SCENE SETTER
• The Washburn Ichabods will open their 135th season of football on Aug. 30 when the Zach Watkins era kicks off as the Ichabods will host former MIAA foe Truman at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Yager Stadium.
• The Ichabods are coming off a 3-8 season going 2-7 in the MIAA.
• The Bulldogs went 8-4 last season and 6-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference ending the season with a 29-10 win over Tiffin in the America's Crossroads Bowl, sponsored by the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority in Hobart, Indiana.
• Watkins was named the 38th head coach in program history on Nov. 26, 2024 becoming the first Ichabod alumnus to fill the top spot on the Ichabod sidelines in more than 30 years after spending the previous 11 seasons as the co-defensive coordinator on the Ichabod coaching staff.
• The Ichabods and Bulldogs have not met since Truman's last season in the MIAA before joining the Great Lakes Valley Conference for the 2013 season.
• Washburn topped the Bulldogs 35-24 on Oct. 13, 2012 in Topeka in the last meeting in the series.
• Truman (then Northeast Missouri State) was one of the 14 original members of the MIAA, which was established in 1912, creating the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
 
BOD THOUGHTS
• L.J. Minner, Jr., finished seventh in the nation while leading the MIAA last year in forced fumbles with 0.36 per game.
• Julius Jackson was 20th in the nation last season in total fumbles recovered with two.
• L.J. Minner, Jr. was also 15th in the nation in solo tackles with 5.4 per game and was 19th overall with 9.4 tackles per game.
• Ichabod head coaches are 22-16-2 in their first game on the Washburn sidelines … the last Ichabod head coach to win his Washburn debut was Dennis Caryl in 13-7 win at Missouri S&T on Sept. 1, 1990.
 
PRO BODS
• The Washburn Ichabods have two former players on NFL rosters this season and one in the Canadian Football League.
• Kyle Hinton is on the 53-man roster of the Atlanta Falcons.
• Corey Ballentine is on the 53-man roster in Green Bay.
• James Letcher, Jr. is a standout return specialist in the Canadian Football League playing for the Montreal Alouettes in his second season in the CFL.
 
COACHES
Washburn head coach Zach Watkins . . .
• is 0-0 in his first season as the Ichabod head coach.
• named the 38th head coach in Washburn program history on Nov. 26, 2024.
• first Ichabod alumnus to lead the program in more than 30 years.
• spent 11 seasons as Washburn's co-defensive coordinator before becoming head coach
• four-year starter at linebacker for Washburn (2006–09).
• recorded 100+ tackles each season, finishing with a school-record 473 career tackles (third all-time in NCAA Division II at the time).
• the 2006 MIAA Freshman of the Year, 2006 Honorable Mention All-MIAA and Second Team All-Region, First Team All-MIAA (2007–09), 2009 MIAA & Daktronics Regional Defensive Player of the Year, 2009 AFCA First Team All-America and Daktronics Second Team All-America, Three-time Academic All-MIAA, Three-time MIAA Scholar Athlete, 2008 ESPN The Magazine / CoSIDA Academic All-American, 2010 Ken B. Jones MIAA Student-Athlete of the Year finalist, Three-time All-American by Don Hansen's Football Gazette.
• bachelor's degree in Finance and Business Management, Washburn University (2009).
• master's degree in Sports Administration, Fort Hays State (2013).
• married to Amanda; two children, Parker and Naomi.
• is 0-0 against Truman.
 
Truman head coach Kellen Nesbitt . . .         
•   is in his second season as head football coach of the Bulldogs, after removing the interim tag following an 8-4 season in 2024.
• was promoted to interim head coach in February of 2024 following the retirement of his father, Gregg, after spending the previous 14 seasons as the Bulldogs defensive coordinator.  Nesbitt is the 23rd head coach in the program's history spanning 118 seasons.
• coached from 2007-09 at his alma mater, Central Missouri as defensive backs coach. • was a four-year letterwinner for the Mules with over 120 career tackles and was the Special Teams Player of the Year in 2004 and earned the school's Markey Football Scholarship in 2006.
• is 0-0 against Washburn.
 
