NMU's Tyauan Cox runs back a kickoff for a touchdown in the first quarter Saturday against Wayne State at the Superior Dome in Marquette. Blocking behind Cox is NMU's Trevor Roberts. Defending for the Warriors are Leon Eggleston (left) and Dalen Peeks (right). (Photo courtesy Daryl T. Jarvinen)

MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan University head football coach Kyle Nystrom said earlier this week that Saturday’s game with Wayne State was a “must-win” and that his team needed to “get our act together.”

And they did. At least through the first quarter. The Wildcats held a 14-7 lead heading into the second quarter, and were tied 14-14 with less than seven minutes left in the half, but one play pretty much turned their fortunes around.

With the ball a few yards from the WSU goal line, NMU fumbled the ball away and it was all Warriors from that point on. WSU used that takeaway to take the lead and it shut out the Wildcats the rest of the way to hand Northern a 27-14 loss. The defeat was NMU’s fourth straight and it also kept the ‘Cats winless in the GLIAC.

“You can sum this game up in one play and everybody knows what it is,” Nystrom said. “The fullback went the wrong way and bumped into the ball. And it was on the floor and they picked it up. On the 4-yard line and then they came down and scored. That, as easy as it may seem, everything else has to play, but that cost us from winning the football game.”

The fumble may have been the singular moment that cause things to fall apart for Northern, but the lack of a running game also played a role as the Wildcats were outgained 366-36 on the ground.

“We’re not productive in the running game and they were,” Nystrom said. “Our miscue down there, inside the five (yard line), going in to score with the fumble, that’s a 14-point swing. The difference in the game was 13 points. It’s really easy. The second half, we played better on defense. We were still giving up drives and time. We weren’t tackling good on those guys. (Number) 4 (Deiontae Nicholas) is a really good player and 32 (James Hill) does good things for them, but you’ve got to get those guys down. We just needed more horsepower today. We’ll get some guys back this week. I think I’ve got about four or five guys that I think should make a recovery this week, and get back into practice that have been out. And we’re going to need them. We need more horsepower. We’ve got to tackle better. We’re just too stagnant on offense right now. At times, we are in rhythm and do the right thing. We can move the ball, and then somebody goes the wrong way.

“I told them last night that we have to play perfect. We can’t have mental mistakes. We can’t go the wrong way. We can’t block the wrong way. We can’t miss tackles. We’ve got to get lined up right. We got to talk to each other and communicate what we’re doing. If we don’t do it perfect, we don’t have a chance. I don’t question our attitude, and our want-to, and our effort and our toughness. I don’t question that. I question our ability to do everything right all the time and persevere for a long time that way. That’s where we’re a little deficient and we have to improve. You can’t win football games with costly mistakes and we’ve got to move the ball and get points.”

Almost all of NMU’s highlights in the first half came either on defense, or on special teams. Free safety Brady Hanson gave the Wildcats their first spark as he picked off WSU quarterback Dakota Kupp and returned it deep into Warriors territory. A couple plays later, Northern was on the scoreboard as Tyshon King scampered into the end zone from four yards out.

WSU took a more gradual and calculated approach to get its first points of the game. The Warriors converted on third down twice and also made a fourth down conversion as they marched up the field. WSU then capped off the long drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Kupp to Darece Roberson.

The Wildcats answered back quickly though as Tyauan Cox caught the ensuing kickoff, found an opening up the middle and then broke two tackles on his way to a 99-yard touchdown return. With the extra point, NMU held a 14-7 advantage going into the second quarter.

WSU wasn’t deterred though. The Warriors scored on their next possession on a 45-yard run by King Saunders where the running back broke three tackles and dove the ball across the goal line.

NMU made another huge defensive play on the Warriors next possession as Hanson intercepted another Kupp pass, but then the Wildcats coughed up the ball on the WSU 4-yard line and things went downhill from there.

After earning the takeaway, the Warriors again methodically worked their way downfield. With the ball on the NMU 24, Kupp found Roberson over the middle and he trotted into the end zone. After the extra point, WSU took a 21-14 lead into the locker room.

In the second half, the Warriors continued to find ways to keep their drives alive. On their first possession, Hill broke free down the WSU sideline for a 29-yard run to bring the ball up to the NMU 14. Hanson stepped up on defense on the drive, breaking up two sure touchdown passes in the red zone on second and third downs, but WSU still put points on the board as Niccolo Seilo kicked a 25-yard field goal, making score 24-14.

With the Wildcats’ offense continuing to sputter, NMU needed its defense to help keep it in the game and it did, for the most part. The Northern defense held the Warriors to just three points in the third quarter and safety Anthony Ladd made a huge third down stop at the goal line. The sophomore came through the line on a blitz and wrapped up Hill’s legs just as he was trying to leap over the pile. Seilo then shanked his field goal attempt and NMU still had life in the fourth quarter.

However, the Wildcats’ offense did nothing to capitalize on the opportunity, going three and out. Seilo made his field goal the next time around, a 29-yarder, on the Warriors’ following possession and WSU shut down Northern’s last chance drive to close out the win.

Now the Wildcats have to regroup quickly because they’ve got to travel up to Houghton next week to face rival Michigan Tech. NMU has lost nine straight to the Huskies and Nystrom said it’s going to take a lot for his team to come out with a victory.

“I told all our players and our coaches that it’s not an Einstein situation,” he said. “You have one of two choices. You can either come back this week and prepare and do everything that you do during the week to go beat your rival, or not. I don’t want an answer right now because I want you to show me this week. A lot these players are doing pretty damn good, but some of them got to get better. They know it. They know who it is and they know if it’s them or not. I don’t even have to tell them. I do, and so do the assistants, because that’s our job, to improve performance in every manner that they’re involved in here at NMU.

“The thing about a rival game is when you win it, it counts (for) more than one because everybody is so hyped about it. So that’s our opportunity. That’s our mission. That’s what we prepare for. We’ve got to get some guys back and we will. And we’ve got to get ready to go play.

“I told the players that I don’t want you out tonight. If your family is here and you want to go to a restaurant, that’s fine, but you better lay low and you better prove by your actions, and your decisions, and how you live your life, that that’s what you want to do this week. To have an opportunity to go beat Michigan Tech. You’ve got to be on it and everything you do this week has to be 100 percent and it has to be the right way.”

Ryan Stieg can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 252. His email address is rstieg@miningjournal.net.