• The two remaining undefeated teams overall in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will kick off conference play on Saturday in a pivotal matchup between a pair of 3-0 teams in Davenport and Michigan Tech. The numbers are eerily similar as DU has outscored their opponents 110-63 while the Huskies are 103-71 in their margin. The first road game of the season for the Panthers will also be Michigan Tech's homecoming contest set for 1 p.m. start. First-year head coach Dan Mettlach, who quarterbacked the Huskies from 2001-04, has MTU off to its best start since the 2015 season.
• Davenport and Michigan Tech have played five times previously with the Huskies having the slight 3-2 edge. Last year's contest was a springboard for Davenport as they rallied from a 17-0 first quarter deficit en route to the 52-38 win and eventually an 8-0 start to the 2022 campaign. The Panther offense exploded after a slow start by scoring on their final six drives of the game including five touchdowns. DU totaled 556 yards including 361 in the passing game. Jason Whittaker completed 24 passes including five touchdowns in the game. Preston Smith was a man among boys catching nine passes for 143 yards and two scores. Austin Alward was a standout on defense with seven tackles including three for loss and one sack. Will Ark tossed for 267 yards and two touchdowns but also threw two interceptions.
• William Marano has been the workhorse in the backfield for the Huskies ranking third in the GLIAC with 80 rushing yards per game. He found the end zone for the first time last week in the comeback win at Upper Iowa. He carried 20 times for a season-high 147 yards against the Peacocks. The Huskies were staring down a 31-14 deficit with 2:42 left in the third quarter before outscoring Upper Iowa 20-0 in the fourth quarter to remain undefeated. Drew Wyble booted a 49-yard with 14:54 left and connected on the game-winning, 30-yard field goal with 36 seconds left to earn GLIAC Special Teams Player of the Week.

• The GLIAC announced its weekly awards following week four of the 2023 football season. Myren Harris was named Offensive Player of the Week and Geemontae Peck was named Defensive Player of the Week. Harris rushed for over 100 yards for the second straight game in a 55-27 win over William Jewell. He carried 12 times for 129 yards including a school-record, 75-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to salt away the win. The 75-yard run was three yards better than the previous longest run by Kyshawn Richards in 2022. Harris also caught two passes for 14 yards. In addition, Harris threw a 33-yard touchdown pass with DU leading 28-27. Peck was a dominant force on the interior defensive line in the victory over WIlliam Jewell. He finished with five tackles including three tackles for loss, two sacks, and four quarterback hurries. The defense yielded just 218 total yards and 32 of those came on the ground. WJC was also just 5-for-16 on third down.

• Myren Harris has been as good as advertised in his first three games in a Panther uniform. He currently leads the GLIAC with 115 rushing yards per game and is seventh in NCAA Division II. He is also making the most of his carries averaging 8.0 per attempt which also leads the GLIAC and is fourth in NCAA Division II. He went over 2,000 career rushing yards on the school-record, 75-yard touchdown run against William Jewell. He currently has 2,030 career rushing yards after 1,685 in his two seasons at Wayne State. He also has 18 rushing touchdowns including two this season with Davenport.
• Austin Alward is back with a vengence on the defensive line for the Panthers this season. He currently has 15 tackles in three games including five tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He upped his career tackles for loss total to 30 and has 13.5 sacks. He is third all-time at DU in tackles for loss and sacks. He needs 9.5 tackles for loss and two more sacks to tie for the all-time lead. Alward is currently ninth in the conference in sacks.
• Despite being minus-one in the turnover battle last week against William Jewell, the Panthers are still ranked first in the conference and fourth in the nation at 2.33. The first turnover came on an interception in the end zone against the Cardinals in the first quarter after 145 offensive plays before a turnover to start the season.
• The Panthers had a never-seen-before occurrance last Saturday as they returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and returned a punt for a touchdown in the same game. Nick Pulley had a 39-yard blocked punt return in the second quarter after Kian Betancourt recorded the block. It was the first time in school history returning a blocked punt for a touchdown. Demetrius Garrett then returned a punt 70 yards for a score in the fourth quarter becoming the first Panther since Nate Couturier on Nov. 16, 2019 at Saginaw Valley State (43 yards).
• Peyton Brown returned after a one-game hiatus to record his first 100-yard receiving game at DU. He caught six of Jason Whittaker's 13 completions for 108 yards and a score.

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