MARQUETTE, Mich. - After a bye week, the Northern Michigan Football team returns to action this weekend in the first conference game of the season. The Wildcats will host the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals on Saturday, October 5, at 1 p.m.

The Wildcats (0-4) will look to get on track to start league play while the Cardinals (3-1) enter the weekend winner's of its last two. 


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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 5 - vs. Saginaw Valley State at 1 p.m. ET
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A Word from Shane Richardson
"I think it was really good for us to get some time and refresh. We worked on a lot of fundamentals and got back to making sure some building blocks were better and in place."



Last Time Out
Two weeks ago, the team fell to Alma College on Homecoming, 44-27. 

Trailing 30-10 at halftime, the 'Cats battled back to two separate 10-point deficits in the second half, but a fumble recovered by Alma for a TD early in the final quarter made it a three-score game that the Green and Gold couldn't overcome. 

Nico Lukkarinen found the endzone twice on the ground for the Wildcats and Michael Love broke the century mark receiving for the first time in his career, going for 107 yards and a touchdown. 

The Wildcats were outgained 469-340 on the afternoon.


Wildcats to Watch
Junior linebacker Mitch Larkin guides the defense after leading the conference last season in total tackles with 118. That marked a near 100 tackle increase from his freshman campaign where he recorded 22. He finished tied for third in Division II in total tackles (118) and fifth in tackles/game (10.7). He currently sits second on the GLIAC tackled leaderboard this year with 32.
 
Also in the linebacker room, sophomore Jax Hertel will look to take a leap in his second year after recording 65 tackles and a pair of interceptions as a true freshman. Both Larkin and Hertel earned All-GLIAC Honorable Mention last season. 

After being forced into action as a true freshman following an injury to starter Mariano Valenti, quarterback Aidan Hoard appeared in eight games, throwing for 1,059 yards and five TD's. The 6'4" Frankenmuth native completed 101 of 196 (51.5%) of his passing attempts. Wideouts Michael Love and Sam Peiffer will look to play roles as top targets through the air, as they combined for 680 receiving yards and 5 TD's last season. 


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 (287) is second in the conference in rushing while Elizin Rouse (156) and Nico Lukkarinen (125)  are also inside the top-20. Lukkarinen's 3 TD runs rank tied for third in the conference. The Wildcats have the 4th best rushing attack in the league at 156.0 yards/game.
• Mitch Larkin is currently second in the GLIAC with 32 tackles. Larkin paced the conference last season with 118. 
• Michael Love is tied for the conference lead 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 fourth in the GLIAC with 238 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 4-4 on FG's and 8-8 on PAT's so far this season. 

Notes on Saginaw Valley State
The Cardinals are 3-1 on the season, winning its last two including a 28-24 victory at No. 15 Indianapolis on Sept. 28. SVSU is averaging 27.5 points/game, led by QB Mason McKenzie who has thrown for five scores and ran in two more. 

Senior defensive lineman Leonard Henry has already recorded 8 sacks this season, leading Division II. As a team the Cardinals have 14 sacks, the second best mark in the conference. In the secondary, Elijah Gordon's 3 interceptions pace the GLIAC and is tied for the 2nd best in the country.