Football | 10/20/2016 7:27:00 AM

DETROIT -- The 22nd-ranked Wayne State University football program (6-1, 6-1 GLIAC) will play its final home game of October on Saturday at noon against Saginaw Valley State (4-2, 4-2 GLIAC).

GAME STORYLINES
The Warriors conclude a stretch of five home games in a six-game span with a noon kickoff on Saturday at Tom Adams Field against the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals.  The 6-1 start by Wayne State is the best since the 2011 squad started 6-0 (7-1).  Other teams in the last 50 years to start this well were in 1976 (7-1), 1970 (6-1) and 1967 (7-0, then ended 7-2).  In addition, the five-game winning streak is tied for the fifth longest in program history.  The school record of 10 consecutive wins was set from Oct. 23, 2010 to Oct. 8, 2011.

LAST TIME OUT
The 25th-ranked Wayne State football team scored on the game's opening kickoff and led 21-7 at intermission before scoring 13 points in each of the final two quarters for a 47-14 triumph over visiting Walsh on Oct. 15th at Tom Adams Field.

Deiontae Nicholas took the opening kickoff back a school-record 97 yards giving the Warriors a 7-0 lead just 13 seconds into the contest.  The previous long of 96 yards was set by Dick Lisabeth against Iowa State on Sept. 22, 1951, in a season-opening 53-21 setback in Ames, Iowa.

The Cavaliers missed a 29-yard field goal attempt at the conclusion of a 15-play drive that used 8:35 on the clock.

Following a WSU punt, Ronny Brant II separated running back Kalvin Gordon from the ball after a nine-yard pass play, and Warrior Jalen Lewis recovered at the Walsh 31.

On the sixth play of the ensuing drive, Demetrius Stinson scored on an eight-yard jaunt to make it 14-0.

Walsh scored its lone offensive touchdown of the game on the next drive going 73 yards in 18 plays, but the drive should have ended after the first series but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Wayne State following a third-down pass break-up kept the drive alive.

WSU answered with a 69-yard scoring drive as Romello Brown reached the end zone on a five-yard run on the eighth play of the drive.

The Cavaliers held a 165-134 advantage in total offense throughout the first 30 minutes along with a 20:31 to 9:29 edge in time of possession.

Walsh began the second half with a three-and-out and Wayne State marched down the field in four plays to take a 28-7 lead.  Donovan Zezula connected with Jamel Hicks on a 36-yard pass play on second down and two plays later Brown rumbled around the left side for a 26-yard touchdown scamper.

Both teams punted on their next possessions, but Cavalier Antonio Tate fumbled inside the 10 yard line with Nicholas recovering at the one.  Nicholas then scored on a one-yard plunge on the very next play giving the hosts a 34-7 advantage.

After a three-and-out by Walsh, the Warriors drove inside the Cavalier 30, but Zezula fumbled with the ball going forward eight yards, where Nick King then raced 74 yards for a touchdown.

On the ensuing drive, Wayne State used eight plays to cover 65 yards with Stinson scoring on a 13-yard run with 12:59 left in the game.

The Cavaliers garnered a total of two first downs on their next two drives, but had to punt both times.  Following the second punt, Stephen Charron went around left end for 59 yards and the final score of the game.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
Saginaw Valley State enters the contest at 4-2 overall and in league games and currently sit fourth in the GLIAC North Division standings.  SVSU has won back-to-back games over Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan after an 11-point loss vs. Ohio Dominican.  Head coach Jim Collins is in his ninth season leading the SVSU program.  Sophomore quarterback Jacob LeClair has thrown for 873 yards and four touchdowns with five interceptions.  David Nay is the team's leading rusher and has tallied 503 yards and four TDs.  Sophomore Marq Johnson and senior Alfonso Vultaggio have combined for 751 receiving yards and three scores.  Senior safety Matt McKoy and sophomore linebacker Michael Alexander lead the defense with 57 tackles and 56 tackles, respectively.  McKoy has notched three interceptions.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Wayne State trails the all-time series 7-29-1 against SVSU in a series that began in 1976.  The Warriors have dropped the last three meetings against the Cardinals.  WSU's last win came on Oct. 30, 2010.  Paul Winters is 1-7 vs. SVSU and 0-4 in Detroit.  Wayne State is 2-16 all-time at Tom Adams Field versus SVSU.

