UW-Eau Claire football suffered a crushing loss to UW-Platteville Saturday, losing 56-0 at Ralph. E Davis Pioneer Stadium in Platteville. This puts Eau Claire’s season record at 2-7, and their Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) record at 1-5. This is the Blugolds second loss in a row.

After pulling out a nail biting victory against UW-La Crosse two weeks ago at Carson Park, the Blugolds have suffered back-to-back blowout losses. The 56 point differential against Platteville Saturday being the largest spread of the season. Sophomore tight end, Colin Sherden, said the team is trying not to dwell on the loss, and is instead looking forward to ending the season on a positive note.

“Our team’s morale is pretty good,” Sherden said. “We changed our focus to make it more about just sending the seniors, and this program, out right. We want to finish this year out the right way, so our guys are really pumped up and ready to go.”

Eau Claire senior safety, Brandon Luedke, added to that when he said the team is “really putting this one behind us.” He said the team is not giving the outcome as much thought, as he described it as “not even an afterthought.”

The Pioneers dominated every quarter of play, by scoring 21 points in the first quarter, 21 in the second, seven in the third and seven in the fourth. This marks the first time this season the Blugolds have not been able to find in zone at least once.

Stand out performances from the Pioneers include a five touchdown and 410 passing yard game by quarterback Tom Kelly, and a 92-yard, one touchdown performance by running back Sean Studer.

After another tough road loss, Sherden said the team is looking forward to returning to Carson Park for their final game of the season.

“Playing at Carson Park is great,” Sherden said. “It helps to have a good atmosphere. We’ve been getting a lot more of that this year, compared to previous years. So, that’s awesome. Playing on the road is tough because you’re away, and not with your home fans at all. But, in the end, it is still the same game.”

The Blugolds final game of the 2016 regular season will be this coming Saturday against UW-Oshkosh. It will also serve as senior day, a day to recognize the Eau Claire players that will not be returning for another season.

Luedke said the team is going to prepare hard for their final game, and change up their game plan slightly due to Oshkosh’s style of play.

“They are a different offense than the past few opponents we’ve faced,” Luedke said  “so everyone just needs to learn their assignment and do their job every play.”

Eau Claire’s final game will be played on Saturday against UW-Oshkosh at Carson Park in Eau Claire. The game begins at 1 p.m. and can be heard live on Blugold Radio 99.9FM-WDRK, and streamed online at blugoldradio.org. The game can also be viewed online on blugolds.com under the Blugold Game Day tab.