DETROIT --  The Wayne State University football team (2-8 overall, 1-6 GLIAC) concludes the 2018 season at eighth-ranked Grand Valley State (9-1 overall, 6-1 GLIAC) on Saturday.  It'll be the first trip to Lubbers Stadium since 2014 and the Warriors will be searching for their first win in Allendale since 1984, which was the last time WSU topped the Lakers in the series, home or away.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS
Grand Valley State enters the final regular season weekend ranked eighth in the country with its only loss coming at home to second-ranked Ferris State on Oct. 13th.  Head coach Matt Mitchell is in his ninth season leading GVSU and ranks 30th among active head coaches with 86 career victories.  Senior quarterback Bart Williams has passed for 2,198 yards and 18 touchdowns, while throwing five interceptions.  He is completing 52.5 percent of his passes and leads the league at 244.2 passing yards per contest.  Junior running back Chawntez Moss is the team's top rusher at 889 yards and has found pay dirt on nine occasions, while freshman Jack Provencher has totaled 529 yards and seven TDs.  Senior Nick Dodson and junior Austin Paritee are a solid one-two punch for the GVSU receiving corps.  Dodson has 50 receptions for 824 yards and eight scores, while Paritee leads the team with 851 receiving yards on 49 catches and eight touchdowns.

Sophomore Tyler Bradfield leads the team with 71 total tackles, while junior defensive end Michael Pettis has a team-best 4.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss.  Senior safety Jacob Studdard has picked off opponent's quarterbacks three times to lead the defense.  The Lakers are scoring 33.1 points per game and allowing 16.6 points per contest.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Wayne State trails 5-34 in the all-time series against GVSU.  Head coach Paul Winters is 0-12 versus the Lakers.  WSU's last victory in the series was in 1984 when Wayne State won 30-3 in Allendale following a 22-10 win in Detroit the year prior.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State jumped out to a 14-0 lead against Northern Michigan on Senior Day last Saturday.  A 10-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 12-yard Jake AmRhein scramble started the scoring and a 50-yard interception return from Malcolm Williams with 8:32 left in the first quarter pushed the home advantage to 14-0.  Paul Graham connected from 22 yards out to give WSU a 17-3 lead at the 12:49 point of the third quarter.

However, 17 consecutive points by the Wildcats changed the complexion of the game and gave NMU a 20-17 lead.  James Hill carried the ball five times on a scoring drive, including the final two-yard plunge into the end zone as the Green & Gold regained the lead, 24-20.  Steven Glenn hauled in a 41-yard pass to spark the drive.  Northern Michigan answered with a 14-play, 59-yard drive that ate 6:57 off the clock and ended with a QB sneak to make it 27-24 in favor of the visitors.
The Warriors began their next drive with 1:28 remaining and a 45-yard pass to Darece Roberson, Jr. put WSU in business at the NMU 30-yard line.  After a nine-yard pass to Glenn, AmRhein was picked off by Anthony Ladd who returned it 97 yards for a touchdown.

KICKING HIS WAY INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
Paul Graham has moved into fifth place in career scoring, second among kickers, with 233 points on 119 PATs and 38 field goals.  His 119 PATs rank second in program history behind Stefan Terleckyj's 169, while his 96.0 PAT percentage is second behind Terleckyj's 98.3.  In addition, Graham has made 38 field goals, which is one behind Terleckyj's school mark of 39.  Graham's 86.4 career field goal percentage (38-of-44) is the best mark in WSU history, with Terleckyj's 68.4 (39-of-57) ranking second.  That percentage is also tops among active D2 kickers and his 38 made FGs is 10th amongst the division.

Additionally, his .864 field goal percentage (38-44) is third among current players across all divisions.  John Baron of San Diego State (.873 / 48-55) and Blanton Creque of Louisville (.870 / 40-46) are 1-2.

A MATURING OFFENSIVE LINE
Going into the 2017 season, fans of Warrior football knew the offensive line was going to be a work in progress after losing 144 combined starts from the group of Robert Kelly (41), Nate Theaker (33), Tommy Richardson (32), Andrew Zimmerman (21) and JT Pillars (17).  The group of Israel Helms (10), Justin Tockstein (11), Charlie Younger (11), Lane Potter (11) and Adam McJunkin (1) gained valuable experience since the 2017 season began with only three combined starts (all by then senior Greg Webber).  With the return of Tommy Richardson and his 42 career starts, the 2018 offensive line now has 125 career starts.

CONSISTENT LEADER
Paul Winters has become the longest tenured football coach in program history this fall as he is in his 15th season.  He passed the founder of WSU athletics David Holmes in 2014 at 11 seasons (1918-28).  Winters surpassed Hall of Fame coach Joseph Gembis, who held the post for 14 seasons (1932-45).  Winters enters the GVSU contest tied-for-33rd among all active DII football head coaches with 83 wins.  The game at Ferris State on Sept. 30, 2017, was his 150th as the Warrior head coach.  Gembis (101) and Holmes (80) are second and third in career games coached.

WINNING WHEN EXECUTING
Wayne State has won 23 of its last 28 games when rushing for over 200 yards, including the 2018 season-opener over Walsh, where the Warriors totaled 237 yards on the ground and vs. Northwood when WSU rushed for 399 yards.  The first three setbacks when accomplishing the feat came in 2016-at Ashland, where the Warriors ran for exactly 200 yards in a losing effort; at Ferris State and at Ohio Dominican when WSU ran for 242 yards.