WARRIORS IN OCTOBER
Five of the last seven October's have seen WSU go .500 or better.  The Warriors went 4-1 in 2010, 3-2 in both 2011 and 2015, and 2-2 in 2012.  Wayne State needs one more win this month to equal the 2010 squad's 4-1 mark in October.

QUARTERBACK WIN TOTALS
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 1972 (except 1980-83).  The same rules from baseball apply here -- the QB that was in when the winning points were scored received the decision.

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
4.  Mark Friday (1991-93), 13-13-0, .500
5.  Donovan Zezula (2015-16), 12-5-0, .706
6.  Richard Popp (1983-86), 8-15-1, .354
      Trent Pohl (2006-07), 8-10-0, .444
8.  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

RARE AIR FOR BRODBECK
Trent Brodbeck enters Saturday's game vs. Saginaw Valley State, third in WSU history in receptions by a tight end with 55.   Richard Hall (1991-94) is second with 59 receptions, while Joe Benke (1987-88) is the all-time leader among tight ends with 67 catches.  Additionally, Brodbeck was selected to the Allstate AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) Good Works Team®, which recognizes football student-athletes for their community service efforts.  He is only the second player in school history (Alan Guy, 2007) to receive the honor.  He is featured in a two-page spread in the Oct. 3rd edition of ESPN The Magazine.  Also, Brodbeck was named a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation's William Campbell Trophy on Sept. 28th.

WORTH NOTING
Wayne State had five rushing plays of at least 86 yards in the first 98 years of football, but the Warriors have two (both 86-yard touchdown runs) in the last five games.  Romello Brown scampered 86 yards against Lake Erie, and Deiontae Nicholas' TD run against Findlay put WSU ahead 27-14 late in the third period.

Romello Brown had his fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season and 11th of his career vs. Walsh last Saturday.  He entered the contest second nationally in rushing yards per carry at 8.99 and improved his season average to 9.09 after his performance against the Cavaliers.

Brown's 1,000-yard rushing season makes him the third running back in the Paul Winters' era to have back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons joining Joique Bell (2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009) and Josh Renel (2010 and 2011).  WSU has had 11 1,000-yard rushers in the last 12 seasons (only 2012 and 2013 without a 1,000-yard rusher, but the Warriors had two in 2011).

Jamel Hicks needs five catches to become the seventh player in school history with at least 100 career receptions.

THE EFFICIENT (AND EXPLOSIVE) ROMELLO BROWN
Romello Brown's 6.51 yards per carry for a career is the second-highest by any WSU player with at least 150 rushing attempts behind Gary Baillargeon, who averaged 7.29 (166-1,210) in 1951-52.  In addition, he is gaining 9.09 yards per carry (min. 25 attempts) this season, which is a program record (8.14 -- Gary Baillargeon, 1951).  That number puts Brown second in the country and his 1,000 rushing yards is sixth nationally.  

WINNING WHEN EXECUTING
Wayne State has won 14 of its last 15 games when rushing for over 200 yards, including last week vs. Walsh.  The only setback when accomplishing the feat came at Ashland, where the Warriors ran for exactly 200 yards in a losing effort.  During the past four-plus seasons (2012-16), Wayne State is 24-5 when rushing for 200 yards including a 10-2 mark on the road.  Under Coach Winters, the Green & Gold are 43-14 under those parameters, including a 25-6 mark at home.

TOP OF THE LEAGUE
Since the start of the 2008 season, here are the most successful teams in the GLIAC in terms of conference victories:
Grand Valley State - 68
Ashland - 65
Michigan Tech - 53
Ferris State - 53
WAYNE STATE - 52
Saginaw Valley State - 49
Ohio Dominican - 43

A STRONG CONNECTION
QB to WR touchdown totals (Since 1991)
24 - Mickey Mohner to Troy Burrell
22 - Jason Charron to Pierre Brown
18 - Michael Gluski to Jimmy Hill
10 - Carl Roscoe to Michael Johnson
10 - Dan Gray to Pierre Brown
9 - Donovan Zezula to Jamel Hicks
9 - Dan Gray to Brandon Brown
9 - Richard Brown to Elbert Richmond
8 - Anthony Frederick to Nate Bush
7 - Randy Hutchison to Nick Body

TEAM CAPTAINS
Paul Winters announced his 2016 captains during a special "Captains Presentation" prior to a scrimmage on August 20th.  The 2016 WSU captains will consist of four fifth-year seniors, plus a graduate student.  Left tackle Nate Theaker, who graduated in December, returns as a graduate student after earning a sixth-year waiver from the NCAA.  The other offensive captain is tight end Trent Brodbeck.  The defensive captains will be defensive end Nathan White, along with linebackers Anthony DeDamos and Valorian Cunningham.  All five are first-year captains.

