GAME STORYLINES
Wayne State hosts Ashland on Saturday at Tom Adams Field.  The Warriors will look to rebound after a Homecoming loss to second-ranked Ferris State last Saturday.  Wayne State has already surpassed the win total (both overall and in the GLIAC) from last season.  The Eagles are the fourth ranked opponent (#27) for Wayne State in four home games in 2019.
 

SCOUTING ASHLAND
Ashland started the season 1-2 with a home loss to Indianapolis before topping Walsh on the road and falling to Ferris State in Ohio.  Since then, the Eagles have won three straight, including a 30-27 win vs. Davenport last weekend.  Head coach Lee Owens is in his 16th season leading the football program.
 

Redshirt sophomore Austin Brenner is the only Eagle to take snaps at quarterback this season and is completing nearly 52 percent of his passes for 1,129 yards with five touchdowns and seven interceptions.  True freshman running back Gei'vonni Washington leads the team in rushing at 562 yards and six TDs, while Brenner has totaled 316 yards on the ground plus three scores.  Redshirt junior Logan Bolin has a team-best 29 receptions for 452 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner on a Hail Mary at Grand Valley State.
 

Senior linebacker Clay Shreve has recorded 57 total tackles to lead the defense, including 4.5 for loss.  Junior linebacker Ryan Corkrean has tallied 47 stops.  As a team, Ashland is scoring 22.8 points per game and allowing 22.7 points per contest.
 

ALL-TIME SERIES
Wayne State trails 7-25 in the all-time series versus Ashland, with the Eagles winning the last three.  WSU is 4-12 at home, while head coach Paul Winters is 3-10 (3-4 at home) in his time with the Green & Gold.  The last win for the Warriors came on Sept. 14, 2013 (34-22), when WSU hosted the 21st-ranked Eagles in the first collegiate night game at Tom Adams Field.
 

RECORD CROWD
The announced attendance of 7,366 on Homecoming versus Ferris State was the largest to ever to watch a game at Tom Adams Field.  The only larger home crowd was when WSU played Temple in 1968 at U of Detroit Stadium.  Last Saturday was the first game with over 5,000 attendees since 5,277 watched WSU vs. Grand Valley State in 2015.  The previous Adams Field attendance record was 5,511 when Wayne State hosted Hofstra in 1971.
 

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
In terms of who Wayne State has played and will play, the Warriors' schedule is tied-for-seventh toughest in Division II with those teams posting a .621 winning percentage.  WSU's past opponents have tallied a .700 winning percentage (21-9), which is tied-for-sixth nationally.  The remaining schedule for WSU ranks 58th nationally (.536).  Since a season-opening win at WSU, Slippery Rock has outscored its opponents 248-89 over the last five games.
 

LAST TIME OUT
The second-ranked Ferris State Bulldogs jumped on Wayne State early and led 21-0 after the first quarter and 35-0 at halftime.  The Warriors scored 13 points in the second half, but FSU added 24 more points to stay unbeaten and win 59-13.
 

Deiontae Nicholas rushed for a team-high 30 yards, and also led the squad with 36 receiving yards.  Dakota Kupp was 4-of-10 for 64 yards, but was sacked three times, while Jake AmRhein completed 6-of-15 for 59 yards and two scores. 
 

Ferris State led in total offense (602-120), rushing yards (317 to -3), and passing yards (285-123).  FSU was 3-of-10 on third down, but 4-of-5 on fourth down.  Meanwhile, Wayne State was 3-of-16 on third down.
 

WSU IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Warriors rank in the top 50 nationally in several statistical categories.  Wayne State is tied for the national lead in blocked punts (3) and is tied-for-fourth in blocked kicks (5), while ranking fourth in time of possession (34:29).  WSU also ranks first in fewest blocked kicks allowed and fewest blocked punts allowed (0), 14th in fumbles recovered (7) and 31st in rushing offense (210.5).
 

Leon Eggleston is tied-for-sixth in fumbles recovered (2), while Brandon Tuck-Hayden ranks 21st in forced fumbles (0.33 per game).  Jalen Lewis is 27th nationally in sacks per game (0.90) and James Hill ranks 38th in rushing touchdowns (6).
 

WELCOME BACK DEIONATE
Deiontae Nicholas rushed for a career-high 162 yards at Northern Michigan on a career-best 19 attempts.  It was his third career 100-yard game and pushed his all-time total over 1,000 rushing yards. 

Nicholas ranks 31st in all-time rushing yards (1,142) and only 61st in rushing attempts (135) for a per rush average of 8.46, the highest among any WSU player in the 102-year program history.  Gary Baillargeon is second in average yards per carry at 7.29 (min. 75 attempts).  Nicholas is currently 15th in career all-purpose yards with 2,859 and needs just 141 all-purpose yards to become the 12th player in school history to reach the 3,000-yard plateau.
 

PLAYING RANKED OPPONENTS
Wayne State is 10-32 against teams ranked inside the top 25 under Coach Winters (does not include forfeit by SVSU in 2005).  Prior to the 24-20 win over SVSU, WSU's last victory came on Sept. 13, 2014, against 13th-ranked Carson Newman at Tom Adams Field.
 