Twice this year WSU has lost when rushing for at least 200 yards - at UIndy on Sept. 8th where the Green & Gold compiled 202 yards on the ground and Sept. 22 at Saginaw Valley.  During the last seven-plus seasons (2011-18), Wayne State is 33-9 when rushing for 200 yards, including a 13-7 mark on the road.  Under Coach Winters, the Green & Gold are 52-18 under those parameters, including a 33-5 mark at home.

NCAA STATS REPORT
Wayne State ranks in the top 50 nationally in several categories.  The Warriors are fifth in fewest passing yards allowed per game (138.3), 10th in fewest penalties per game (4.50), 13th in fewest penalties (45), 25th in punt return average (14.08), 28th in fewest fumbles lost (5), 30th in fewest tackles for loss allowed per game (5.10), 35th in passing yards per completion (13.90), 37th in third down conversion percentage (.422), 41st in blocked punts (1) and 48th in punt return defense (6.54).

Darece Roberson, Jr. is eighth in both yards per reception (22.91) and punt return touchdowns (1), and 52nd in receiving touchdowns (7).  Paul Graham is 18th in Division II with a .778 field goal percentage.  Spencer Stephenson ranks 21st with two fumble recoveries. James Hills ranks 25th in rush yards per carry (6.29) and is tied-for-46th in rushing touchdowns (8) with DeOntay Moffett.  Jake AmRhein is 30th in passing yards per completion (14.16).  

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
WSU is 17th this week by the NCAA in terms of toughest schedule with an opponent winning percentage of .576 (49-36 / Walsh 3-5, Indianapolis 7-1, Ashland 4-4, Saginaw Valley 6-3, Tiffin 8-1, Davenport 5-4, Michigan Tech 3-5, Northwood 2-6, Ferris State 9-0 and Northern Michigan 2-7).  The Warriors remaining opponent is 9-1 (.900) and WSU's composite schedule is sixth with a cumulative opposition record of 58-37 (.611).  The GLIAC currently has four of the top seven toughest schedules in terms of cumulative opponent winning percentage.  Northwood is third, Ashland is fifth and Michigan Tech is seventh.

PLAYING RANKED OPPONENTS
Wayne State is 9-29 against teams ranked inside the top 25 under Coach Winters (does not include forfeit by SVSU in 2005).  WSU's last victory came on Sept. 13, 2014, against 13th-ranked Carson Newman at Tom Adams Field.

CLOSE CALLS
Wayne State was close in many contests this year.  In the loss against Ashland, the game was tied 14-14 at halftime, and the Warriors trailed 24-21 in the fourth quarter and had the ball.  In the setback at SVSU, WSU led 22-7 midway through the third period, and had a potential 32-yard game-winning field goal on the final play of regulation blocked.  Wayne State had a 14-7 lead over Davenport late in the first stanza, and despite trailing 21-14 in the second half, the Warriors had five consecutive non-scoring drives.  In the Oct. 13th defeat at Michigan Tech, WSU led 10-0 and later tied the contest at 20-20 midway through the fourth quarter.  The Warriors led at #2-Ferris State 28-24 early in the third quarter before falling 38-28 and WSU was ahead 24-20 midway through the fourth quarter against Northern Michigan last Saturday.

EXCITING FRESHMAN
True freshman safety Tieler Houston had another stellar performance last weekend against NMU.  He finished with a game-high 11 tackles, including two assisted for loss.  He notched his second interception, which he returned for 21 yards to set up a Paul Graham field goal in the third quarter, extending the home lead to 17-3.  For the season, he has 45 tackles, which ranks fifth on the team and four stops for loss.  

NEAR UPSET
The Warriors gave second-ranked Ferris State one of its stiffest tests of the season on October 27.  Wayne State led on three occasions (14-10, 21-17 and 28-24).  The 28 points is the second most that the Bulldogs have allowed in 2018 and the four-point lead WSU held at the 12:32 mark of the third quarter was the second-latest deficit that Ferris State has faced this season.  Prior to the WSU contest, FSU had scored at least the first 13 points in five of the first six games, including 28 or more points on three occasions.

HOME COOKING LEADS TO CAREER DAY?
Junior wide receiver Darece Roberson, Jr. had his first career 100-yard receiving effort with five receptions for 132 yards and a touchdown in Big Rapids near his hometown of Muskegon on Oct. 27th.  His first catch was a 42-yard touchdown reception which knotted the game at 7-7.  Roberson's 40-yard catch on the final play of the opening quarter gave the Warriors a first-and-goal at the FSU 1, with James Hill scoring on the next play to give WSU a 14-10 lead.  His acrobatic 39-yard reception on a third-and-five play led to another Hill touchdown run and a 28-24 Wayne State advantage.

900TH GAME
Wayne State played its 900th football game on Oct 13th.  The first contest was a 41-0 win on October 6, 1918, at Assumption (Ont.) College (became Assumption University in 1956).  The record by school names is Detroit Junior College (24-12-6), College of the City of Detroit (24-57-5). Wayne University (70-86-11) and WSU (261-340-7).

PARTICIPATION BREAKDOWN
Of the 71 players to participate this year for WSU, there were three true freshmen, 18 redshirt freshmen, two true sophomores, seven redshirt sophomores, one true junior, 22 redshirt juniors, two true seniors, nine redshirt seniors and seven graduate students.

HAND IT TO HILL
Junior running back James Hills has become a dangerous threat in the WSU offense.  He rushed for a team-high 131 yards and one touchdown against NMU and has totaled 730 rushing yards and nine touchdowns in his 10 games this season.  Hill is averaging 6.3 yards per carry, which leads the GLIAC and his 73.0 rushing yards per contest ranks fifth in the league