Michigan Tech’s Garrett Young throws against Ferris State, Saturday, at Sherman Field. (David Archambeau/Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — There weren’t many highlights in Michigan Tech’s 49-7 loss to the No. 11 Ferris State Bulldogs on a cold Saturday afternoon at Sherman Field. Tech was outgained 494-145 and outplayed in every facet of the game.

But if there was a sliver of potential for the future on a gloomy and frigid day, redshirt freshman quarterback Garrett Young provided that ray of hope. 

Facing second-and-1 from the Tech 44, Young dropped back and found Ferris State in man coverage, protecting against Tech’s power running game. Young launched a deep ball along the left sideline and found junior wide receiver Kevin Kirkland for 50 yards as the ball dropped in the perfect spot to beat Ferris State’s All-American cornerback, senior Tavierre Thomas. 

Beating Thomas was no small thing. He’s considered one of the better man-to-man defenders in the country and had six INTs in 2016 and three picks coming into Saturday.

Four plays later, Tech Young scored on a 1-yard sneak on fourth down to tie the game at 7. 

Tech will need more of that playmaking in the passing game going forward if they want to change the program’s fortunes. The Huskies (4-7, 3-6 GLIAC) finished with a losing record in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1996 and 1997 when Tech went 2-8 in each year. 

Whether Tech can turn it around or not will hinge on the development of their quarterbacks, including Young and fellow freshmen Kyle Wood and Will Ark. 

“There will be a battle again in the spring for that position,” Tech offensive coordinator Dan Mettlach said, “and we’re going to need someone to not only function on the field but take that position and take it to the next level from a leadership standpoint, presence in the huddle and making sure we’re in the right checks.”

A full offseason working with Mettlach should help the young QBs. Mettlach was officially named the team’s offensive coordinator in late July after Erik Ieuter left for a position at the University of Florida. The return of senior wide receiver Ian Fischer, who missed all of 2017 with an injury after being the team’s leading receiver in 2016 (53 catches, 733 yards, 2 TDs), will also improve a Tech offense that finished second-to-last in yards per game (273).

“It’s not an excuse,” Mettlach said, “but going from what the (QBs) have been working on the last couple years to working under center and wanting to commit to the run, it’s a different deal. We’re asking guys to do things they haven’t been asked to do before, so at every single position on offense, we have to develop and get our guys stronger.”

Fans of Tech are already aware of the difference a top-tier QB can make. From 2011-14, Tyler Scarlett set 16 school records as Tech went 28-13, earned a tie for the GLIAC North title and qualified for the playoffs. It’s not fair to expect Tech’s next starting QB to become the next Tyler Scarlett, but Tech won’t be able to enjoy more success without developing a consistent pass game. 

The Huskies came into 2017 with a renewed focus on its pedestrian run game, and they succeeded early in the season before defenses adjusted and put eight or more defenders in the box, daring Tech to beat them over the top. Over and over again, Tech couldn’t make them pay and finished with just 3.8 yards per carry (second-to-last in the GLIAC).

“We still have to be able to run the ball against a loaded box,” Tech head coach Steve Olson said. “That’s not going to change from teams. We have to work with our wide receivers to get releases to get open and for our quarterbacks to deliver the ball into small windows.”

After allowing just 14.6 points per game over the last three contests, Tech’s defense ended with a dud against one of the GLIAC’s most explosive offenses. 

Tech had the luxury of not facing Ferris State’s starting QB, senior Reggie Bell, who dressed and didn’t play as he took the day off to heal up for the Bulldogs’ (9-1, 8-1 GLIAC) postseason opener.

It made no difference. 

Ferris State ran for 271 yards (5.6 per carry), and sophomore QB Travis Russell completed 15 of 24 passes for 174 yards, four TDs and one INT while running for 38 yards and one TD on 13 carries. 

Junior Brett Mooney, Ferris State’s third-string QB, even got in on the rout and completed 7 of 11 passes for 49 yards and two TDs. 

“We missed some tackles, weren’t effective in stopping the run game,” Olson said. “That opened up things from the standpoint of play-action and that was pretty much the nuts and bolts of the game.” 

With a defense that returned eight starters from last season, it was a disappointing year. For a program that prides itself on toughness, there’s no reason Tech should rank second-to-last in run defense (192.9 yards allowed per game) in the GLIAC. 

Beating rival Northern Michigan (1-9) is always a signature win, but the rest of the season lacked any memorable victories with Tech only topping teams with losing records such as Davenport (1-10), Truman State (5-6) and Saginaw Valley State (5-6).

The season finale was a disappointing end for the Tech seniors, but they’ll graduate and make six figures someday, so they’ll be fine. 

As for the returning players and coaching staff, it’s on them to turn it around. 

“We have to grow,” Olson said. “This isn’t where we want to be as a staff and where we want this football team to be. We want to get better and back to where we have been in the past, competing for conference championships and competing to work to get to playoffs. 

“We’ve got work to do and that will obviously continue going forward.”

– – –

Ferris St. 7 14 14 14 — 49

Tech 7 0 0 0 — 7

First quarter

FSU — Russell 9-yard run (XP good), 3:10, 7-0

Tech — Young 1-yard run (XP good), 0:42, 7-7

Second quarter

FSU — Russell 8-yard pass to Harrington (XP good), 12:09, 14-7

FSU — Russell 19-yard pass to Mitchell (XP good), 4:22, 21-7

Third quarter

FSU — Russell 24-yard pass to Harrington (XP good), 11:29, 28-7

FSU — Russell 51-yard pass to Walker (XP good), 8:45, 35-7

Fourth quarter

FSU — Mooney 15-yard pass to Shaw (XP good), 12:42, 42-7

FSU — Mooney 6-yard pass to Shaw (XP good), 8:13, 49-7

Total offense

Ferris State 494 (223 passing, 271 rushing); Michigan Tech 145 (94 passing, 51 rushing)

Passing (completions-attempts-yards-touchdowns-interceptions)

Ferris State — Russell 15-24-174-4-1, Mooney 7-11-49-2-0; Tech — Young 6-18-82-0-1, Brown 2-6-12-0-0, Williams 0-1-0-0-0.

Rushing (attempts-yards-touchdowns)

Ferris State — Thomas 11-65-0, Huckabay 1-59-0, Mooney 7-39-0, Russell 13-38-1, Portis 4-28-0, Walker 4-27-0, Shaw 3-14-0, Harrington 1-6-0, Mitchell 2-3-0; Tech — Williams 13-24-0, Henderson 6-15-0, Brown 3-14-0, Sherbinow 3-3-0, Wenzlick 1-2-0, Ferguson 1-1-0. 

Receiving (catches-yards-touchdowns)

Ferris State — Walker 3-71-1, Craig 6-46-0, Harrington 3-36-2, Shaw 4-31-2, Thomas 2-19-0, Mitchell 3-13-1, Portis 1-7-0; Tech — Kirkland 2-55-0, Hartley 2-17-0, Wenzlick 2-12-0, Henderson 1-6-0, Falish 1-4-0.