DETROIT -- The Wayne State University football team (1-2 overall, 0-0 GLIAC) hosts 25th-ranked Saginaw Valley State (3-0 overall, 1-0 GLIAC) on Saturday night.
GAME STORYLINES
Wayne State begins GLIAC play against Saginaw Valley State on Saturday at Tom Adams Field. The Warriors ended a six-game road losing streak with a 33-7 win at Quincy last Saturday. WSU is beginning league play for the second time in three years versus SVSU, with the Green & Gold winning at home in 2017 (41-31).
SCOUTING SAGINAW VALLEY STATE
Saginaw Valley State is off to a 3-0 start, including a 23-7 home victory over Michigan Tech in its most recent action. The Cardinals have also bested Tiffin and won at Texas A&M-Kingsville. Head coach Ryan Brady is in his first season with the program after leaving his defensive coordinator post at Ferris State.
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On offense, SVSU leans on senior quarterback Ryan Conklin who has completed 60 percent of his passes for 606 yards. He has thrown for six touchdowns, while being picked off on three occasions. Junior running backs Nate McCrary and Tommy Scott, Jr. are the team's two main ball carriers with McCrary leading the way with 231 yards and a TD. Scott has totaled 163 yards on 27 attempts. Junior Chad Gailliard has a team-best 11 receptions for 179 yards and a pair of scores, while sophomore Casey Williams leads the team with 218 receiving yards on 10 catches with two touchdowns.
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Defensively, the Cards are anchored by a pair of senior linebackers in David Still and Justin Whitted. Both have recorded 17 tackles. The SVSU defense has seven interceptions and two fumble recoveries so far this season.Â
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As a team, the Cardinals are scoring 31.0 points per game and allowing 13.7 points per contest.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Wayne State trails 9-30-1 in the all-time series vs. Saginaw Valley State. The Warriors have won two of the last three meetings, falling in overtime last year at SVSU. WSU is 4-16 at home in the series, while head coach Paul Winters carries a 3-8 (2-4 at home) mark against the Cardinals in his previous 15 seasons with Wayne State. The first meeting came in 1976 and WSU won five of the first six match-ups, with the sixth being a 7-7 tie in 1979.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
In terms of who Wayne State has played and will play, the Warriors' schedule is tied for the toughest in Division II with Western New Mexico. Both team's opponents have posted a .789 winning percentage so far in 2019. The remaining schedule for WSU ranks third nationally (.765).
SEPTEMBER BLUES COMING TO AN END?
Prior to last Saturday, Wayne State had lost its last eight games in September (had a 2018 win in August). The Warriors last victory in the month of September was a 41-31 victory over Saginaw Valley State on Sept. 16, 2017.
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WSU ended a five-game losing streak (last triumph was 55-21 over Northwood on Oct. 20, 2018), as well as a six-game road losing streak (last road victory was 34-27 in overtime at Davenport on Nov. 11, 2017).
GREAT DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE
The 115 yards allowed by the WSU defense was the fewest since surrendering 100 yards vs. Ferris State on Oct. 17, 2009, in a 45-7 Warrior victory. The performance moved WSU from eighth in the league in yards allowed per game to fourth.
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LAST TIME OUT
For the first time in 2019, Wayne State started fast and led Quincy 17-0 and then 31-7 at halftime. WSU added a safety in the fourth quarter to make it 33-7. The Warriors out-gained the Hawks 537 to 115, including 317 yards on the ground. James Hill rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries, while King Sanders contributed 48 yards on 14 attempts. Dakota Kupp completed 13-of-20 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for a score. Darece Roberson, Jr. had a game-high 87 receiving yards.
Ryan Smith led the defense with eight total tackles, while Jalen Lewis posted six tackles, including two sacks with one resulting in a safety. Damani Green recorded his first career sack with the Green & Gold.
LONG SCORING DRIVES
Wayne State had a 92-yard touchdown drive at Truman State. It was the longest TD drive since an 11-play, 94-yard touchdown drive at Michigan Tech last season. The following week in 2018, WSU had a 14-play, 90-yard TD drive vs. Northwood.
TALE OF TWO HALVES
Wayne State has been outscored 83-45 in the first half, including 31-17 in the opening stanza. By contrast, WSU has won the second half scoring battle 37-21, including 15-0 in the final period.
FINDING PAYDIRT
James Hill found the end zone on the ground for the eighth straight game last week. That puts him in elite company with the other great running backs over the last 40 years.13 - Joique Bell 2008-09
13 - Joique Bell - 2006-07
9 - Romello Brown - 2016
8 - Toney Davis - 2011
8 - James Hill - 2018-present
A DOZEN DEBUTS
Of the 50 players who saw action for the Warriors vs. 10th-ranked Slippery Rock, 12 were making their collegiate debut (Lukas Cusac, Nolan Kimmey, Daniel Knight, Steven Mason, Niko Mosley, Noah Nicklin, Dalen Peeks, King Sanders, Niccolò Seilo, Ian Sharp, Troy Vinson, and Julius Wilkerson). Cusac, Peeks, Seilo and Vinson are true freshmen. Two others made their WSU debut -- Charles Ellington (Malone) and Landin Mitchell (Davenport). Two more Warriors made their collegiate debut in the Truman State contest - true freshman wide receiver Trevonte Davis and true freshman cornerback Koriante Moore. Both Davis and Moore prepped at Flint Hamady High School.
QUICK HITTERS
With 145 total all-purpose yards at Quincy, Darece Roberson, Jr. has eclipsed 2,000 career all-purpose yards and now ranks 30th all-time at 2,054 (1,329 receiving, 467 kickoff return, 197 punt return and 61 rushing). It was his third straight game with at least 100 all-purpose yards.
