The first chance at stacking wins is at noon Saturday when the Wildcats host Upper Peninsula rival Michigan Tech in the annual Miner’s Cup game at the Superior Dome.

NMU is coming off a 42-21 victory over Roosevelt in a road game played on Saturday in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois.

Northern set all kinds of records with its 538-yard rushing performance, breaking a 66-year-old Wildcats record by more than 60 yards.

NMU Sports Information cited the total as the most in NCAA Division II this season, while back Noah Dobert’s 243 yards and Jahi Wood’s 233 yards mark just the seventh time in D-II history that a pair of teammates each accumulated more than 200 yards rushing in the same game.

Northern Michigan University head coach Shane Richardson, center, runs out onto the Superior Dome field with his Wildcats football team before a game played earlier this season in Marquette. (Photo courtesy NMU)

Dobert was named the GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. His total is eighth in D-II this season, Wood’s ninth.

And the longest play of the game — and Northern’s season — was by a quarterback. No, not a pass, since NMU was 0 for 1 throwing the ball, but an option run for a 67-yard touchdown by QB Austin Ridl — a Marquette Senior High School graduate — in the second quarter. By the way, Dobert had three TDs and Wood two.

While all those gaudy numbers look impressive, other than boosting the Wildcats’ confidence, they won’t help NMU as it tries to snap Tech’s 14-game winning streak in their series.

On paper, the Huskies are a decided favorite with a 5-2 record as Northern sits at 1-6 after the 28-game losing streak dating back to 2022 ended. Tech is also 2-1 in the GLIAC and NMU 1-2.

Among their victories, MTU downed then-No. 16 Bemidji State (Minnesota) in Houghton 37-17 in its season opener on Aug. 28. They also took a 38-10 home loss to No. 1 Ferris State last Saturday.

Northern has looked competitive in nearly every game this season, being within a touchdown at halftime or in the second half most games and sometimes not falling further behind until the fourth quarter — or not at all — in several contests.

Saturday’s game will be televised on WLUC-TV6 and also be broadcast on Marquette radio station WUPT 100.3 FM The Point.

Fans can follow @NMU_Football and @NMU_Wildcats on X (formerly Twitter) for updates leading up to and during the game, or visit the NMU athletics website at nmuwildcats.com and look under the football schedule for links to ticket information, live video, live audio, live statistics and a preview.

“It’s time for us to be able to understand that we’ve gotta go out there, we gotta play with an edge, and we’re not gonna be the little brother anymore,” Northern head coach Shane Richardson said in an NMU SI news release previewing the game.

By the way, last Saturday the NMU defense also carried its weight, limiting Roosevelt (1-5) to just 115 yards rushing. Even 310 yards passing allowed wasn’t bad, considering these Lakers were the No. 1 passing team in the GLIAC headed into the game.

Northern also won a crucial battle it often has lost — turnovers. NMU gave the ball up just once while forcing Roosevelt into two, all turnovers being fumbles. The Wildcats’ Murphy Monreal and Jhermari Mabry had fumble recoveries, while Sam Corey and Jax Hertel got credit for forcing fumbles.

Hertel also had two tackles for loss and leads the league with 12 this season.

NMU SI said in its prospects for the game that it expects Richardson to continue to lean on Wood and Dobert in particular and the rushing attack in general. Northern averages 259.9 yards rushing per game, seventh in the country and second in the GLIAC to the fearsome attack put out by No. 1 Ferris at 304.7 ypg.

Dobert’s 113.9 yards per game and 797 total yards also rank him seventh in D-II.

NMU SI also cites the Wildcats’ improved defensive front in limiting big plays, with it allowing 364.7 yards per game, including 117.3 on the ground.

Hertel’s 9.3 tackles per game and total of 65 are both second in the league, and he is the only one in the top 10 with multiple QB sacks.

Michigan Tech is fourth in both scoring offense and scoring defense with 29.1 and 20.8 points per game, respectively. Its overall yardage on offense is just 2 1/2 yards better than Northern’s at 349.6 yards per game, though its defense is No. 2 to Ferris at 271.6 ypg, also ranking 11th nationally.

Tech QB Alex Bueno has thrown for 1,216 yards and 12 TDs, adding in 258 rushing yards and three TDs that way, too.

Leading receivers are Nic Nora, a Kingsford High School grad, and Ethan Champney, Nora tops on his team with 411 yards and five TDs.

Linebacker Chase Koch had 60 tackles, two interceptions and four tackles for loss as the Huskies allow just 97.7 rushing yards per game.

A scan of the MTU roster uncovered 20 players from Upper Peninsula schools, including several from Marquette and Alger counties.

A similar look at Northern’s roster showed 13 from the U.P., including multiple QBs who have seen action this season — Ridl, Trevor Theuerkauf of Menominee and Austin Gordon of Ewen-Trout Creek.

Story contents based on Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release previewing the game. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.