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PREVIEW: Football travels to No. 2 GVSU

PREVIEW: Football travels to No. 2 GVSU



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MARQUETTE, Mich. – The Northern Michigan University football team will be on the road this weekend, heading to Allendale for a Saturday night GLIAC game against No. 2 Grand Valley State at 7 p.m

The Wildcats (0-5) will look to get their first win of the season, while the Lakers (5-0) enter the game as the second-ranked team in the latest AFCA D2 Coaches Poll.

Follow the action
Follow @NMU_Football and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly known as Twitter) for updates before and during the game.

Saturday, October 12th – vs. Grand Valley State at 7 p.m. ET.

Regard | Live statistics | Hear

A word from Shane Richardson
“…you have to act and continue to find ways to fight back and forth [continue] Find a way to be more productive and persistent.”

Out last time
Northern Michigan fell to Saginaw Valley State last Saturday afternoon to start conference play 63-14.

Northern scored a touchdown in the first half Jahi Woodthe first of his career, but gave up 35 points in the second quarter and was 42-7 at halftime.

A blocked punt by the Wildcats took them deep into Cardinal territory early in the third quarter, and NMU benefited from another first career touchdown rush, this time by Vince Martin. The Cardinals responded with three long touchdowns of 38 yards, 54 yards and 62 yards to end the game.

The Cardinals outscored the Wildcats 486-183. Michael love broke the 100-yard barrier for the second straight year and led all players with 103 receiving yards on six catches. Mitch Larkin led all players with eight tackles.

Catnip

  • The Green and Gold field one of the youngest teams in the country, with 42 of 96 (43.8%) of the roster comprised of first-year players. Underclassmen fill 68 of the 96 (70.8%) roster spots.

  • Freshmen Jahi Wood (313) is fourth in the conference in rushing Elizin Rouse (156) and Nico Lukkarinen (141) are also in the top 20. Lukkarinen’s 3 TD runs rank fourth in the conference. The Wildcats have the fifth-best rushing attack in the league with 137.6 yards per game.

  • Mitch Larkin is currently second in the GLIAC with 40 tackles. Larkin set the conference pace with 118 points last season.

  • Michael love is tied for 2nd in the conference with 4 TD catches this season. His two touchdown catches against UW-La Crosse marked the first time a Wildcat receiver reached the end zone twice in a game since Sept. 24, 2022, when Wyatt Davis scored two scores at Homecoming in a 42-14 win over Post achieved. He is fourth in the GLIAC with 341 receiving yards.

  • NMU’s 269 yards on the ground at UW-La Crosse earlier this year was its best ground performance since the 2018 season.

  • Michael Karlen is 4-4 on FGs and 10-10 on PATs so far this season.

A look at the Grand Valley State

The Lakers enter the weekend ranked No. 2 in the latest AFCA D2 Coaches Poll. GVSU is coming off a 24-7 GLIAC season-opening win in Davenport with no points scored in the second half.

Grand Valley ranks third nationally in rushing yards/game (304.6), fourth in scoring defense (9.6), fifth in 3rd down conversion percentage (53.5% ), seventh in total offense (483.0) and ninth in rushing defense (72.4). and 10th in total defense (234.4).

On offense, Khalil Eichelberger has rushed for 487 yards, averaging 6.7 per carry, and five of the 16 rushing scores for the Lakers this year. Kenneth Moore (296 yards, 4 touchdowns) and QB Avery Moore (235 yards, 3 touchdowns) also played important roles in the strong ground offense. Through the air, Moore has thrown for 610 yards, 4 touchdowns and no interceptions.