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WSU has recorded three safeties in the last 11 games and twice in three games this year. Jalen Lewis tallied a two-pointer at Quincy last Saturday, while Leon Eggleston posted one vs. Slippery Rock and Anthony Pittman had one last year vs. Saginaw Valley State on Sept. 22.
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It was the first road non-GLIAC win for WSU since the Warriors won 28-9 at Walsh on Sept. 2, 2017.
OPTIONS IN THE BACKFIELD
Coach Winters has to be happy when he looks into the running back room and sees three running backs in their final year of eligibility led by James Hill, DeOntay Moffett and Deiontae Nicholas. The trio enter week four with 2,775 rushing yards and 31 rushing touchdowns along with a 6.22 yards per carry average. In addition, the three seniors have a joint 732 receiving yards giving the contingent 3,507 yards from scrimmage in their collegiate careers prior to the SVSU contest.Â
PLAYING RANKED OPPONENTS
Wayne State is 9-31 against teams ranked inside the top 25 under Coach Winters (does not include forfeit by SVSU in 2005). WSU's last victory came on Sept. 13, 2014, against 13th-ranked Carson Newman at Tom Adams Field.
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GOOD TO MEET YOU
The WSU and Slippery Rock game was the first meeting of those two programs since 1986. The week two trip to Kirksville, Mo., was the first game at Truman State since Oct. 11, 1975, when the Tartars posted a 41-7 triumph. Last week's match-up with Quincy was the first football meeting between the schools.
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Wayne University has played only one opponent whose name began with a Q in the first 101 years of football. WU lost 7-0 at Quantico Marines (Quantico, Va.) in 1948, followed by a 33-14 setback at home the following year.
WSU IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Warriors rank in the top 50 nationally in several statistical categories. Wayne State fourth in blocked kicks (3), ninth in average time of possession (35:16), 15th in rushing offense per game (246.7), 25th in punt return average (14.00), 29th in total offense per game (450.7), 33rd in rushing yards allowed per game (98.0), 41st in total defense (309.7), 45th in first downs allowed (48), 47th in interceptions thrown (2), 48th in both kickoff return defense (17.83) and fewest sacks allowed per game (1.33), and 50th in offensive first downs (63).
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James Hill leads the GLIAC and ranks seventh nationally in rushing touchdowns (5) and is tops the league, while ranking 16th in rushing yards (317). He also ranks 11th in total TDs (5), 12th in both points scored (30) and points per game (10.0), and 18th in rushing yards per game (105.7). Nick Poterack ranks 21st in DII in yards per reception (23.33). Kyle Lewis leads the league and ranks 30th in the country in kickoff return average (25.1) and is 47th in total kickoff return yards (176). Tiroca Battle is 24th nationally in fumbles recovered (1), while Damani Green ranks 30th in forced fumbles (2). Dakota Kupp ranks 45th in completion percentage (.593) and 46th in passing efficiency (136.1). Darece Roberson, Jr. leads the conference in both receiving yards (268) and receiving yards per game (89.3), ranking 37th and 38th nationally in those categories, respectively.
CONSISTENT LEADER
Paul Winters became the longest tenured football coach in program history in 2018 and is in his 16th season at the helm of the Warriors in 2019. Winters surpassed Hall of Fame coach Joseph Gembis, who held the post for 14 seasons (1932-45). Winters is now tied-for-30th among all active DII football head coaches with 84 wins. He is tied with Arne Ferguson (Western Oregon) and Scott Underwood (St. Cloud State).
WINNING WHEN EXECUTING
Wayne State has won 24 of its last 31 games when rushing for over 200 yards, including the win at Quincy when WSU ran for 317 yards. During the last eight-plus seasons (2011-19), Wayne State is 34-11 when rushing for 200 yards, including a 14-8 mark on the road. Under Coach Winters, the Green & Gold are 53-20 under those parameters, including a 33-6 mark at home.
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OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
The 509 yards of total offense by the Warriors against Slippery Rock were the most since the October 1, 2016, Homecoming contest vs. Hillsdale when WSU totaled 514 yards (250 rushing, 264 passing).  The 99 points scored by the two teams combined were the most involving the Warriors since WSU posted a 56-54 triumph over Lake Erie on November 7, 2015.Â
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Both teams garnered over 500 yards of total offense, marking the first such game since the aforementioned 56-54 contest, when WSU totaled 593 yards and the Storm had 509 yards of total offense.
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The offense had another solid offensive performance at Quincy with 537 total yards.
TOM ADAMS HOME COOKING
Tom Adams Field is not an easy place to play for visiting programs. The Warriors have defended their home turf well in the past 11-plus seasons (2008-19) to a 42-23 tune. WSU had a winning record at Adams Field for nine straight seasons, until a 2-4 record in 2017. In the Coach Winters' era, the Warriors are 49-36 (.576) in home games.
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WSU is 33-20 at Tom Adams Field this decade and carries a 217-221-19 all-time record at home in the first 101-plus years of the program as Detroit Junior College (1918-23), College of the City of Detroit (CCD / 1923-34), Wayne University (1934-56) and WSU (1956-present).
DON'T MISS ANY OF THE ACTION
There are several ways you can watch or listen to Wayne State Football this season. Every contest can be heard live on WDTK - The Patriot (1400 AM / 101.5 FM) or online at PatriotDetroit.com. Every home game can be seen live on Comcast CN900 in the state of Michigan. In addition, every home clash will be streamed via pay-per-view on WSU All-Access at WSUAthletics.com. CN900 will show replays of the SVSU contest on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. and Thursday at 8:00 a.m.
