D3 Football: UW-River Falls Navigates Title Defense

UW-River Falls’ D3 Football Resurgence

Matt Walker spent 15 years at UW-River Falls, leading the Falcons to their first national title in 2025, before taking the head coaching position at Drake University, a Division I FCS program. Offensive coordinator Joe Matheson, several other assistants and quarterback Riley Warzynski joined Walker in Des Moines, Iowa.

Wissing, Walker’s longtime assistant who assumed the interim head-coaching role after his departure, witnessed the program’s entire transformation firsthand. He arrived when the Falcons’ roster stood at roughly 45 players, amid academic struggles and little connection to the surrounding community.

The Falcons went 29 years without an NCAA postseason appearance, last reaching the field in 1996. Walker’s first nine seasons produced a 23-67 record, including an 0-10 finish in 2013, the program’s lone winless campaign. UWRF broke through last season, capturing its first Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) title since 1998 before going 14-1 and defeating perennial power North Central for its first national championship.

“You really had to do the behind-the-scenes work before you get the on-field product,” Wissing said. “We had to build the culture. We had to build the program. And then do it over again.”

Defending that championship meant replacing a historic offense. Kaleb Blaha graduated after tallying 6,189 total yards, surpassing Joe Burrow’s NCAA single-season mark (2018-19). The do-it-all quarterback was a Manning Award finalist and won the Gagliardi Trophy, presented annually to the most outstanding player in D3 football.

At receiver, Blake Rohrer and Jake Hilton both transferred to Division I, joining Duke and Villanova, respectively. Together, the pair caught 93 passes for 1,870 yards and 19 touchdowns last season. Nevertheless, Austin Rush stayed in River Falls, giving first-year starting quarterback Cade Fitzgerald an experienced target.

The 5-foot-11 senior hails from Yuma, Ariz., where Division I represented the more familiar path in a state without a D3 football program. Rush’s decision to commit to UWRF drew questions from former teammates, but four seasons later, he has little reason to second-guess it.

“There were a lot of students asking me why I came to the Midwest,” he said. “It was definitely a weird transition at first, just coming from a place where there was a D-I-or-bust mindset. But when I visited, I loved the town. I fell in love with the community. I loved the coaches. Definitely one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

Rush earned a spot on the 2024 WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll before securing all-conference honorable mention last season, catching 78 passes for 685 yards and eight scores. In five games so far, the veteran wideout has hauled in 29 passes for 333 yards and five touchdowns, establishing himself as the Falcons’ top aerial threat in their new-look offense.

“When Coach Walker left, there was definitely a week of, ‘Man, I don’t know what to do.’ Then you see the opportunity. I’m a senior. I have a chance to do something … that people can hopefully remember.

Carrying a Championship Mindset Into WIAC

UW-River Falls is playing at a slower tempo than last season’s “Top Gun” unit, but that hasn’t diminished its scoring efficiency. The Falcons average slightly more points per drive than Wheaton, whose high-powered attack has helped the Thunder rank atop the latest AFCA poll.

That consistency was tested against Wartburg on Sept. 19. After a kickoff-return touchdown cut the Falcons’ lead to 14-7 late in the first quarter, they responded with a 10-play, five-minute scoring drive.

“That was a championship-level series,” Wissing said. “We got punched in the face here because they returned a kick on us … We went out there and kept doing what they do as if nothing happened.”

Rush corralled three bubble screens on that possession alone, part of an eight-reception, 82-yard performance. On each play, 6-foot-3 receiver Ben Wesolowski helped clear space in front of him.

Every single time he’s (Ben) throwing guys onto the ground. He’s yelling, screaming. I’m thinking, ‘He (Fitzgerald) has to throw me the ball because I got these guys blocking for me. I know I’ll at least get five yards, and we’ll keep marching.’ We knew what we had to do.

Fitzgerald capped the drive with a five-yard scamper into the end zone, and the Falcons’ defense shut out Wartburg in the second half to secure a 31-14 win.

Then came a tougher test: a trip to No. 5 UW-Whitewater to open conference play. While River Falls fell short, it bounced back with a Week 5 win over UW-Oshkosh and now heads to No. 3 UW-Platteville for a top-10 road matchup on Saturday. The game is one of seven WIAC contests scheduled for live, free over-the-air broadcasts this season across the Madison, La Crosse and Eau Claire markets.

Clearly, the Falcons’ signal is only getting stronger.

“We’re here to stay,” Wissling said.