GAME STORYLINES
With just four games remaining, Wayne State is looking to end the campaign with some momentum heading into the offseason and the 2022 season.  The Warriors will play Saginaw Valley State for the second time this season.  Saturday's contest will be a GLIAC matchup unlike the Sept. 25th contest at Tom Adams Field, which the Cards won 41-21.  The Green & Gold have two three-point losses, a six-point overtime defeat along with letting a 19-0 third quarter lead slip away this year.

SCOUTING SAGINAW VALLEY STATE
The Cardinals are 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the GLIAC.  SVSU has won back-to-back games over Texas A&M-Commerce (20-17 in OT) and Northwood (31-13).  Head coach Ryan Brady is in his third season with the program.  Redshirt freshman quarterback Colby Newburg started last week's game and threw for 77 yards on 15 pass attempts.   Senior Tommy Scott is one of the more productive running backs in the conference with 687 yards on the ground and eight TDs.  Junior Casey Williams is the team's top receiver with 35 receptions for 450 yards and three scores.

Senior linebacker Victor Abraham has a team-high 65 tackles, while junior defensive tackle Nathan Talakai has 6.5 tackles for loss.  Junior Trevor Nowaske has made 54 stops, including 5.5 for loss.  A trio of Cardinals have two interceptions, including senior Marvin White, senior Tim Kidd-Glass and junior Nick Whiteside.

Junior Connor Luksic is 7-for-10 on field goal attempts with a long of 37, while averaging 42.9 yards per punt this season.

ALL-TIME SERIES
SVSU leads the all-time series 31-10-1 and won the last matchup 41-21 on Sept. 25th.  Wayne State is 5-14-1 on the road in the series that began in 1976.  The Warriors won  five of the first six contests with the sixth being a 7-7 tie at SVSU.  Head coach Paul Winters is 4-9 vs. the Cardinals in his time in Detroit.  Prior to WSU's 2016 win in Detroit, SVSU had won 19 out of 20 matchups from 1992-2013.

LAST TIME OUT
The Green & Gold were finally able to finish out a win last Saturday at Davenport, 16-3.  The Warriors held the Panthers scoreless for the final 49 minutes.

Wayne State had a 299-287 edge in total offense, including a 99-72 advantage in passing yards.  WSU went 5-of-13 on third down, compared to 3-of-15 for the Panthers.  The teams combined for 13 punts (seven by DU and six by the Warriors).

Myren Harris notched his third consecutive 100-yard game totaling 137 yards on 19 attempts with one touchdown.  Karmi Mackey added 50 yards on 13 carries with a score.  Chase Churchill passed for 99 yards on 6-of-16 with one interception.

VETERAN OFFENSIVE LINE
Four of the five starters on the offensive line had combined to start 62 career games prior to the start of the 2021 campaign, led by Lane Potter's 33 consecutive starts.  The other three were Landin Mitchell (11 starts), Reid Thompson (10 starts) and Joe Ziedas (8 starts).  Both Chrishoun Roberts and Noah Nicklin made their first collegiate starts this season.  The six aforementioned O-Line guys have totaled 97 career starts heading into the contest at Saginaw Valley.

RUSHING DOWN THE FIELD
Redshirt freshman running back Myren Harris rushed for a career-high 230 yards and one touchdown vs. Michigan Tech.  Over his last three games, Harris has gained 493 yards on 65 carries with four touchdowns.  The 230 rushing yards in a game did not make the top 16 all-time.  Joique Bell has the school record with nine 200-yard rushing games, while Joe Gough (1991-94) and Desmond Martin (2011-14) are next with three games each.  Romello Brown (2014-17) had two 200-yard games among his 17 100-yard efforts.

NEXT MAN UP
Junior quarterback Chase Churchill had only made one appearance as the signal caller (2019 vs. Ferris State) prior to stepping in for the injured Jake AmRhein and Josh Kulka at Missouri S&T.

Churchill has passed for 747 yards and six touchdowns, with only three interceptions, while completing 47-of-110 passes.  He has had a completion of at least 50 yards in three of his last four games.

Churchill, who made his first collegiate start vs. Saginaw Valley State on Sept. 25th, passed for a career-high 214 yards against Michigan Tech with a career-best 13 completions.  He equaled his previous high with two touchdown passes (also had two TD passes against Saginaw Valley).

ALMOST A SCHOOL RECORD
Warrior freshman Eli Haddad recorded the second-longest non-scoring punt return in school history with a 68-yard return at Northern Michigan.  The school record for longest non-scoring punt return is 73 yards set by James "Tex" Whisonant vs. Akron on October 2, 1937, exactly 84 years ago to the day prior to Haddad's return.

