Michigan Tech tight end Lucas Marion (88) blocks against Northern Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, in Houghton, Mich. (David Archambeau/The Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — The Michigan Tech Huskies will look to make it three in a row this weekend with a win against the Ashland University Eagles on the football field.

The Huskies are coming off big wins against Northern Michigan two weeks ago and a 30-17 victory on the road last week against Davenport. Michigan Tech head coach Steve Olson likes what he sees.

“It is nice to go on the road and get a win,” he said. “I was very happy in the way our team traveled and performed in the game against Davenport.”

In particular, Olson noted that he was pleased with the fact that the Huskies (4-2, 2-2 GLIAC) were able to capitalize on four Davenport turnovers created. This put MTU up 30-0 at halftime — a good place to be in the eyes of Olson.

“Our guys were really active and they were able to get Davenport out of their rhythm,” he said. That just breeds confidence and momentum for our guys. Offensively we are starting to see a lot of guys stepping up is a lot of different directions. That’s giving us opportunities to attack the other team in different ways. That all matters as we head down the road in our schedule.”

Olson added that with big leads and wins comes more confidence that his team can make the big plays and execute their assignments and game plans aggressively.

“We talk about the need to believe and have confidence that what you and your coaches have put together as a plan during the week will work,” Olson said. “I think right now our kids are really grabbing a hold of that idea, and we are having success because of it.”

Olson and his staff hope that the their strong practice habits will pay off against the Ashland Eagles (4-3, 3-2 GLIAC) this Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. eastern at Jack Miller Stadium.

A year ago the Eagles defeated the Huskies 27-7 on the road. Ashland leads the all-time series against the Huskies 12-7.

“Ashland once again has a very strong football team,” Olson said. “They have some big playes out in front on both sides of the line of scrimmage –offense and defense. As well they traditionally have some very good skilled players, and they are very well coached.”

As a team the Eagles are averaging 396 yards and 25.4 points per fame. They led by quarterback Austin Brenner. He has completed 119 passes this season for 1,421 yards. This includes eight touchdowns. Their leading receiver is Login Bolin. He has 37 catches for 578 yards and four touchdowns. On the ground the Eagles rely on running back Gei’vonni Washington who has 683 yards on 156 attempts.

They will face a Huskie squad that has kept their opponents to less than 300 yards per game in five of their six contests this season. Tech ranks second in the GLIAC in fewest yards allowed per game with 269.8. Grand Valley State is in front of them with 258.3.

On the defensive side, Tech lead the GLIAC in sacks with 25. They are allowing opposing running backs just 89.2 yards per game.

“We want to start off with a lead once again,” Olson said. That gives us flexibility in terms of the things we can do from an offensive stand point. If you have a lead, your playbook is wide open to run or pass or try a variety of things.”