QUICK HITTERS
Senior linebacker Leon Eggleston has been part of a turnover in each of the last three games.  He had his first career interception against No. 25 Saginaw Valley State, returning it 10 yards for a touchdown.  Eggleston had a three-yard fumble return at Northern Michigan with the score tied at 14-14, which led to the game-winning touchdown drive.  His 45-yard fumble return vs. second-ranked Ferris State was the second-longest non-scoring fumble return in school history behind the 60-yard fumble return by Martin Weisberg vs. Alma on Sept. 27, 1919.
 

Sophomore linebacker Brandon Tuck-Hayden is ranked 10th in Division 2 and 25th among all active NCAA players in career forced fumbles per game (0.24).  After forcing fumbles in back-to-back games in 2018 (Saginaw Valley State and Tiffin), Tuck-Hayden has a forced fumble in each of the last two games giving him four in his career, which is tied-for-12th in school history.
 

Redshirt junior kicker Luke Bevilacqua made his 2019 debut in the Ferris State contest, his first collegiate appearance since two kickoffs at Davenport on Nov. 11, 2017.  He averaged 38.8 yards on his first five collegiate punts, including a 69-yard boot which just missed being one of the top 10 in program history (75 yards).  Shane Hynes had an 82-yard punt vs. Northwood on Oct. 20, 2018, which is tied for the second longest in school history.
 

Two redshirt freshmen made their collegiate debut in the FSU contest - quarterback Chase Churchill, who also served as the holder, and DeAnthony Davis on special teams.  Sixty-four players have appeared in at least one game for the Warriors, including 36 who have started at least one contest.  Six true freshmen have played in 2019, while another 11 student-athletes made their collegiate debut this season.  Another 17 players are in either their second or third year of college with 11 having one year of eligibility left for 2020.  Only 19 are in their final year of eligibility.
 

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. 

Wayne State put together several long drives at Northern Michigan, including an 18-play drive in the first quarter that lasted 9:54 and went 75 yards.  The Warriors also had drives of 90 and 92 yards during the NMU contest.  The 18-play, 9:54 drive is the longest scoring drive (in terms of plays and time) in the last 20 years surpassing a 16-play, 9:10 drive at Findlay in 2016.  Ironically, WSU engineered a 20-play drive in the second half at NMU that lasted 11:48 and resulted in a missed field goal.
 

BLOCK THAT KICK!
WSU has officially blocked five kicks this year, however a sixth blocked kick (PAT at Truman) landed behind the line of scrimmage which allowed a Bulldog to pick up the ball and rumble into the end zone for two points.  The last Warrior team to have five blocked kicks was the 2010 squad, while both the 2003 and 2006 teams had seven blocked kicks.  Alan Clay had three blocks in 2006, while Gary Ruttan has the single-season school record of four set in 1995.  Five different Warriors have blocked kicks this season.
 

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 43-24 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 50-37 (.575) in home games.
 
WSU is 34-21 at Tom Adams Field this decade and carries a 218-222-19 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).
 

WINNING WHEN EXECUTING
Wayne State has won 25 of its last 32 games when rushing for over 200 yards, including the win at Northern Michigan when WSU ran for 358 yards.  During the last eight-plus seasons (2011-19), Wayne State is 35-11 when rushing for 200 yards, including a 15-8 mark on the road.  Under Coach Winters, the Green & Gold are 54-20 under those parameters, including a 33-6 mark at home.
 

WINNING QUARTERBACKS
In baseball, the starting pitcher gets a win for going at least five innings so we thought we would take a look at the best win totals for WSU starting quarterbacks since 1959 (except 1980-81).  The same rules from baseball apply here -- the QB that was in when the winning points were scored received the decision.
 

1. Mickey Mohner (2009-12), 30-15-0, .667
2. Ed Skowneski (1972-75), 20-12-0, .625
3. Jim Gendron (1976-78), 15-7-0, .682
     D.J. Zezula (2015-18), 15-14-0, .517
5. Mark Friday (1991-93), 13-13-0, .500
6. A.J. Vaughn (1965-67), 8-5-0, .615
7. Trent Pohl (2006-07), 8-10-0, .444
     Richard Popp (1983-86), 8-15-1, .354
9. Dakota Kupp (2016-SA), 7-3, .700
     Kevin Smith (2008), 7-2-0, .778
     Carl Roscoe (2012-15), 7-7-0, .500
     Anthony Frederick (1992, 94-95), 7-12-0, .368
     Michael Gluski (1994-95, 97-98), 7-16-0, .304
 

DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWN
The 10-yard interception return by Leon Eggleston vs. Saginaw Valley State was the first defensive TD since Nov. 3, 2018, when Malcolm Williams picked off NMU's quarterback and returned it 50 yards for a score to give the Warriors a 14-0 lead before the Wildcats won 34-24.
 

FIRST HALF DIFFERENCE
During its three-game winning streak, WSU outscored its opponents 69-27 during the 30 minutes.  Conversely, in the three losses, the Warriors were outscored 111-14 in the first half.
 

WARRIOR PODCASTS
There are two new podcasts from the WSU Athletic Department - "What I've Heard" with Director of Athletics Rob Fournier and "The Warrior Football Podcast" with Paul Winters.  Both can be found on the podcasts page at WSUAthletics.com.
 

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.  Check your local listings for replay times for the Ashland game.