David Archambeau/Daily Mining Gazette Michigan Tech’s Jacob Wenzlick tries to haul in a pass as Grand Valley State’s DeMario Johnson defends, Saturday, at Sherman Field. Tech heads to Saginaw Valley State this Saturday.

Michigan Tech Huskies (1-2, 0-1 GLIAC) at Saginaw Valley State Cardinals (2-1, 0-1 GLIAC)

When: Saturday 1 p.m.

Where: HRW Memorial Stadium.

Radio: 93.5 FM.

Online stream: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/saginawvalley/

Weather: Sunny, mid 80s.

Four storylines

1. Tech looks to bounce back… again

It’s been a sobering past two weeks for Tech. There was the 31-27 Week 2 loss to the Hillsdale Chargers when they blew a 27-10 lead in the fourth quarter, and of course there was Tech’s 42-7 loss to the No. 12 Grand Valley State Lakers on Saturday. 

In total, Tech has been outscored 63-7 in the last five quarters, making the 38-14 beatdown over the Truman State Bulldogs seem like ages ago. 

Still, Tech’s confidence has apparently not wavered, and the Huskies are still just 0-1 in the GLIAC with plenty of football to play. For them, it’s not too late to turn it around.

“We’re eager to prove to the league just how good we are,” Tech senior running back John Williams said. “I don’t think the (GV game) was necessarily a good representation of how good we are and the kind of players we have on our team. Moving forward, we realize the season is still young and that we have a lot to prove.”

2. Tech’s successful run game

Tech’s focus from the offseason to improve its run game has paid off so far. Williams leads the GLIAC in rushing yards (394), and his six rushing touchdowns are tied for the most in the country. This type of success has felt like a long time coming for Williams, who finished last season with 574 yards and six touchdowns. 

“Every year I’ve always had these high hopes that my season would turn out real good,” Williams said, “and seeing my first three games go as well as they have, it gives me that reassurance that my hard work paid off.”

And based off SVSU’s defense, Tech is hoping to continue the success on the ground. SVSU has the fourth-best run defense in the league (116.3 yards rushing per game), but Tech likes their potential matchup on Saturday. 

“For us the biggest challenge is how we do running the football against a vanilla box,” Tech head coach Steve Olson said. “So if they want to play 4-3 cover 2, we have to be able to run the football. If they get outside of that and they bring guys down or roll them down, then we have to be able to crease them and pop a big run, or challenge them and beat them over the top vertically.”

Tech will need the run game to set up manageable third downs; the Huskies were just 1 of 10 on third-down attempts of 5 yards or more against GVSU.

SVSU returns the leading tackler from last season, senior linebacker Bryan Jones, who finished with 111 tackles. Jones’ 24 tackles this year is currently tied for ninth in the GLIAC.

3. Conklin’s emergence

SVSU sophomore quarterback Ryan Conklin spent his freshman season splitting time with junior quarterback Jacob LeClair. But this year, Conklin has been the starter throughout and has ran away with the position. Through three games, he’s thrown for 795 yards and seven touchdowns while throwing just one interception and completing 70 percent of his passes. 

Olson believes Conklin’s success is based off him becoming more comfortable in SVUS’s system.

“They check a lot of calls at the line of scrimmage, so they’ll go quick and look to the sideline and get a check,” Olson said. “It’s just a matter of them getting into what they want to get into, and then he’s going to make accurate throws.”

Conklin’s yards have increased with each game this season, passing for 183 against Alderson Broaddus (42-24 win), 294 versus Walsh (28-0 win) and 318 in a 41-31 loss to  Wayne State. 

Tech faced LeClair last season, who completed just 17 of 43 passes for one touchdown and two interceptions.

“He really just takes control of their offense,” Tech junior defensive end Cody Goldsworthy said of Conklin. “He doesn’t kill you with his athleticism, but he seems like a very smart guy who gets his offense in the right position to make some plays.”

SVSU’s offense averages 441.7 yards per game — third-best in the GLIAC.

SVSU won last year’s matchup, 17-16, on Marvin White’s 100-yard kick return with 3 minutes, 56 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

4. Getting pressure on Conklin

Tech’s best position group is its defensive front. In two showings, they had dominant moments; against Truman State, Tech had pressure on Truman State quarterback Jaden Barr all night and played a large part in Barr throwing for just 79 yards; and versus Hillsdale, Tech registered three sacks. 

But the Tech defensive front was never able to consistently generate pressure against GVSU’s offensive line, as the Lakers took extra precautions to keep quarterback Bart Williams protected. 

Now, the Huskies look to return to their dominant ways.

“We just have to get relentless pursuit,” Goldsworthy said. “We’ve been getting a lot of pressures, but we haven’t been able to get home. I don’t know why or what’s going on. 

“We’ve faced teams that keep some guys in to face pressure. GV kept a back in protection and had a tight end to run routes through our zone, so that kind of would take the ends out of the play. They were doing different things, but regardless, we have to get home.”