allowing around 230 yards a game. Considering Smyth averages around 270 a game, I have no doubts that the Titans will be moving the ball a lot on Saturday.
So, if the Titans have almost 400 yards of offense, it would be a statistical anomaly for them to not score a lot. The Titans averaged about 12 yards of offense per point scored through their first seven weeks, so an outing simply matching what the Pioneers give up on average would spot the Green and White around 33 points.
And the deeper you dig into the stats, it just seems like the Titans have an edge everywhere: The Pioneers are only scoring TDs on 70% of red zone visits compared to the Titans’ 81.5%, and Carroll has an abysmal 29.67% 3rd down conversion rate, the CCIW’s second lowest (IWU is at 40%.) But, to give Carroll credit, they lead the CCIW in interceptions with 10. Despite this, they still give up 28 points per game, only 0.29 points less than the Titans, who have 3 fewer interceptions on the season.
The numbers tell a clear story: the Titans have a statistical advantage heading into this game (not even considering the mental toll on Carroll having to play in a house as loud as Tucci Stadium.)
Smyth has had an impressive 3.8:1 TD:INT ratio through the first seven weeks, but he’ll need to play clean football against a shifty defense. No win is ever free, but I like the Green and White’s odds to come out victorious.
The Titans and Pioneers kick off their final home game of the 2025 season at 1 p.m.
Score Prediction: 35-20, Titans win.
Buskohl’s 2025 winner predictions record: 1-0
Exact score record: 0-1