NOTING THE BULLDOGS
• The 2024 Bulldogs won eight of their last nine games, including a 29-10 win in the America's Crossroads Bowl in December. It's the fifth-straight season with eight or more wins by a Bulldog program, which is the longest streak of football at the university.
• The Bulldogs were selected second with one first-place vote and 57 points behind No. 1 pick Indianapolis, which took eight of the nine votes for first. Truman State was named on the Greyhounds ballot as league rules prohibit coaches voting for their university. After the top two dogs, Upper Iowa was selected third, Quincy (Ill.) fourth, and McKendree (Ill.) rounding out the top five. Six through nine were, respectively, Missouri S&T, William Jewell (Mo.), Southwest Baptist (Mo.), and Lincoln (Mo.).
• The 2025 season marks the second for Truman State Football Head Coach Kellen Nesbitt following a rookie campaign where the Purple and White finished 8-4 overall, placed second in the GLVC at 6-2, and defeated Tiffin (Ohio), 29-10, in the America's Crossroads Bowl.
• The Bulldogs return seven starters on offense with junior Dylan Hair at quarterback following 2nd-Team All-Conference debut season. Hair rushed for 529 yards on 116 attempts with four touchdowns and going 178-290 through the air for 2,360 yards and 25 touchdowns against six picks. Wide Receiver Jackson Overton, the reigning GLVC Freshman of the Year, returns after hauling in ten touchdowns in 40 receptions for 640 yards. Senior running back Denim Cook rushed for 1,122 yards, his first-career, thousand-yard campaign, scoring 12 touchdowns.
• Trailing only Indianapolis, the Bulldogs finished second in both scoring offense (32.8 points per game) and scoring defense (20.1 points per game). The 'Dogs averaged 387.4 yards per game (3rd GLVC) limiting opponents to 305.8 yards per game (2nd GLVC).
• Defensively Truman State will look to replace six of 11 starters. Familiar faces on the line include Thomas Spaulding, Jacob Carmack, and Mason Crim, with Spaulding and Carmack accounting for 36 and 29 tackles in '24, respectively, and Crim bringing 14 career tackles into his senior season. Jack Weltha, a medical-redshirt in 2024 and 2nd-Team All-Conference with 32 tackles in 2023, starts at linebacker, with Connor Baxley and 26 tackles at defensive back as the fifth returning Bulldog defender.
 
LAST MEETING WITH THE BULLDOGS
(October 13, 2012) TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn Ichabods held off a pair of lightning delays totalling 123 minutes in a 35-24 over the Truman Bulldogs.
The Ichabods scored on its opening drive of the game after electing to receive the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in 11 plays as Mitch Buhler hit Ryan Mertz in the back of the end zone for a 7-0 lead just 3:46 into the game. Prior to scoring their touchdown, there was a 41-minute lightning delay sending everyone off the field and out of the stands in Yager Stadium.
Neither team would score again until Truman's Derek Koon kicked a 27-yard field goal with 7:07 to play in the first half to cut the Ichabods' lead to 7-3. After a three-and-out by the Ichabods, Truman took over, but on its third play of the drive, Washburn's Willie Williams picked off Conrad Schottel and returned it 43 yards for a touchdown and a 14-3 lead with 5:03 to play in the first half.
Truman (4-3, 3-3 MIAA) came right back with a 4-play drive as Garrett White scored from one yard out trimming Washburn's lead to 14-10 with 3:47 remaining in the half to wrap up the scoring in the frame.
After halftime, both teams were kept in their locker rooms with an 81 minute lightning delay prior to starting the second half. Truman received the second half kickoff but were forced to punt and Washburn's Hayden Groves scored from 12 yards out with 7:36 remaining in the third quarter pushing Washburn's lead to 21-10.
After a punt by the Bulldogs, Buhler hit Mark Fancher for a 69-yard touchdown pass and a 28-10 lead over Truman with 6:55 to play in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, White scored on a touchdown for the Bulldogs trimming the Ichabods' lead to 28-17 after a 1-yard run. Washburn's next drive would stall as the Bulldogs would take over at their own 26, however Schottel threw another pick-six as Devon Connors returned his pass 36 yards for a score with 6:35 to play in the game staking Washburn to a 35-17 lead.
The Bulldogs wrapped up the scoring with 2:54 to play when Schottel scored from 1-yard out capping a 54-yard drive. Their ensuing kickoff went out of bounds and Washburn took over and ran out the clock sealing the win.
Groves led the Ichabods with 162 rushing yards on 31 carries and the one score for the Ichabods and Buhler finished 19 of 33 for 249 yards and two touchdown passes. Matt Kobbeman had six catches for 69 yards and Tore' Hurst had six catches for 62 yards.
Defensively, the Ichabods were led by Bryce Atagi who had 13 tackles with four solo stops and also had one of Washburn's four interceptions joining Williams, Connors and Jaime Myers. Jahmil Taylor had nine tackles.
Washburn finished with 455 total yards while holding the Bulldogs to 326 and recorded 22 first downs.
 
