DETROIT -- The Wayne State University football team (2-2 overall, 1-0 GLIAC) will travel to the Upper Peninsula to face Northern Michigan (1-3 overall, 0-2 GLIAC) on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
GAME STORYLINES
Wayne State will look to begin GLIAC play 2-0 for the first time since 2011 when that national runner-up team started 5-0 in the conference. In addition, the Warriors are looking for a three-game winning streak, which has not happened since Nov. 14, 2017-Aug. 30, 2018. The trek this week to Marquette will be the third-longest road trip of the season (457 miles), behind the 615 miles one-way to Truman State in week two and the 565 miles for a week three contest at Quincy. WSU has not played at NMU since 2014. The Warriors have matched the win total (both overall and in the GLIAC) from the 2018 season.
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SCOUTING NORTHERN MICHIGAN
After winning week one at home over McKendree, 30-9, Northern Michigan has dropped three straight. The Wildcats are 0-2 in GLIAC contests with losses to Davenport (21-7) and Ferris State (38-10). Head coach Kyle Nystrom is in his third season with NMU after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Ferris State.
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Sophomore quarterback Ryan Johnson has completed 50 percent of his passes for 680 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions. Freshman running back Tyshon King leads the team with 297 rushing yards and four TDs. Junior wide receiver Ravon Johnson is the squad's top pass-catcher with 18 receptions for 289 yards and one score. Sophomore wideout Benjamin Loutsis has caught 13 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown.
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Defensively, NMU is anchored by sophomore linebacker Isaac Darkangelo who is one of the top tacklers in the league at 43 total stops, including 4.5 for a loss.
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Sophomore place kicker Daniel Riser has made 3-of-5 of his field goal attempts with a long of 22 yards, while senior punter John Kwiecinski is averaging 40.5 yards per punt.
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As a team, the Wildcats are scoring 17.8 points per game and allowing 27.0 points per contest.
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ALL-TIME SERIES
Wayne State trails 14-18 in the all-time series versus Northern Michigan. WSU is 5-9 in Marquette and will be searching for its first win in the Superior Dome since 2011. NMU has won three of the last five meetings, including the Warriors home finale, 34-24, last year. Head coach
Paul Winters is 6-6 vs. the Wildcats, including a 1-4 mark on the road. Wayne State won in 2017 (26-24) and 2015 (34-31) with both games being played at Tom Adams Field.
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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 William Jewell (.692). WSU's past opponents have posted a .917 winning percentage (11-1). The remaining schedule for WSU ranks 25th nationally (.593).
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Since a season-opening win at WSU, Slippery Rock has outscored its opponents 158-33 over the last three games meaning WSU's 37 points against the Rock is more than their last three opponents combined.
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SEPTEMBER BLUES COMING TO AN END?
Wayne State has won its last two games, after suffering eight consecutive setbacks in the month of September (had a 2018 win in August). WSU ended a five-game overall losing streak with the win at Quincy.
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LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State set the tone early in the game against Saginaw Valley State, that the 25th-ranked Cardinals would be in for a long night. The Warriors marched down the field on their first possession and scored seven points, using eight plays and over four minutes. A fumble recovered by
Jalen Lewis led to a field goal before
Leon Eggleston picked off Ryan Conklin and returned it 10 yards for a TD to give WSU a 17-0 lead with 2:41 to play in the opening period.
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The Cardinals trimmed the home advantage to 17-13 before
James Hill plunged into the end zone midway through the third quarter to give the Green & Gold a 24-13 lead. Conklin scampered for a two-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to bring the Cards within four, 24-20. That's when the Wayne State defense answered the call, ending drives with a sack by Lewis, a blocked field goal by
Damani Green and a punt. WSU has won three of the last four over SVSU after the Cardinals had won three straight.
LUCKY #36
Senior outside linebacker
Leon Eggleston, who has worn #36 since he arrived on campus, recorded his first career interception in his 36th collegiate game on Saturday. Eggleston's pick six late in the first quarter extended WSU's lead to 17-0 over visiting Saginaw Valley State. WSU went on to defeat 25th-ranked SVSU 24-20 and Eggleston was selected GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
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Eggleston leads all active Warriors with 177 tackles (110-67) and 24.5 tackles for loss.
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STARTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
Wayne State was outscored 76-14 in the first half during the first two games this season, but WSU has flipped those numbers over the last two weeks and has outscored its opponents 48-13 in the first 30 minutes.
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DEFENSIVE TOUCHDOWN
The 10-yard interception return by
Leon Eggleston last week 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.
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GREAT DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE
The 115 yards allowed by the WSU defense against Quincy 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, where they still rank after the SVSU victory.
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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.
FINDING PAYDIRT
James Hill found the end zone on the ground for the ninth 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 - James Hill - 2018-present
9 - Romello Brown - 2016
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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.
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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
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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. 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
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Dakota Kupp (2016-SA), 6-2, .750
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PLAYING RANKED OPPONENTS
Wayne State is 10-31 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.
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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.
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QUICK HITTERS
WSU has officially blocked four kicks this year, however a fifth 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. Four different Warriors have blocked kicks this season.
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With 145 total all-purpose yards at Quincy,
Darece Roberson, Jr. eclipsed the 2,000 career all-purpose yards plateau and ranks 29th all-time with 2,085 (1,355 receiving, 467 kickoff return, 202 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 12 games and twice in four games this year.Â
Jalen Lewis tallied a two-pointer at Quincy, while
Leon Eggleston posted one vs. Slippery Rock and
Anthony Pittman had a safety in 2018 at Saginaw Valley State.
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WSU IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Warriors rank in the top 50 nationally in several statistical categories. Wayne State is tied-for-first in blocked punts (2), second in blocked kicks (4), eighth in time of possession (34:47), 24th in rushing offense (227.0), 25th in kickoff return defense (16.56), 39th in first down defense (64), rushing defense (108.3) and total defense (309.0), 42nd in both fourth down conversion defense (.333) and fewest passes intercepted (3), 45th in fewest sacks allowed (1.25), 49th in total offense (416.0) and 50th in third down conversion percentage (.417).
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James Hill is tied for the GLIAC lead and is tied-for-eighth nationally in rushing touchdowns (6), while ranking 14th in total touchdowns (6). Hill is 24th in scoring (9.0), 30th in rushing yards (358) and 34th in rushing yards per game (89.5).Â
Nick Poterack ranks 12th in DII in yards per reception (24.75).Â
Kyle Lewis is second in the league and ranks 32nd in the country in kickoff return average (26.4).Â
Tiroca Battle and
Jalen Lewis are tied-for-33rd in fumbles recovered (1), while Lewis ranks 13th in DII in sacks per game (1.17) and 49th in tackles for loss per game (1.5).Â
Darece Roberson, Jr. ranks 37th nationally in punt return average (8.6).
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 currently tied-for-30th among all active DII football head coaches with 85 wins. He is tied with Arne Ferguson (Western Oregon).
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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.
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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 SVSU game.
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