Michigan Tech’s John Paramski (46) and Travis Tidwell (22) tackle Northern Michigan’s Sebastion Toland (6) on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, in Houghton, Mich. (David Archambeau/The Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — The Michigan Tech Huskies return home this weekend for a big GLIAC matchup against the Ferris State Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs are unbeaten and ranked second in NCAA Div. II football.

The Huskies (4-3, 2-3 GLIAC) come into Week 8 after a tough 21-12 loss to Ashland a week ago. They fell behind 14-0 at half and despite some strong second-half play on both sides of the ball they could not catch up to the Eagles. However, not all was lost according to MTU head coach Steve Olson.

“A couple of missed plays on either side of the ball and we would have been right back in it,” he said. “We played hard and we did many good things, but ultimately you want to come away with a win.”

Coach Olson added that he and his squad have been working on the small things to prepare for their toughest opponent yet this year — Ferris State.

“We are going to have to stay on the field and keep the ball away from them, he said. “We cannot afford any turnovers with a team like them.”

In the all-time series against Ferris State, the Huskies are on top with a 34-30-4 record. Last year the Bulldogs beat MTU 42-24.

“They are big up front and fast in the back,” Olson said. They put a lot of pressure on you on defense. They have a couple of explosive wide receivers and a quarterback who can run and throw. There is a reason they are ranked second in nation.”

The Bulldogs lead the GLIAC in a quite a few statistical categories. These include points per game (40.5) and total yards per game (499.1). As well they are first in passing yards per game (236.0) and rushing yards per game (263.1).

Senior quarterback Jayru Campbell runs the Ferris State offense. His top receiver is Sy Barnett who has 24 receptions for 633 yards and five touchdowns. Evan Cummings is the Bulldogs number one rusher on the team with 398 yards and eight touchdowns on the year.

Meanwhile the Huskies lead the GLIAC and are eight in the NCAA Division II in sacks with 27. They are also first in the GLIAC and fifth in the nation with fewest sacks allowed (4). As well, they are second in the GLIAC in passing yards per game (214.7). Under the play calling of quarterback Will Ark, they are averaging 355 total yards per game. This includes 140.3 yards of rushing per game.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Sherman Field at Kearly Stadium.

We are looking forward to a good challenge,” Olson said. “We need to go out and play a complete football game and play hard.”