WAYNE STATE (2-5, 2-4 GLIAC)
vs. Northern Michigan (5-2, 5-1 GLIAC)
Saturday, Oct. 26 • Detroit, Mich.

MATCH-UP AT A GLANCE:
Stadium: WSU Stadium (6,000)
Surface: Natural Grass
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
Site: Detroit, Mich.
Series Record: Northern Michigan leads 11-7-0*

*Does not include NMU’s forfeit in 1994.

THE GAME
The Wayne State University football team will try for its third consecutive win against the Northern Michigan Wildcats in Saturday’s Homecoming game (Oct. 26) at WSU Stadium. This will be the fourth time that the Wildcats have provided the Homecoming opponent. WSU won in 1993 (28-18) and 2000 (35-14), but fell in 1997 (35-29).

The Warriors won last year’s contest, 44-41, in Marquette as Stephen Wayne made a 20-yard field with 0:01 remaining. Sterling Walker set a WSU record with 346 all-purpose yards.

INTERVIEW POLICIES
Media representatives should contact the Sports Information Office for all player and coach interviews. Players and coaches may be interviewed prior to or directly after practice during the season, but requests must be made through the Sports Information Office ahead of time.

THE COACHES
WSU head coach Steve Kazor is in his third season as the Warrior bench boss. He has a 9-18 record at Wayne State with an overall collegiate head coaching mark of 34-35 in his seventh season.

Northern Michigan’s Doug Sams is in his first season as the Wildcats’ head coach. He spent the previous 10 seasons as head coach at Fairmont State College in West Virginia, and one year (1988) as head coach at Urbana University in Ohio.

THE SERIES
Northern Michigan leads 11-7-0 in the all-time series having won seven of the first eight meetings between 1957 and 1989. The Warriors have won six of the last nine contests since 1990 (excluding a 1994 forfeit by NMU), and have compiled a 5-5 mark in games played in Detroit.

IN THE POLLS
The Warriors were selected 11th in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) preseason coaches poll. Northern Michigan received 43 points in the preseason GLIAC coaches poll, which placed them eighth.

SCOUTING NORTHERN MICHIGAN
The Wildcats (5-2 overall, 5-1 GLIAC) have won four of their last five games since a season-opening loss at St. Cloud State (45-17). NMU’s only defeat was a 51-14 loss at Grand Valley. Northern has defeated Mercyhurst (37-7), Ferris State (17-3), Indianapolis (24-10), Hillsdale (26-23) and Ashland (24-14).

Junior Terrell Goldsmith has a team-best 530 rushing yards on 132 carries with nine touchdowns. Kyle Swenor has completed 59.6% of his passes (164-275) for 1,614 yards and seven touchdowns. Brandon Munson (49-514, 2 TD) and Pat Rouzard (47-490, 2 TD) are NMU’s top receivers.

Linebacker Brandon Genwright leads the squad with 58 tackles, while linebacker Josh Sherko has a team-high six quarterback sacks. Casey Young has three interceptions from his free safety position.

MICHIGAN TECH GAME NOTES

Randy Hutchison

Randy Hutchison had the fourth-best total offense day in WSU history with 363 yards (116 rushing and 247 passing) to earn GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors. He rushed for three touchdowns, and passed for another. The first three rushing touchdown game for a Warrior since Arnie Gillert scored three times at St. Francis on Sept. 20, 1997.

Sophomore Stephen Wayne scored a career-best 10 points (two field goals, 4/4 extra points) in the win at MTU. The game-winning points came on a 38-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter.

With 49 all-purpose yards against Michigan Tech, senior Thabiti Williamson became the second Wayne State player to reach 4,000 all-purpose yards in a career (4,037). In a Warrior uniform, Williamson has 399 carries for 2,128 yards; 67 kickoff returns for 1,515 yards; three punt returns for 16 yards; and 55 receptions for 378 yards.

Senior Nate Collins had his first 100-yard receiving game as a Warrior. He had a career-high six receptions for 119 yards versus the Huskies.

Hutchison set career-highs in completions (21), attempts (33), yards (247), rushing yards (116), rushing touchdowns (3), and total offense (363). His 49-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter gives Hutchison WSU's two longest runs this season.

WAYNE STATE 34, AT MICHIGAN TECH 31
The Warriors snapped a two-game losing streak with a 34-31 triumph at Michigan Tech on Oct. 19.

After falling behind 14-7 after 15 minutes, the Warriors rallied for 17 second quarter points and a 24-21 halftime advantage. It was WSU's first lead at intermission this season.

Following a Huskie field goal early in the third quarter that evened the score at 24, sophomore quarterback Randy Hutchison had his third touchdown run of the game, this time for 11 yards, giving WSU a 31-24 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Michigan Tech went 67 yards for the tying touchdown, which came with just 26 seconds left in the third stanza.

After an exchange of punts, WSU drove 61 yards in 12 plays culminating in Stephen Wayne's 38-yard field goal which bounced on the cross bar and over for his second field goal of the contest.

The Warrior defense limited MTU's offense to 25 yards in 10 plays over the next two drives, with Derrick Thomas' fourth career interception sealing the victory.

Hutchison led the Warrior offense by accumulating 363 yards of total offense. Hutchison rushed for 116 yards and three touchdowns. He also completed 21 of 33 passes for 247 yards and one touchdown. His 247 passing yards was the highest by a WSU quarterback this season.

Craig Duppong gained 68 yards on 18 carries, while eight different Warriors had receptions with senior Nate Collins recording six receptions for 119 yards. Junior tight end Mike Johnson had a career-high five catches for 52 yards, while Michael Griffie had three receptions for 30 yards including a 19-yard TD reception to open the game's scoring.

A key play for the Warrior defense came late in the fourth quarter when MTU, which had converted its three previous fourth down plays, had a fourth-and-10 and its own 42 but Derrick Thomas intercepted Dan Mettlach's pass.

WARRIORS IN THE GLIAC STATS Team Statistics (Conference Games Only)
Scoring Offense	5th	26.5 ppg
Scoring Defense	11th	33.2 ppg
Passing Offense	5th	214.2 ypg
Passing Defense	12th	249.5 ypg
Kickoff Returns	7th	19.1 ypr
Punting (net punting avg.)	9th	31.2
Turnover Margin	10th	-1.00 pg
Rushing Offense	6th	158.0 ypg
Rushing Defense	5th	163.2 ypg
Total Offense	5th	372.2 ypg
Total Defense	11th	412.7 ypg
Punt Returns	T-10th	4.7 ypr
Passing Efficiency	8th	107.3
Passing Defense Efficiency	11th	148.0
First Downs	4th	130
Opponent First Downs	8th	129
Sacks By	T-8th	9
Penalties	10th	63.7 ypg
Opponent Penalties	1st	85.8 ypg
Fourth-Down Conversions	7th	38.5%
Opp. Fourth-Down Conversions	11th	70.0%
Red Zone Offense	8th	73.1%
Red Zone Defense	T-11th	86.2%
Third-Down Conversions	7th	40.4%
Opp. Third-Down Conversions	3rd	34.9%
Sacks Against	T-6th	11
Field Goals	T-4th	66.7%
PAT Kicking	T-10th	83.3%
Time of Possession	7th	29:07 pg
Kickoff Coverage	11th	23.2 ypr

A complete copy of this week's game notes is also available in PDF. Click here to download.