Football | 8/29/2016 3:38:00 PM

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University football program aims to begin the 2016 season in the win column at Northwood on Saturday with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m.  The Warriors are loaded with experience as 25 student-athletes begin their final season in the Green & Gold.  Wayne State has lost four straight season-opening games after winning four straight.  Under head coach Paul Winters, WSU is 4-8 during the first game of the season, including a 1-2 mark against the Timberwolves.

GAME STORYLINES
The Warriors will have to overcome its road woes if they want to meet expectations in 2016.   Last season, Wayne State went 1-4 away from Tom Adams Field, while defending its home turf in five of six contests in 2015.   WSU will begin the season with two straight road games before hosting three consecutive GLIAC games in Detroit.  The Green & Gold were minutes away from ending the season on a five-game winning streak.  Additionally, the 2014 version of the Warriors ended the season on a four-game winning streak. 

OUTLOOK
While winning seasons are pretty much the norm these days in Downtown Detroit, closer inspection might reveal that mustering that mark a year ago was one of the tallest tasks that Coach Paul Winters and his staff have accomplished.  Wayne State entered the season with a senior starting QB (Carl Roscoe), and having come off a 7-4 campaign.  But after losing Roscoe to injury on the first series of the season, all bets were off.  Enter D.J. Zezula, who took over in Week 2 as the starter and began the requisite maturation process of any true freshman who is called into service.  After a rough first half of the slate, things started to click and WSU finished the season by winning four of its last five contests, including scoring 38 points per game in those four victories.

Zezula returns to the helm this season, with the luxury of his top ground gainers alongside.  That bunch is led by Romello Brown, who tallied 1,287 yards and 19 TD's a year ago.  Zezula also has top pass catchers Jamel Hicks and Manny Mendoza back in the fold, along with a very experienced offensive line that has 91 combined starts among them.  The ability of this unit to take a big step forward could be key to the fortunes of this year's Warriors.

Six starters return on defense, but the unit is led by a senior-laden linebacking corps that includes Anthony DeDamos and Valorian Cunningham.  DeDamos topped the club in tackles in 2015, and was second in league play in tackles-for-loss.  Cunningham also shone brightly, finishing third on the team in tackles and earning a Second Team All-GLIAC plaudit.  If there was a failing of the defense a year ago, it may have been a tendency to be a bit leaky at times.  They yielded 29 points per game, which was actually more than what the Warrior offense was able to score (27.7).  Wayne State's schedule leaves them few places to hide.  Early season tilts against Ashland, Tiffin and Hillsdale all have significant weight, and the Warriors close the season against Ferris State, Ohio Dominican and Grand Valley State in succession.  Those three clubs combined to win 32 games in 2015.  All told, Wayne State will face five clubs that finished last season with a winning record.

SCOUTING THE TIMBERWOLVES
Head coach Leonard Haynes led Northwood to a 5-6 season in his first season and 2016 will be his 22nd season with the program.  The Timberwolves featured a top-tier defense in 2015, yielding only 24.5 points per contest.  Michael Fisher returns after leading all tacklers in GLIAC play with 106 stops.  The offense ranked 12th in the league last season both in scoring (19.9) and yards per game (348.2).  NU's ground game was respectable, averaging 174.9 yards per contest.

Northwood's schedule features eight games against teams that won five games or more in 2015 and the Timberwolves will make four trips to Ohio over the last six weeks of the season.  Weeks six through 10 will likely be the most imposing, as those five contests will see NU face teams that won a combined 37 games a year ago.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Northwood leads the all-time series 19-17, including an 18-13 mark in league match-ups.  The Warriors had won four in a row dating back to 2010 before last season's 31-13 setback in Midland.  WSU is 8-11 all-time at Nprthwood.  Coach Winters is 5-6 against NU and is 2-3 at Hantz Stadium.  WSU won the first five games of the series that began in 1975. 

LAST TIME OUT
WSU was just over a minute away from ending the season on a five-game winning streak against Hillsdale.  However, the Chargers found the end zone with a 16-yard touchdown pass to tie the game and force overtime.  HC scored first in the extra stanza.  Carl Roscoe replaced injured starter D.J. Zezula and was picked off to end the game.

RUSHING ATTACK
Led by Romello Brown, WSU featured one of the better running games in the GLIAC last season.  Brown ran for the third most yards in the league (1,287), third-most yards per game (117.0) and scored 19 touchdowns, which was the second highest total.  Demetrius Stinson showed flashes of All-GLIAC potential, rushing for 632 yards and six TDs, including a pair of 100-yard performances.  As a team, WSU ran for 194.3 yards per game, ranking third in the GLIAC and compiled 2,137 rushing yards, which ranked fourth in the league.  The Warriors' 27 rushing scores were the third highest total in the conference.

