MARQUETTE, Mich. - The Northern Michigan University football team hits the road this weekend, traveling up US-41 to Houghton to clash with Michigan Tech in the annual Miner's Cup game.
The Wildcats (0-7, 0-3) will look to pick up its first win of the season and secure the Miner's Cup from the Huskies (4-3, 1-2) for the first time since 2009. This year marks the 22nd rendition of the Miner's Cup game.
The game will be televised locally on TV6, with Mark Evans and Dave Ellis on the call, joined by sideline reporter Kevin McNulty. This will be the 12th year TV6 and FOX-UP have covered the rivalry series dating back 2013.
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Follow @NMU_Football and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly known as Twitter) for updates leading up to and during the game.
Saturday, October 26 - vs. Michigan Tech at 12 p.m.
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A Word from Shane Richardson
"Really proud of the way that we kept points off the board. When it comes down to it, that's what you want. We bent a little bit at times, but we did not break."
Last Time Out
Northern Michigan fell in a nail-biting 16-10 OT decision against the newest member of the GLIAC, Roosevelt, last Saturday in the Superior Dome.
NMU was steadfast in its commitment to a run game, running the ball on 48 of 50 (96.0%) of its plays. The offense was paced by
Jahi Wood, rushing for 120 of NMU's 201 yards.
The Wildcats found the first score of the game with a 35-yard FG from
Michael Karlen. Roosevelt scored 10 points between the second and third quarters. The Wildcats tied the game up with a QB sneak from QB
Aidan Hoard in the fourth quarter.
Roosevelt recovered a fumble from NMU in overtime and found the endzone shortly after for the win.
Cat Nips
- The Green and Gold field one of the youngest teams in the nation, with 42 of 96 (43.8%) of the roster consisting of first-year players. Underclassmen makeup 68 of the 96 (70.8%) roster spots.
- Freshman Jahi Wood (406) is 5th in the conference in rushing while Elizin Rouse (220), Vince Martin (214), and Nico Lukkarienen rank 13th, 14th, and 20th respectively. Lukkarinen's 3 TD runs rank in the top-10 in the conference. The Wildcats have the 4th best rushing attack in the league at 156.4 yards/game.
- NMU has been strictly focused on the run, only attempting seven pass attempts with zero completions over the last two games.
- Adam Saleh is 5th in the conference with 45 tackles, while his 33 solo tackles are tied for second. Mitch Larkin is currently 8th in the GLIAC with 44 tackles. Larkin paced the conference last season with 118.
- 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 found the endzone twice in a game since September 24, 2022 when Wyatt Davis went for two scores on Homecoming in a 42-14 win over Post. He is 6th in the GLIAC with 341 receiving yards.
- NMU's 269 yards on the ground at UW-La Crosse earlier this year marked its best ground effort since the 2018 season.
- Michael Karlen is a perfect 6-6 on FG's and 13-13 on PAT's this season.
A Look at Michigan Tech
Michigan Tech enters the weekend at 4-3. Michigan Tech is coming off of a 51-13 loss against No. 4 Ferris State last weekend.
Alex Fries has thrown for 1,613 yards and 15 TD's, both the second-best across the conference. Ethan Champney and Darius Willis have proved to be a dynamic duo for Fries, as the pair rank 2nd and 3rd in the GLIAC with 591 and 576 receiving yards, respectively. Willis' 7 TD's lead the league.