STREAKING WARRIORS
In eight of the last nine seasons (2008-16), WSU has had at least a four-game winning streak.  This year's Warriors accomplished the feat at Findlay on Oct. 8th.

CONSISTENT LEADER
Paul Winters is the second-longest tenured football coach in program history this fall with 13 seasons.  He passed the founder of WSU athletics David Holmes in 2014 at 11 seasons (1918-28).  Hall of Fame coach Joseph Gembis holds the WSU record with 14 seasons (1932-45).

STAFF CONTINUITY
The football coaching staff is very similar to past seasons.  Along with Winters in his 13th season, defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Scott Kazmierski is in his 13th season with the Green & Gold.  Offensive line coach Scott Wooster is in his eighth season, defensive coordinator and secondary coach Brad Wilson is in his fifth season and quarterbacks coach Jeff Reardon is in his fourth season with the Warriors. E.J. Henderson is back for his second season in his latest stint with WSU after serving three years previously (2004-06).  A new coach on the staff is a familiar name to Warrior fans as Jon Robinson returns as the linebackers coach after playing for WSU (2007-11).

MODEL OF SUCCESS
Wayne State has compiled at least a .500 season in eight of the last nine years (2008-16) combining for a 62-37 mark in that span.  Prior to Coach Winters arrival in 2004, the Tartars/Warriors had 10 consecutive losing seasons on the field and only one winning season on the field in 19 years.

THE FRONT LINE
The running game has always been a calling card of Wayne State football and 2016 looks to be no different as the strongest units of the team appear to be its running backs and offensive line.  This year, WSU has rushed for 2,104 yards and 25 touchdowns.  This year's offensive line contingent has quality, versatility and depth.  The five projected starters have made 126 collegiate starts after the first seven games.  Leading the way are graduate student and captain Nate Theaker, fifth-year seniors Robert Kelly, Andrew Zimmerman and JT Pillars, along with junior Tommy Richardson.  Kelly leads the corps having started 37 times, while both Theaker and Richardson have 29 starts with Zimmerman (17) and Pillars (14) getting most of their starts a year ago and in 2016.

TOP 25 POLLS
Wayne State gained three spots in the AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) top 25 poll and is now ranked 22nd.  Last week, the Warriors were in the poll for the first time since the 2012 campaign (Oct. 8, 2012).  In addition, WSU is also ranked 22nd in the D2Football.com poll released on October 18th.

NCAA RANKINGS
The NCAA released its national statistics on Oct. 18th for Division II Football.  In terms of team rankings, WSU is third nationally allowing just one fourth-down conversion by its opponents (1-for-13).  In addition, the Warriors are also ranked in the top 20 nationally in the following categories:
4th in rushing offense (300.6 yards per game)
5th in both kickoff return average (27.56) 
5th in passing yards per completion (16.96)
10th in fumbles recovered (9)
11th in winning percentage (.857)
12th in kickoff return defense (16.55 yards per return allowed)
19th in both total offense (484.7 yards per game) and punt return defense (3.86 yards per return)
tied-for-19th in fewest passes had intercepted (4)
20th in sacks (3.29 per game)

Romello Brown is second in yards per carry (9.09), sixth in both rushing yards (1,000) and rushing yards per game (142.9), 17th in rushing touchdowns with 10, and 39th in all-purpose yards per game (143.86).

Demetrius Stinson ranks 12th in rushing touchdowns with 11.

Donovan Zezula is second in yards per pass attempt (10.45), third in passing yards per completion (17.23) and eighth in passing efficiency (171.6).

FIRST HALF DOMINATION
Wayne State has been at its best in the first 30 minutes of the game this season.  The Warriors are outscoring their opponents 101-7 in the first quarter and 164-37 during the first half.  However, on the other side of the coin, WSU is only outscoring its opponents 99-95 in the second half.

TOM ADAMS HOME COOKING
Tom Adams Field is not an easy place to play for visiting programs.  The Warriors have defended their home turf extremely well in the past eight-plus seasons (2008-16) to a 37-13 tune.  WSU is 4-0 in 2016 at home and has had a winning record at home in each of the last eight seasons, including a 5-1 mark last season.