Marquette has come a long way on both sides of the ball since the beginning of this season, and that was evident during it’s 59-6 thrashing against Knoxville on Saturday afternoon in Ottawa.

“We always make sure we prepare the right way during the week, and I think we had another great week of preparation,” Marquette head coach Ken Carlson said. “It was senior day, and even though we wanted to play Friday night - the kids were focused and understand what the mentality they need to be successful. We’ve been doing that consistently recently, and it’s great to see.”

The Crusaders (5-3) looked like a well-oiled machine offensively, racking up 422 total yards from scrimmage with 360 on the ground behind a dominant performance in the trenches.

Carlson praised the offensive line - Caden Shreve, Austin Ferracuti, Matt Graham, Santiago Duque and Alex Schaefer - for consistently opening holes and stressed how important their role is in the game plan every week.

“It all starts upfront with the O-line,” he said. “Those guys did a heck of a job today, and our backs found room and ran hard. We executed our game plan.”

Echoing his coaches sentiment, senior running back/linebacker Grant Dose said the tone was set during practice this week - and fueled further by some pregame trash talk from the opposing sideline.

“It all starts on the first day of practice for us,” Dose said. “We watched film and thought we played well but the physicality wasn’t quite there, so we wanted to come out with energy and physicality. Plus, the other team said something to one of our linemen before the game, which made some of us mad.”

Dose led the Cru in scrimmage yards with 12 carries for 162 yards and four touchdowns before being pulled at halftime with the Crusaders leading 45-0.

Marquette balanced its ground game with an efficient outing from senior quarterback Anthony Couch, who went 4-for-8 for 62 yards and two touchdowns while adding one carry for 12 yards.

Knoxville (4-4) marched the ball on its opening drive but finished the afternoon with just 171 total yards, including only 19 through the air.

“Our first drive, we marched the ball down and did a really nice job,” Knoxville head coach Marty Turner said. “After that, we had some penalties and just let things snowball. We’ve been very good at handling adversity, and today we let that adversity snowball into really bad things.”

Knoxville freshman fullback James Long was a lone bright spot for the Blue Bullets, grinding out 74 yards and a touchdown on 15 hard-earned carries.

Marquette’s defense swarmed to the ball and tackled well in the open field, traits Carlson said have noticeably improved since the early weeks of the season.

“We always stress being as physical as possible and getting 11 guys to the football,” Carlson said. “We’ve progressed a lot since the start of the season. These guys are playing their best ball at the right time.”

For Marquette, the victory was even more meaningful as it came on Senior Day. Carlson made sure to give credit to the senior class for steady leadership from the day he took the job earlier this year.

“They take care of this team. I really don’t have to worry much about getting these guys motivated and ready to play every week because those seven seniors are true leaders,” Carlson said. “I’m really proud of them and glad to coach them.”

Marquette, now riding momentum into the final week of the regular season, will look to improve playoff seeding, while Knoxville will attempt to rebound and secure its fifth win to qualify for the postseason.