DETROIT -- The Wayne State University football team (2-6 overall, 1-4 GLIAC) will travel to second-ranked Ferris State (8-0 overall, 6-0 GLIAC) on Saturday afternoon with its sights set on upsetting the Bulldogs at Top Taggart Field.  The Warriors snapped a six-game losing streak last Saturday with a 55-21 Homecoming victory over Northwood.  The 55 points scored is tied for 10th-most in school history and is the most points since a 56-54 win over Lake Erie on November 7, 2015.  WSU is now 44-37-1 in the 82 all-time Homecoming contests. The 34-point Homecoming victory is the fourth-most decisive Homecoming win in school history.  The Warriors have won 12 of their last 14 Homecoming games.  Two of the Warriors' final three games are on the road against teams ranked inside the top 10 nationally beginning with this Saturday's game at No. 2 Ferris State.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Ferris State enters week nine at 8-0 overall and a perfect 6-0 in conference games.  Head coach Tony Annese is in his seventh season with the Bulldogs and carries a 68-14 (.829) record at FSU.  Junior quarterback Jayru Campbell leads the offense and looks to put his name into the Harlon Hill conversation.  He has thrown for 1,761 yards and 17 touchdowns with just two interceptions, while rushing for a team-high 872 yards and 14 scores on the ground.  Sophomore running back Marvin Campbell has totaled 444 yards and three rushing TDs.  Three Bulldogs have at least 20 catches led by freshman Sy Barnett with 27 receptions for 624 yards and seven touchdowns.  Senior Keyondre Craig has 23 catches for 429 yards and three scores, while junior Dion Earls is third on the roster with 21 catches for 238 yards and two TDs.

Junior defensive end Austin Edwards anchors the defense with 43 total tackles, including four sacks among his seven for loss.  Junior linebacker Delon Stephenson leads the team with five interceptions to go with 41 tackles.  As a team, Ferris State ranks first in the league at 41.1 points per game and 523.3 yards per contest, while allowing 18.6 points per game (5th) and 360.1 yards per night (6th).

ALL-TIME SERIES
Wayne State trails 22-28 in the all-time series against Ferris State.  The Bulldogs have won each of the previous four meetings, three of those coming in Big Rapids.  The last WSU victory in the series was a 45-7 triumph on Oct. 17, 2009, in Detroit.  Wayne State is 9-14 all-time at FSU.  Head coach Paul Winters is 2-6 versus the Bulldogs and 1-4 on the road.  The teams began playing in 1920 and Wayne State won the first four matchups.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State blitzed Northwood last weekend scoring the first 41 point in a 55-21 win.  The Warriors scored touchdowns on their first eight possessions and held the Timberwolves scoreless until midway through the third quarter.

WSU held a 360 to 61 edge in total offense during the first 30 minutes.  Wayne State led 500 to 234 in total offense, with the Warriors holding a 399 to 177 edge on the ground.  The Warriors converted their first seven third-down chances and finished 7-of-9, while NU was 4-of-11.

KICKING HIS WAY INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
Paul Graham became the third place-kicker in school history to score at least 200 points with his second quarter field goal against Tiffin.  Graham passed David Chudzinski (2005-08, 206 points) with his two PATs vs. Davenport and trails only Stefan Terleckyj (2010-13, 286 points).  Graham has 37 field goals, which ranks second behind Terleckyj's 39, while his 112 PATs is second behind Terleckyj (169).

Additionally, his .860 field goal percentage (37-43) is the highest in program history and is third among current players across all divisions with at least 35 made field goals.  John Baron of San Diego State (.868 / 46-53) and Blanton Creque of Louisville (.867 / 39-45) are 1-2, while Graham is just behind.

A MATURING OFFENSIVE LINE
Going into the 2017 season, fans of Warrior football knew the offensive line was going to be a work in progress after losing 144 combined starts from the group of Robert Kelly (41), Nate Theaker (33), Tommy Richardson (32), Andrew Zimmerman (21) and JT Pillars (17).  The group of Israel Helms (10), Justin Tockstein (11), Charlie Younger (11), Lane Potter (11) and Adam McJunkin (1) gained valuable experience since the 2017 season began with only three combined starts (all by then senior Greg Webber).  With the return of Tommy Richardson and his 40 career starts, the 2018 offensive line now has 116 career starts.

CONSISTENT LEADER
Paul Winters has become the longest tenured football coach in program history this fall as he is in his 15th season.  He passed the founder of WSU athletics David Holmes in 2014 at 11 seasons (1918-28).  Winters surpassed Hall of Fame coach Joseph Gembis, who held the post for 14 seasons (1932-45).  Winters enters the FSU contest tied-for-32nd among all active DII football head coaches with 82 wins.  The game at Ferris State on Sept. 30, 2017, was his 150th as the Warrior head coach.  Gembis (101) and Holmes (80) are second and third in career games coached.

WINNING WHEN EXECUTING
Wayne State has won 23 of its last 28 games when rushing for over 200 yards, including the 2018 season-opener over Walsh, where the Warriors totaled 237 yards on the ground and last week vs. Northwood when WSU rushed for 399 yards.  The first three setbacks when accomplishing the feat came in 2016-at Ashland, where the Warriors ran for exactly 200 yards in a losing effort; at Ferris State and at Ohio Dominican when WSU ran for 242 yards.

Twice this year WSU has lost when rushing for at least 200 yards - at UIndy on Sept. 8th where the Green & Gold compiled 202 yards on the ground and Sept. 22 at Saginaw Valley.  During the last seven-plus seasons (2011-18), Wayne State is 33-9 when rushing for 200 yards, including a 13-7 mark on the road.  Under Coach Winters, the Green & Gold are 52-18 under those parameters, including a 33-5 mark at home.

