NMU football faces big challenge hosting No. 1 Ferris
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Northern Michigan University offensive lineman Daniel Babcock gets away from his usual task and goes out and catches a pass from quarterback Liam Oczkowski, getting into the end zone untouched for a touchdown in the second quarter during the Wildcats' homecoming game played against Davenport at the Superior Dome in Marquette on Sept. 19. (Photo courtesy Cara Kamps)
The 0-4 Northern Michigan University team hosts national No. 1 and NCAA Division II defending national champion Ferris State at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Superior Dome.
All eight teams in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference open their league seasons today, but with the Wildcats and Bulldogs kicking off at least an hour before anyone else, the winner will likely for 60 minutes or so hold the conference lead all by themselves.
If that were to be NMU, it might be the upset of the season.
Not surprisingly, Ferris has looked impressive while attaining -- retaining is probably more like it since FSU has won four of the last five national titles -- its No. 1 ranking.
The Bulldogs have scored between 28 and 73 points each game -- last week was a 73-6 win over Kentucky Christian -- and given up no more than 14.
Northern, under the direction of first-year head coach Matt Janus, hasn't scored more than 19 points any time out while giving up between 35 and 56 points.
NMU hasn't defeated Ferris since 2010, a 22-20 win in Marquette, while all-time FSU has a 30-15-6 series lead. Somehow, these two teams tied each other in their annual game five times in their first nine encounters back in the 1940s and '50s.
For Saturday's game, fans can come to the Superior Dome to root on the Wildcats, watch online on FloSports or listen to it on radio station WUPT 100.3 FM The Point.
Fans can also follow @NMU_Football on Instagram and X for updates, or visit the Northern athletics website at nmuwildcats.com and look under the football schedule for links to ticket information, live video, live audio, live statistics, a history and a photo gallery.
"It's one play at a time, and I think the big thing that we've been harping on, going back throughout our bye week, is what this team's going to present," Janus said about Ferris in an NMU Sports Information preview of the game. "We saw a little bit as we get into GLIAC play with Davenport, and now we're going to see it with Ferris, the same physicality, not just in the box, but on the perimeter as well.
"Our block destruction on defense, our angles on offense, and trying to harp a little bit of that to get more into the physicality part of what this game will bring and to try to match that."
Two weeks ago on Sept. 19, the Wildcats lost 42-7 to GLIAC foe Davenport in a nonconference game at the dome for NMU's homecoming. The same teams will meet again in suburban Grand Rapids for their conference contest on Saturday, Oct. 10.
Northern stayed in it early when nearly 300-pound offensive lineman Daniel Babcock rolled out to catch a 2-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Liam Oczkowski early in the second quarter. It came during a drive that earlier featured a fake punt that Menominee product Tanner Theuerkauf converted to keep the possession going.
That score kept the Wildcats within 14-7 at the time, but Davenport would answer with its own TD just 90 seconds later, adding on three unanswered scores in the second half for the final difference.
Returning All-American running back Noah Dobert gained 74 yards rushing in 16 carries, but the only back in the GLIAC ahead of him so far this season, the Panthers' Cephus Harris, countered with a total of 196 yards combined rushing and receiving, also scoring three TDs.
While NMU was outgained overall 374-210, for the first time the Wildcats didn't lose the turnover battle, each team throwing one interception, Northern's snagged by defensive back Murphy Monreal. In its first three games, the Wildcats had coughed the ball up eight times while getting an opponent turnover just once.
Ferris' most impressive win had to be in its opener, defeating another top-five team in Pittsburg State of Kansas, 42-14.
Last year, the Bulldogs scored a 70-35 win over NMU in Big Rapids as Dobert gained 119 yards on the ground while teammate Luc Daimani made an interception.
Story contents based on a Northern Michigan University Sports Information press release previewing the game. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee's email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.