GAME STORYLINES
Wayne State begins its GLIAC schedule at Northern Michigan on Saturday with a 4 PM kickoff in Marquette for NMU's Homecoming contest.  The Warriors are looking to avoid a five-game losing streak as WSU has started 0-4 for the first time since the 1999 season.

The Green & Gold are 7-9 in GLIAC openers under head coach Paul Winters, including a 3-5 mark in road league openers.

SCOUTING NORTHERN MICHIGAN
Northern Michigan enters this weekend at 2-2 overall with wins over McKendree and Davenport.  The Wildcats lost a home contest vs. Wisconsin-Oshkosh and at Northwood last week.  Head coach Kyle Nystrom is in his fourth season with the program.

Sophomore quarterback Drake Davis has thrown for 597 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions, while completing 58 percent of his passes.  Sophomore running back Tyshon King is the team's leading rusher with 294 yards and one touchdown, while Davis has accounted for 226 yards on the ground and two scores.  Junior Benjamin Loutsis has a team-high 19 receptions for 194 yards and two TDs, while Wyatt Davis has 10 catches for 158 yards and a touchdown.  Freshman linebacker Will Borchert has made 40 stops, while senior linebacker Andre Whitley has tallied 36 tackles, including four for a loss.

Junior Tyquan Cox is averaging 28.3 yards per kickoff return, including a season-long of 48 yards.  Junior Daniel Riser is 3-for-6 on field goal attempts, including a long of 47 yards and is averaging 35.9 yards per punt.

Northern Michigan is scoring 19.3 points per game and averaging 335 yards per contest, while allowing 24.8 points and 293.3 yards per night.

ALL-TIME SERIES
NMU leads the all-time series with an 18-15 ledger, with the Warriors compiling a 6-9 mark in the Superior Dome.  Wayne State has won three of the last four meetings, including the 2019 meeting in Marquette, 27-14.  Head coach Paul Winters is 7-6 vs. the Wildcats in his time at WSU, including a 2-4 mark away from home.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State concluded the non-conference portion of its 2021 schedule with a 41-21 setback to visiting Saginaw Valley State on September 25th at Tom Adams Field.

Chandler Edwards rushed for a team-high 36 yards.  Chase Churchill completed 8-of-18 passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns.  Myren Harris had a team-best three receptions for a squad-high 73 receiving yards.  Brandon Tuck-Hayden tallied 15 tackles (1.5 TFL), while Julius Wilkerson finished with 13 stops.

SCOOP & SCORE
Kori Moore's fumble return for a touchdown 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.

LATE OFFENSE
In WSU's first two games this season, neither the Warriors nor their opponents scored during the fourth quarter.  However, in the last two games, Wayne State and its opponents have combined for 59 points in the fourth period.  WSU outscored Missouri S&T 14-10 in the final 15 minutes of regulation, and then the Warriors outscored Saginaw Valley State 21-14 fourth quarter.

AN HONOR FOR MR. WILKERSON
Linebacker Julius Wilkerson was selected to the AFCA Allstate Good Works Team last week.  He becomes 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.

NEXT MAN UP
Over the last six-plus quarters, Chase Churchill has completed 17 passes for 314 yards with three touchdowns to one interception.  After replacing the injured Josh Kulka late in the second quarter at Missouri S&T, Churchill made his first collegiate start last Saturday vs. Saginaw Valley State.

SPECIAL TEAMS IMPACT
Redshirt freshman Myles Harris had one kickoff return at Missouri S&T in his first collegiate game.  Last Saturday against 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.

WIDE RECEIVER DUO
Tre Davis and Jesse Prewitt III have combined for 33 receptions in four games this year for 636 yards and five touchdowns.  Davis (18.9) and Prewitt (19.9) are both averaging nearly 20 yards per catch.  Davis is currently second in the GLIAC in receiving yards (397), receiving touchdowns (3), and yards per catch (18.9), while ranking fourth in receptions (21).

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 has had at least one tackle for loss each game this season and currently leads the squad with 4.5 tackles for loss (3 solo, 3 assisted).  His 21.5 tackles for loss in a career, is the second-highest active total behind Jalen Lewis' 23.5.

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 was the second-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 in the most by a Division 2 wide receiver in 2021.  Ironically, the second-highest mark is by Miner Breon Michel who totaled 234 vs. the Warriors last Saturday.

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.

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.

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 64 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.

Three student-athletes made their Wayne State debuts this year - 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, 29 football players have made their collegiate debuts this year.  The lone true freshman to take the field this season is Davison product Te'Avion Warren.

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 were the 31st and 32nd student-athletes to make their WSU debuts against SVSU.

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.

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.

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.

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.