November 4th, 2021 10:43am
Myren Harris of Wayne State set the Warriors’ single game record with 327 yards on the ground in a blowout win over Northwood, Grand Valley State survives another close call and escapes 14-9 against Michigan Tech, Ferris State and Saginaw Valley State both cruise to easy wins in week 9 of the season.
Wayne State’s offensive dominance over Northwood began from the very beginning of the game – a credit to the Warriors but also a knock on the Timberwolves’ defense. Myren Harris gashed the Northwood defense time and time again, and at times was running through holes you could drive a truck through, untouched and into the endzone. Offensively, Wayne State simply overmatched the Timberwolves. Fittingly, Harris was named GLIAC Player of the Week, the numbers are jaw-dropping: 327 yards on 20 carries (16.4 yards per carry) He had six carries for 126 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter alone. Wayne State ears its second win of the season, 56-21.
Ferris State remains the number one team in the land after a win at home over Northern Michigan in a game that saw the Bulldogs control from start to finish – just another day at the office for Bulldogs quarterback, Jared Bernhardt -- a game-high 163 yards and three scores and the ground, 10-of-14 through the air for 154 yards in the win.
GVSU and Michigan Tech went down to the wire at Lubbers Stadium, but the Lakers got the defensive stop in crunch time to secure the 14-9 win. GVSU lead 14-0 at halftime, but did not score in the second half, meanwhile MTU kicked a third quarter field goal and scored a touchdown, but failed the two-point-conversion, resulting in the 14-9 final. Defensively for Grand Valley, Ian Kennelly helped secure the win by compiling an interception, recovering a fumble, and forcing a fumble in route to earning GLIAC Player of the Week honors on defense.
Things are rolling in Cardinal country as Saginaw Valley State picked up its fourth straight win – a convincing 24-3 victory over Davenport. With the win, SVSU moves to 6-3 on the season, while the Panthers fall to 3-6. The story in this one was simple – SVSU’s defense dominated the contest forcing five Panther turnovers and holding DU to just 80 yards of total offense. Back to the drawing board offensively for Davenport.
Week 10 in the GLIAC provides a couple of intriguing matchups including Grand Valley State and Wayne State at Tom Adams Field in Detroit. Wayne State won 31-17 in Allendale in 2019, but prior to that win, GVSU had won the last 15 matchups dating back to 2002. The Lakers are in position to host a playoff game if they win out, but the Warriors had the running game rolling last week against Northwood. They’ll face a significantly better defense this week as the Lakers defense is the best in the conference against the run, surrendering a league best 98 yards per game. After a consecutive weeks of close calls for GV, I anticipate them breaking out and winning easily in Detroit, GVSU wins by a few scores.
To the west side of the state where top-ranked Ferris State hits the road to take on Davenport. The Bulldogs have the best offense in the conference – rushing, passing, points per game, you name it, FSU is at the top. They have the second best offense in the country by several of the same metrics, including the second most yards per play behind only 8-1 Shepherd out of the Mountain East Conference. It’s easy to see what I’m getting at here – Ferris State’s offense overwhelms teams, and Saturday will be no different – Bulldogs win it big.
Saginaw Valley State goes for consecutive win number five as the Cardinals welcome the Wildcats of Northern Michigan to Wilkes Stadium where SVSU is 3-1 this season. The Wildcats have lost five of six after starting the season 2-1, and this week’s test pegs them as underdogs once again. The Cardinals blew out the Wildcats the last time these two teams met two years ago in 2019. It’s a series that has been controlled by SVSU having won nine of the 12 matchups. A recent surge offensively for SVSU in its last three games has the Cardinals among the top offenses in points per game checking in at third in the conference behind GVSU and Ferris State. The winning ways will continue for the Cardinals, make it five in a row with an easy win over Northern Michigan.
Lastly we head to Midland for Northwood and Michigan Tech – after another disappointing setback for the Timberwolves last week against Wayne State, it’s time for the 1-7 Timberwolves to dig deep and find a way to compete. The series history between MTU and NU is intriguing -- Michigan Tech snapped a three-game losing streak to Northwood in 2019, picking up 34-21 win in Houghton. Prior Northwood’s win streak, MTU had won six straight games in the series. Northwood holds a 25-21 overall advantage in the all-timeseries dating back to the 1965 season. For the Huskies, they came up just short on an upset bid on the road last week against Grand Valley. I see them carrying that momentum and earning a win on the road, Michigan Tech wins it.
Is this the first 4-0 week of picks? I think so! Ferris State, Grand Valley State, Saginaw Valley State, and Michigan Tech are my predicted winners for week 10.
Talk to you next time!