WIDE RECEIVER DUO
Tre Davis and Jesse Prewitt III have combined for 41 receptions in seven games this year for 761 yards and six touchdowns.  Davis is currently leading the GLIAC in both receiving yards (500) and yards per catch (19.4), is tied-for-third in receiving touchdowns (4), and is fourth in receptions (26).  Prewitt would be ranked third in the GLIAC in yards per catch (17.1) if he had enough receptions to qualify.

OFF THE FIELD ACCOLADES
Linebacker Julius Wilkerson was selected to the AFCA Allstate Good Works Team last month.  He became the fourth Warrior, joining Alan Guy, Trent Brodbeck and Luke Bevilacqua, to be selected to the 11-man non-NCAA Division 1 squad in the history of the program.

For the second straight year, offensive lineman Lane Potter has been named a national semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame.  He was the only GLIAC player recognized.

SPECIAL TEAMS IMPACT
Redshirt freshman Myles Harris had one kickoff return at Missouri S&T in his first collegiate game.  On Sept. 25th vs. Saginaw Valley State, Harris averaged over 30 yards per kickoff return, including a WSU season-long 43-yard return which set up WSU's final touchdown.  Ironically, the scoring play was a 32-yard reception by his twin brother, Myren.  Myles has 11 kickoff returns for 267 yards this season and leads the squad with a 24.3 yards per return average.

SCOOP & SCORE
Kori Moore's fumble return for a touchdown vs. Saginaw Valley State was the first by a Warrior since Nores Fradi took a Northwood miscue 12 yards in a 31-17 Wayne State victory on October 5, 2013.  Ironically, WSU had two fumble returns for a touchdown in 2013 as Ed Viverette had a 42-yard fumble return against Ashland in the first collegiate night game in Adams Field history on Sept. 14, 2013.

CAUSING HAVOC
Linebacker Brandon Tuck-Hayden forced three fumbles versus Saginaw Valley State, equaling the school record set by Greg Hasse in a second round playoff game at Nebraska-Kearney on November 26, 2011.  Tuck-Hayden recorded two forced fumbles in both 2018 and 2019, and is tied-for-third in program history (with Hasse) with seven forced fumbles in a career.  Hall of Famer Ed Viverette is first with nine, while Nores Fradi had eight forced fumbles.

MORE TUCK
Tuck-Hayden had at least one tackle for loss in five of his six games played this season and currently leads the squad with 5.5 tackles for loss (4 solo, 3 assisted).  His 22.5 tackles for loss in a career, is the second-highest active total behind Jalen Lewis' 24.5.

IMPRESSIVE OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
The Warriors eclipsed the school record of 671 yards of total offense (set Sept. 30, 1967, at Wisconsin-Milwaukee in a 39-31 WSU win) by totaling 673 yards at Missouri S&T.  The 673 yards is the seventh-highest output in Division 2 this season.

The 96 combined points by the Missouri S&T Miners and Wayne State was only the second-highest scoring extra session game in program history.  WSU lost 58-50 in triple overtime at Mercyhurst on Sept. 15, 2007.  Joique Bell ran for 227 yards and four touchdowns vs. the Lakers.

The 94 offensive plays at Missouri S&T were the fourth-most in program history and the most since the school-record mark of 103 at Ashland on Nov. 3, 2007, as Wayne State fell 63-42 at the 23rd-ranked Eagles.  The 94 plays are the most by an NCAA Division 2 team this fall.

The 735 all-purpose yards recorded by WSU was the fifth most in school history and the most since the school-record total of 787 vs. Lake Erie College on Nov. 7, 2015, in a 56-54 Warrior victory at Tom Adams Field.

A 67 YEAR-OLD RECORD GOES DOWN
Tre Davis finished the Missouri S&T game with a school-record 244 receiving yards on nine receptions, along with two touchdowns.  The previous mark of 239, which stood for nearly 67 years, was set by Dick Lisabeth on Oct. 22, 1954, in a 39-0 Tartar victory over North Dakota State.  The 244 receiving yards in a single game is the second-most by a Division 2 wide receiver in 2021.

OVERTIME WOES
The overtime contest in Rolla, Mo., was the first for Wayne State since the 42-41 double-overtime triumph over Ashland on Oct. 19, 2019.  WSU is 5-10 all-time in overtime contests, including a 3-5 road mark.  The Warriors are 2-8 in games that a winner was decided in the first overtime.

WARRIORS & BROTHERS
The football roster has five sets of brothers on the squad, including Lane and Ty Potter, Myren and Myles Harris, Noah and Max Nicklin, Jacob and Aaron Mass, and David and Caleb Green. The Harris' and Green's are twins.  In addition, senior right tackle Joe Ziedas is the younger brother of former lineman Alex Ziedas.  Furthermore, wide receiver Darrin King II is the son of former Tartar Darrin King, who recorded 295 tackles (142-153), while playing in all 41 games during his Tartar career (1988-1992).

