The 2018 football schedule was recently released for the UW Oshkosh Titans, pitting the team against two first-time opponents on the road.

In the upcoming season’s nine-game slate, UWO will be on the road for six games, a high number for a highly respected team. The first four games to open the year are all on the road with two non-conference and two conference affairs.

To begin the 2018 season, the Titans will head down to Kenosha to face the Carthage College Red Men on Sept. 1. This marks the beginning of a home-and-home series between the two teams, culminating in the Red Men coming up to Oshkosh in 2019 to open that season.

Last season, Carthage went 7-3 on the season, earning five victories in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin conference play. The Red Men had to replace their head coach as former head coach Mike Yeager took a position at Division II Tiffin University.

First-year head coach Dustin Hass now leads Carthage after being promoted from defensive coordinator.

Rounding out the non-conference schedule, UWO faces off against Lincoln University of Missouri on Sept. 15.

This also will be the first time facing the Blue Tigers, who had a record of 1-9 last season.

The Blue Tigers’ lone win was over Pennsylvania’s Lincoln University last season in a non-conference affair, 49-19. Lincoln (Mo.) lost all seven Great Lakes Valley Conference games last year, culminating in a 52-7 demolishing at the hands of Southwest Baptist.

Moving into the conference part of the season, UWO travels to UW-River Falls on Sept. 29 and rival UW-Whitewater on Oct. 6 before hosting its first game of the season against UW-Platteville on Oct. 13.

The Titans handily defeated the Warhawks in 2017, 37-20, but faced its toughest conference battle with the Falcons, squeaking out a 31-28 win. Platteville held UWO to its lowest conference scoring output on the year but still came away with a 28-14 victory.

The last four games of the season are split home and away with two games each way.

UWO hosts its second consecutive home game by having UW-La Crosse come to J. J. Keller Field on Oct. 20 and then travels a week later to UW-Stevens Point on Oct. 27.

Oshkosh will round out its schedule against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 3 and UW-Stout on Nov. 10 before hopefully earning its fourth consecutive playoff appearance.

Last season, the Titans only had nine scheduled contests as well, going undefeated and making it all the way to the Division III Championship semifinal round, falling in a tough game against Mount Union.