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE BULLDOGS
• The Ichabods trail the all-time series with the former MIAA school 18-12, but have won the last six in the series.
• The Ichabods and Bulldogs have not met since Truman's last season in the MIAA before joining the Great Lakes Valley Conference for the 2013 season.
• Washburn topped the Bulldogs 35-24 on Oct. 13, 2012 in Topeka in the last meeting in the series.
• Washburn is 7-9 against the Bulldogs in Topeka.
• The first meeting between the two schools on Sept. 19, 1958 in Kirksville in a 26-13 loss.  
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE ICHABODS
(Nov. 16, 2024)  TAHLEQUAH, Okla – The Washburn Ichabod football team ended the season with a 35-28 win scoring the tiebreaking touchdown with 48 seconds to play as the Ichabods won their 12th-game in a row over Northeastern State ending the season with a 3-8 record.
Tre Richardson pulled down a third and 10 pass from Sam Van Dyne in the back corner of the endzone for the game-winner capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive that took 4:05 off the clock. On the RiverHawks (2-9) ensuing possession, Northeastern State drove down to the Ichabod 28, but their final pass into the endzone was picked off by DeAndre Washington closing the game and securing the seven-point win for Washburn.
The Ichabods took the first lead of the game at the 9:54 mark of the first quarter when Jaquez White picked off a Dereun Dortch pass and returned it 30 yards for the touchdowns and his first interception of the season.
The RiverHawks came right back with a 75-yard drive of their own to tie the score with 5:34 to play. Neither team would score the rest of the quarter and Washburn returned to the scoreboard with 8:01 to play in the opening half when Lucas Oitker had a 2-yard run up the middle putting Washburn up 14-7, however the RiverHawks came back and tied the score after a 3:02 drive at 14.
On the RiverHawks' kickoff, Richardson returned the ball 84 yards down to the NSU 11 yard line and then Tyler Bowden scampered 11 yards on the one-play drive touchdown run breaking the deadlock putting Washburn up 21-14 entering the break.
Washburn went up 28-14 on a Keller Hurla 53-yard touchdown run on a third and one finishing off a three-play drive with 1:42 to go in the third quarter.
Northeastern State then went on a 12-play, 75-yard drive cutting the lead to 28-21 and after an Ichabod three-and-out, the RiverHawks tied the score with a 52-yard drive knotting the game at 28.
Washburn then went ahead for good on the Van Dyne to Richardson connection and Washington's pick ended the game with the win for Washburn.
Bowden rushed for 83 yards and a score on 16 carries and Van Dyne was 12 of 18 with the touchdown pass. Richardson finished with five catches for 52 yards and had a total of 166 all-purpose yards in the game.
The MIAA's leader in tackles, L.J. Minner, Jr., had 14 to lead the team and Mason Capper had 10 tackles.
 Washburn was outgained 382 to 324 in the game.
 
A WIN OVER THE BULLDOGS
• move the Ichabods to 1-0 on the season.
• be the Ichabods' seventh-straight win over the Bulldogs and the fifth-straight in Topeka.
• move the Ichabods to 13-18 in the all-time series with the Bulldogs.
• be Ichabod head coach Zach Watkins first win as the leader of the program.
 
A LOSS TO THE BULLDOGS
• drop the Ichabods to 0-1 on the season.
• snap the Ichabods' first loss to the Bulldogs since Oct. 21, 2006 in Kirksville in a 21-7 loss.
• drop the Ichabods to 12-19 all-time against the Bulldogs.
 
ICHABOD FOOTBALL HISTORY
• Washburn is 579-616-44 (.484) in the 135th year of Ichabod football.
• The Ichabods are 15th in NCAA Division II history in wins.
• The Ichabods have 12 conference titles with the last coming in 2005 in the MIAA.
• Washburn has had 177 all-MIAA picks and 62 first team all-MIAA selections.
• Washburn has had 97 overall All-American selections and 73 individual All-American picks since joining the NCAA Division II ranks in 1989.
• Washburn has made 14 postseason appearances including bowl games and tournament games going 5-2 in a bowl games.
• Seven Ichabods have been picked in the NFL Draft.
 
UP NEXT
The Ichabods will open the 2025 MIAA slate hosting Northwest Missouri in Topeka for the third year in a row. Washburn will have a non-conference game with Colorado Mines on Sept. 13 in Golden, Colo.