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.  Trent Pohl (2006-07), 8-10-0, .444
6.  Richard Popp (1983-86), 8-15-1, .354
7.  Kevin Smith (2008), 7-2-0, .778
8.  Carl Roscoe (2012-15), 7-7-0, .500
9.  Anthony Frederick (1992, 94-95), 7-12-0, .368
10.  Michael Gluski (1994-95, 97-98), 7-16-0, .304
T11.  Donovan Zezula (2015), 6-4-0, .600
         Mike Grennier (1986-89), 6-14-0, .300

WINNING WHEN EXECUTING
Wayne State has won its last nine games when rushing for over 200 yards, including three times a season ago (Sept. 19 vs. Malone, Oct. 24 at Walsh and Oct. 31 vs. Findlay).  WSU rushed for 313 yards against the Cavaliers, the most since the Warriors gained 349 yards at Lake Erie on Nov. 8, 2014.  During the past four seasons (2012-15), Wayne State is 19-4 when rushing when rushing for 200 yards including a 9-1 mark on the road.  Under coach Winters, the Green & Gold are 38-13 under those parameters, including a 22-6 mark at home.

WINTERS ON WEDNESDAY
The weekly Winters on Wednesdays radio show begins its fifth season with head coach Paul Winters joining host Rod Beard and co-host Nicole Stoll.  The Winters on Wednesday's radio show airs every Wednesday from 7-8 PM on 1400 AM / 92.7 FM and is simulcast on WDTKAM.com.  The broadcast will occur live at Tony V's Tavern in downtown Detroit.  Fans are encouraged to attend and participate in the exciting event leading up to each game this season.

100 GLIAC WINS
Wayne State earned its 100th GLIAC with a victory against Malone on Sept. 19, 2015.  WSU was a part of the GLIAC from 1975 until 1989, and currently since 1999.

D2FOOTBALL.COM PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA
Nate Theaker was voted to the 2016 D2Football.com Preseason All-America First Team.  Prior to a season-ending injury in 2015, he earned a spot on the Lindy's Division II Preseason All-America Second Team, D2Football.com Preseason All-America First Team and the USA College Football Preseason All-America First Team.

GLIAC PRESEASON POLL
The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) released its Preseason Football Coaches Polls and Wayne State was ranked fourth in the North Division with 48 points.  Grand Valley State and Ashland were the favorites in each division heading into the 2016 season.

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.

2016 SIGNING CLASS
WSU signed nine freshmen and added one transfer on National Signing Day in February.  The nine signees represent eight offensive players and one athlete.  The biggest positions are offensive line (three), wide receivers (two) and quarterbacks (two).  There are six recruits from Michigan, two from Ohio, and one from Illinois.

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 will remain very similar to past seasons.  Along with Winters entering 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 seven of the last eight years (2008-15) combining for a 56-36 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.  Last season, WSU rushed for 2,137 yards and 27 touchdowns.  This year's offensive line contingent has quality, versatility and depth.  The five projected starters have made 91 collegiate starts, while the back-ups have started a combined 28 contests for the Green and Gold.  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 30 times, while both Theaker and Richardson have 22 starts with Zimmerman (10) and Pillars (7) getting their starts a year ago.

FIRST 45 MINUTES
If Wayne State wants to return to the playoff discussion it may want to work on getting off to a fast start.  In 2015, WSU opponents outscored the Warriors 237 to 187 in the first three quarters, including an 82-42 mark in the third stanza.  However, a strength of the Green & Gold in 2015 was its late game execution, outscoring its opponents 118 to 75 in the final period.

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 seasons to a 33-13 tune.  WSU has had a winning record at home in each of the last eight seasons, including a 5-1 mark last season.

80TH HOMECOMING CONTEST
WSU will host Hillsdale on Oct. 1st in the 80th Homecoming game in program history, dating back to 1935 (there was no game played in 1943 and 1944 due to WWII).  The Chargers have met WSU on eight occasions during Homecoming week, including most recently in 2006 when the Warriors were victorious by a 41-26 score.

ALL HOME GAMES TELEVISED
Once again, all six of Wayne State's home games will be broadcasted live on Comcast Xfinity Channel 900.  The broadcast team of Joe Abramson, Rod Beard and Tony Ortiz will have the call from Tom Adams Field.  All games will be shown live plus each contest will also be available On-Demand.

WDTK AND WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS
All Wayne State football games can be heard on WDTK Radio (1400 AM/92.7 FM).  Fans can listen to the games online at wdtkam.com or watch the home games via Warrior All-Access for a $5.95 per game fee.  Sean Baligian and former Warrior Josh Renel will serve as the color analyst for the season with Ryan Oshnock and Mickey Mohner filling in for one game each.