NCAA STATS REPORT
Wayne State ranks in the top 50 nationally in several categories.  The Warriors are second in fewest passing yards allowed (126.5), eighth in fewest penalties per game (4.25), 13th in fewest penalty yards per game (47.13), 25th in blocked punts (1), 26th in punt return average (14.08), 31st in fewest fumbles lost (4), 32nd in total defense (315.8 yards per game), 42nd in both first down defense (132) and fewest tackles for loss allowed per game (5.38), and 50th in third-down conversion percentage (.404).

Darece Roberson, Jr. is tied-for-sixth in punt return touchdowns (1), 37th in combined kickoff return yards (451) and 44th in receiving touchdowns (6).  Paul Graham is 24th in Division II with a .750 field goal percentage and 35th with 1.00 field goals per game.  Spencer Stephenson ranks ninth with two fumble recoveries and DeOntay Moffett is 31st with eight rushing TDs.  Jake AmRhein is 42nd in passing yards per completion at 13.65.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
WSU is tied-for-27th this week by the NCAA in terms of toughest schedule with an opponent winning percentage of .585 (31-22 / Walsh 2-4, Indianapolis 5-1, Ashland 3-3, Saginaw Valley 5-2, Tiffin 7-0, Davenport 5-2, Michigan Tech 2-5 and Northwood 2-5).  The Warriors remaining opponents are 18-7 (.720) and WSU's composite schedule is tied-for-fourth with a cumulative opposition record of 49-29 (.628).  

CLOSE CALLS
During the six-game losing streak, Wayne State was close in many contests.  In the loss against Ashland, the game was tied 14-14 at halftime, and the Warriors trailed 24-21 in the fourth quarter and had the ball.  In the setback at SVSU, WSU led 22-7 midway through the third period, and had a potential 32-yard game-winning field goal on the final play of regulation blocked.  Wayne State had a 14-7 lead over Davenport late in the first stanza, and despite trailing 21-14 in the second half, the Warriors had five consecutive non-scoring drives.  In the Oct. 13th defeat at Michigan Tech, WSU led 10-0 and later tied the contest at 20-20 midway through the fourth quarter.

PARTICIPATION BREAKDOWN
Of the 70 players to participate this year for WSU, there were three true freshmen, 18 redshirt freshmen, two true sophomores, seven redshirt sophomores, one true junior, 22 redshirt juniors, one true senior, nine redshirt seniors and seven graduate students.

FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME
Darece Roberson, Jr.'s 69-yard punt return for a touchdown to give WSU a first-quarter lead over Davenport not only electrified the rain-drenched crowd at Tom Adams Field but it was the first such score for WSU in quite some time.  The last punt return that found the end zone was on Oct. 4, 2004, when Jerriel Burrus took a Michigan Tech punt back 50 yards for six points.

PUNTERS BIG LEGS
Sophomore Taylor McCarty blasted a career-best 62-yard punt in the second quarter vs. Davenport.  It was his fourth career punt to travel more than 50 yards and topped a 60-yard punt he had last season at Michigan Tech.  McCarty tallied his fifth career 50-yard punt with 52-yarder at MTU.  He currently ranks fifth in the GLIAC at 39.5 yards per punt.  Not to be outdone, Shane Hynes let loose an 82-yard punt against Northwood which is tied for the second-longest punt in school history behind the 91-yard punt by Joe Delfgauw at Ashland on Oct. 14, 1989.  The two previous 82-yard punts were both by George Gembis - Oct. 30, 1937, vs. Toledo, and Oct. 7, 1938, at Louisville.

900TH GAME
Wayne State played its 900th football game on Oct 13th.  The first contest was a 41-0 win on October 6, 1918, at Assumption (Ont.) College (became Assumption University in 1956).  The record by school names is Detroit Junior College (24-12-6), College of the City of Detroit (24-57-5). Wayne University (70-86-11) and WSU (260-338-7).

OFFENSIVE OUTPUT
The 500 yards of total offense by the Warriors were the most since WSU compiled 514 yards vs. Hillsdale on Oct. 1, 2016.  The 8.33 yards per offensive play was the sixth highest mark in school history for a game with at least 50 plays.

16-GAME SEASON
In the 45-year history of NCAA Division II football, the 2011 Warrior squad is the only team to play a 16-game schedule.

GROUND ATTACK
The 235 rushing yards by James Hill was not only a career-high (he entered the game with 339 career rushing yards), but also tied-for-15th most in school history for one game, equaling the mark of Desmond Martin vs. Carson-Newman on Sept. 13, 2014.  The WSU school record of 326 yards was set by Toney Davis on Nov. 19, 2011, at St. Cloud State in the opening round of the NCAA Playoffs.

The four rushing touchdowns by Hill was tied-for-fifth most in program history behind the six from Joique Bell (Oct. 17, 2009 vs. Ferris State).  Bell (Oct. 3, 2009 vs. Ashland), Toney Davis (Nov. 19, 2011 at St. Cloud State) and Romello Brown (Nov. 7, 2015 vs. Lake Erie) each had five rushing touchdowns in a game.

The seven rushing touchdowns (four by James Hill and three by DeOntay Moffett) is believed to be a school record.  Wayne State has recorded six rushing touchdowns in a game six times, most recently Nov. 7, 2015 vs. Lake Erie.

PLAYING RANKED OPPONENTS
Wayne State is 10-26 against teams ranked inside the top 25 under Coach Winters.  WSU's last victory came on Sept. 13, 2014, against 13th-ranked Carson Newman at Tom Adams Field.