NEW FACES
Of the 67 players who have donned the Green and Gold this season, 30 are former letterwinners, and Kameron Ford has been in the program, but has not lettered.

Four student-athletes made their Wayne State debuts this year - Tyler Beck played at North Carolina A&T in 2017; Shavez Hawkins, Jr. played in eight games for Minnesota Crookston in 2017 and suited up for the Papago Pumas Junior College in 2019; Karmi Mackey spent the last four years at Eastern Michigan; and Darien Tipps-Clemons appeared in 10 games for Eastern Kentucky in 2018.

In addition, 32 football players have made their collegiate debuts this year.  The lone true freshmen to take the field this season are Davison product Te'Avion Warren and Warren (Ohio) Harding alum Emarion Perkins.

Making their collegiate debut in the Slippery Rock contest, in addition to Warren, were Blake Bustard, Damond Duncan, Chandler Edwards, Blake Gilliam, Eli Haddad, Myren Harris, Dayton Keller, Kofe Kimbrell, Darrin King II, Jesse Prewitt III, Kane Quinlan, Donte Reed, Drake Reid, Chrishoun Roberts, Cameron Rogers, Kaveon Ross, Arnold Saidov, Jeremy Taras, A.J. Terry, and Kendall Williams.  Jelani Harbor, Josh Kulka and Cole Price made their collegiate debuts in the Truman game.  David Green, Myles Harris, Martell Hill and Griffin Milovanski made their collegiate debuts at Missouri S&T.

Amari Hampton and Ty Potter made their WSU debuts against SVSU.  Emarion Perkins played his first game against MTU, while Onyeka Ojinnaka saw action at Davenport.

The lone players in their fourth season of competing are Jake AmRhein, Luke Bevilacqua, Jalen Lewis and Lane Potter.  Eleven (11) players began their third season and another 14 started their second year of active competition.

NATIONAL STATISTICS
Chase Churchill ranks fifth in NCAA Division II with a GLIAC-leading 15.89 yards per completion, while Myren Harris is 11th in yards per carry at 7.0 (648 yards on 93 rushing attempts).  Brandon Tuck-Hayden is tied-for-fifth in forced fumbles per game (0.50 / 3 in 6 games played).  Tuck-Hayden is also tied-for-first among all active D-2 players with seven career forced fumbles.

TURNOVERS
The Warriors have had at least one turnover in every game this season and is -6 in turnover margin this year.  WSU has 16 turnovers (10 fumbles lost and six interceptions), while garnering 10 turnovers (six interceptions and opponents have lost four fumbles). 

DON'T MISS ANY OF THE ACTION
There are several ways fans 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.    Veteran Detroit broadcaster Sean Baligian is in his 13th season calling Warrior football.  Former Warrior tailback and kick returner Josh Renel will again be joining Baligian in the booth.  Renel provided color commentary for one game in 2012 and nearly every game for seven seasons (2013-19).  In addition, former WSU defensive end Brady Beedon will fill-in for Renel on selected broadcasts and will also handle the Locker Room Report and Senior Spotlight features for WDTK.  Former Warrior defensive back Ryan Oshnock served as the analyst for the Sept. 25th broadcast.

WARRIOR PODCASTS
There will be two podcasts from the WSU Athletic Department this fall - "What I've Heard" with Director of Athletics Rob Fournier and "Inside the Playbook" with Paul Winters.  Both can be found on the podcasts page at WSUAthletics.com.

Every home game can be seen live on Comcast CN900 in the state of Michigan.  Check your local listings for replay times.    Joe Abramson returns for his 13th year on the Comcast broadcast and sixth as play-by-play announcer.  Rod Beard enters his 10th year as a member of the WSU broadcast crew, while WWJ Afternoon Co-Anchor Tony Ortiz is starting his fifth year as a member of the broadcast crew.  Kevin Brechmacher, who has served as the radio voice of Wayne State basketball the last six seasons, will fill-in on the crew for selected games.  In addition, every home clash will be streamed for free via WSU All-Access at WSUAthletics.com.

FAN POLICY AT TOM ADAMS FIELD
Fans are required to provide proof of vaccination with their card, or a photo on their phone prior to entering Tom Adams Field.  All fans will be required to go through a check-point before entering Tom Adams Field.

Fans that are not vaccinated will be required to wear a mask at all times, as well as children under the age of 12.  A limited number of individually wrapped disposable masks will be available for fans at the game entrance.  
WSU students will have to show their passed daily screener, and can enter Tom Adams Field through the student entrance.  WSU encourages all fans to wear a mask regardless of their vaccination status.  Fans are encouraged to stay home if they are feeling sick.