WHERE: Whittier Field, Brunswick

WHEN: 1 p.m. Saturday

STREAMING: Northeast Sports Network

RADIO: WCME 99.5 FM/900AM

ALL-TIME SERIES: Wesleyan leads 63-30-2. The Cardinals won last year’s game, 35-30.

KEY STAT: 4, the number of consecutive games the Bowdoin defense has scored in.

OUTLOOK: After a strong 35-7 win at Amherst, head coach B.J. Hammer doesn’t want his team to get apathetic. The Cardinals are coming off a 23-17 overtime victory over Colby in which the defense forced and returned a fumble 88-yards for a score.

Wesleyan’s top target is wide receiver Chase Wilson, who leads the NESCAC in receiving yards (564). Because of his speed and ability to line up in different spots, Bowdoin’s secondary will have to be aware of Wilson’s whereabouts and keep the senior in front of it. The other key to limiting Wilson will be getting pressure on quarterback Niko Candido, who has completed 52.3% of his passes for 1226 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions.

“He’ll be one of the better quarterbacks we’ll see all year,” Hammer said. “What’s crazy about him is he is really hard to tackle, so he can move around quite a bit. I think we sacked him a number of times last year in that shootout we had with them (Candido was sacked three times in Wesleyan’s 35-30 win), but we missed probably five sacks that could have been sacks, because he was able to scramble away.”

Running back Tyler Flynn (239 yards, 3 TDs) and Candido (143 yards) lead the Cardinals’ ground game. The Bowdoin defense, which leads the conference in sacks (19) and turnovers (12), held Amherst to one rushing yard last week. Aidan Reidy (9 TFL, 5.5 sacks) and Koy Price (8.5 TFL, 5 sacks, 2 TD) have been the primary disruptors from the Polar Bear defensive line, but production is also coming across the front seven (DL Kanoa Young, DL Angus Leary, LB Dan Fiore, LB Gordon Gozdeck, LB Zach Taylor).

As a unit, Hammer said his offense is trending in a positive direction with improved red zone efficiency (4-of-4) and limited punts (season-low four attempts) against Amherst. In order to compete with Wesleyan’s defense, which has allowed the least amount of yards (259.2) and the second-least amount of points (12.8) per game, Bowdoin must establish a presence in the run game early.

OF NOTE: Against Amherst, Bowdoin rushed the ball a season-high 40 times, for 65.6% of the plays…Of Chase Wilson’s 26 receptions, only three have not been for a first down or touchdown…Wilson has six receiving touchdowns, including 66, 75 and 87-yarders…Wesleyan is the only NESCAC team to miss multiple PATs this season with four…Wesleyan’s Wesley Abraham was a fourth-team All-American in 2023, the program’s first defensive back to be honored…With a 55-yard pick-six last week, freshman DB Ferris Collins leads Bowdoin in interceptions (3) and passes defended (5)…With last week’s win over Amherst, Hammer is the 10th coach to win 10 career games at Bowdoin.