Huskies football travels to face top-ranked Bulldogs
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HOUGHTON -- In any other year, the No. 14 Michigan Tech Huskies football team traveling to Big Rapids to face the No. 1 Ferris State Bulldogs might seem like an impossible task. The Bulldogs have made five national championship games in the past seven years, and have won four of the last five titles.
Nevermind the fact that the Bulldogs have won the last 13 times the two teams have met.
However, the Huskies, who did not play their best game last Saturday against Northern Michigan, are poised to take their best shot. They enter this weekend coming off their 16th straight win over the Wildcats.
"It’s always good to win that game," said Huskies coach Dan Mettlach. "Obviously, it’s a priority here. Thought we handled our business, and to get 16 in a row, great for the program, all the alums, it’s a great day. I did not love the way we showed up as a full team, obviously. A lot of that had to do with the mental approach to where were at on Saturday morning.
"It felt like we were in a good spot Monday through Thursday with the way we practice, and where our heads were at. But, clearly, that was not the case when we showed up on Saturday. So, did enough to get it done and that’s all that matters."
One player who had a very strong day, all things considered, was junior quarterback Alex Bueno. Bueno was 10-of-13 through the air for 268 yards and three touchdowns. Bueno has earned the chance to start the last two games.
"Obviously, he was dealing with some injuries the first couple weeks, and what we were getting out of (sophomore) Elliott (Larner) those first couple weeks is just where we were at. So, he’s done a nice job coming back, and I thought he played well on Saturday.
"There was the one we were just late getting out of our hands, otherwise probably would have another score on the board. But, other than that, I thought he managed it well, took advantage of what they were giving him and stayed patient.
Where Mettlach felt that Bueno really showed up well was on option plays.
"The thing I think he did a great job of on Saturday is some of our 'RPO' (run-pass option) stuff," Mettlach said. "There was other stuff out there to be had, but understanding what the box looked like, and handing the football off, rather than trying to get too greedy at times just because we felt like we could have taken advantage of it.
"That part of it, I thought he did a nice job of. That was one of the things we talked about last week where he’s got to take that next step, and I thought he did that on Saturday."
It helps Bueno that freshman wide receiver Abram Larner, Elliott's twin brother, has taken advantage of injuries and performed well in a featured position.
"He’s an incredible player, and, obviously, we’re going to have him continue to do what he’s doing," said Mettlach. "We get (junior Nic) Nora back now, 'Kurnczy' (junior Bryce Kurncz), so we’re back to our original alignment that we would have been in week one starting this week.
"That’ll be the first time since week two that we’ve had all of them healthy at the same time. But what we asked Abe to do on Saturday, we had some stuff schemed up to where we were getting him in the spots where we felt like they were susceptible. And, of course, he’s really good with his feet at the line of scrimmage, getting off the press coverage, and just understanding where the voids are."
Scouting the Bulldogs
The Huskies are getting Nora back at the best possible time with the Bulldogs looming this week. Ferris State is 7-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play after defeating Grand Valley State last Saturday, 41-34.
"They’re the standard in Division II football," said Mettlach. "It’s not just our league, but everybody is chasing those guys, and rightfully so. They’re talented everywhere, very well coached. I think the most impressive part about them is you turn on the tape, it doesn’t matter what game you’re watching, their guys are flying around, they’re playing hard. There’s nothing on film that you watch where it looks like they’re kind of just oozing through a game because they think they’re better than everybody.
"I think that’s the most impressive part is they know they’re better than everybody, and they continue to play at a high level, no matter who’s in the game."
Redshirt freshman Wyatt Bower has done a commendable job of running the offense. He is 128-for-208 this season for 1,980 yards and 21 touchdowns. He shares the backfield with sophomore Chase Carter, who is 71-for-116 for 972 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Carter has been even more impressive on the ground, where he has rushed 136 times for 1,181 yards and 19 touchdowns. Bower has also been good, running 129 times for 800 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Junior Taarik Brett is the quarterbacks' top target. He has 47 catches for 533 yards and nine touchdowns. Junior quarterback Carson Gulker has 34 catches for 548 yards and seven touchdowns.
Game time
The Huskies and Bulldogs will battle Saturday in Big Rapids.