# 2021 Michigan Tech Huskies football team

The 2021 Michigan Tech Huskies football team represented Michigan Tech University during the 2021 NCAA Division II football season. The Huskies competed as members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) and played their home games at Kearly Stadium in Houghton, Michigan. This was the program's fifth season under head coach Steve Olson.
The Huskies didn't compete in the 2020 season due to the GLIAC cancelling the season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 4 | 2:00 p.m. | Hillsdale* | Klearly StadiumHoughton, MI | W 14–10 | 1,767 |
| September 11 | 1:00 p.m. | St. Thomas (MN)* | Klearly StadiumHoughton, MI | L 9–12 | 1,660 |
| September 25 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 9 Grand Valley State* | Klearly StadiumHoughton, MI | L 21–44 | 1,447 |
| October 2 | 1:00 p.m. | Davenport | Klearly StadiumHoughton, MI | W 31–7 | 1,700 |
| October 9 | 6:00 p.m. | at Wayne State (MI) | Tom Adams FieldDetroit, MI | W 30–27 | 3,674 |
| October 16 | 12:00 p.m. | at Northern Michigan | Superior DomeMarquette, MI (Miner's Cup) | W 21–14 | 3,597 |
| October 23 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 1 Ferris State | Klearly StadiumHoughton, MI | L 10-38 | 1,332 |
| October 30 | 3:00 p.m. | No. 8 Grand Valley State | Lubbers StadiumAllendale, MI | L 9–14 | 8,652 |
| November 6 | 1:00 p.m. | at Northwood | Hantz StadiumMidland, MI | W 34–0 | 1,031 |
| November 13 | 1:00 p.m. | Saginaw Valley State | Klearly StadiumHoughton, MI | W 21–20 | 1,315 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AFCA Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Final |
| D2SIDA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Coaches | — | —^ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Preseason
### Preseason GLIAC poll

The Huskies stand 5th in the GLIAC Preseason Coaches Poll, leading rival Northern Michigan (7th).
GLIAC Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Ferris State | 49 (7) |
| 2 | Grand Valley State | 43 (1) |
| 3 | Wayne State (MI) | 36 |
| 4 | Saginaw Valley St | 25 |
| 5 | Michigan Tech | 24 |
| 6 | Davenport | 22 |
| 7 | Northern Michigan | 15 |
| 8 | Northwood | 10 |

## Game summaries
### Hillsdale

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| St. Thomas | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| Michigan Tech | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
at Klearly Stadium • Houghton, MI
* Date: September 4, 2021
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Cloudy
* Game attendance: 1,776
* Referee: Rick Schifter
* Source:

### St. Thomas

| Series Record | Previous meeting | Result |
| 0–1 | N/A | N/A |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| St. Thomas | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 12 |
| Michigan Tech | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
at Klearly Stadium • Houghton, MI
* Date: September 11, 2021
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Mostly Sunny
* Game attendance: 1,660
* Referee: Bradley Mutnick
* Source:

### No. 9 Grand Valley State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Grand Valley St | 7 | 23 | 7 | 7 | 44 |
| Michigan Tech | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 21 |
at Klearly Stadium • Houghton, MI
* Date: September 25, 2021
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Cloudy
* Game attendance: 1,447
* Referee: Brian Bower
* Source:

### Davenport

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Davenport | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Michigan Tech | 14 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 31 |
at Klearly Stadium • Houghton, MI
* Date: October 2, 2021
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 1,700
* Referee: Brian Bower
* Source:

### Wayne State (MI)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan Tech | 7 | 6 | 14 | 3 | 30 |
| Wayne State | 3 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 27 |
at Tom Adams Field • Detroit, MI
* Date: October 9, 2021
* Game time: 6:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 3,674
* Referee: Bradley Mutnick
* Source:

### Northern Michigan

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan Tech | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Northern Michigan | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
at Superior Dome • Marquette, MI
* Date: October 16, 2021
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 3,597
* Referee: Marty Trudgeon
* Source:
For the 11th straight season, Michigan Tech took home the Miner's Cup. During their winning streak, Michigan Tech beat the Wildcats by an average of 8.6 points per game, or an average total of 30.1-21.5 per game. This victory is the largest since a 28-21 victory in 2017. Since 2002, the start of the Miner's Cup, Michigan Tech is 16-3 against the Wildcats, averaging a 31.5-22.2 win per game, or a 9.3 point margin of victory. Michigan Tech has outscored Northern Michigan 599-421 in this series.

### No. 1 Ferris State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ferris State | 14 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 38 |
| Michigan Tech | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
at Klearly Stadium • Houghton, MI
* Date: October 23, 2021
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Footbally
* Game attendance: 1,332
* Referee: CJ Jackson
* Source:
Game information :
First Quarter
(14:41) FSU TD: Hunt-Thompson 49-yard pass from Jare Bernhardt (Sy Barnett kick) FSU 7–0; 1 plays, 49 yards, 0:09
(08:06) FSU TD: Jare Bernhardt 2-yard run (Sy Barnett kick) FSU 14–0; 10 plays, 43 yards, 5:29
Second Quarter
(05:20) FSU TD: Xavier Wade 14-yard pass from Jare Bernhardt (Sy Barnett kick) FSU 21–0; 6 plays, 75 yards, 3:01
(02:28) MTU TD: Darius Willis 31-yard pass from Will Ark (Drew Wyble kick) FSU 21–7; 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:52
(00:19) FSU TD: Tyler Minor 5-yard run (Sy Barnett kick) FSU 28–7; 7 plays, 73 yards, 2:23
Third Quarter
(06:30) FSU TD: Xavier Wade 5-yard pass from Jare Bernhardt (Sy Barnett kick) FSU 35–7; 5 plays, 39 yards, 1:51
(04:20) FSU FG: Sy Barnett 26-yard field goal FSU 38–7; 8 plays, 61 yards, 4:43
Fourth Quarter
(13:23) MTU FG: Darius Willis 21-yard field goal FSU 38–10; 7 plays, 36 yards, 2:15
Passing
MTU – Will Ark: 15/32, 145 yards, 1 TD
FSU – Jare Bernhardt: 17/21, 289 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
MTU – Jared Smith: 9 carries, 26 yards
FSU – Tyler Minor: 11 carries, 81 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
MTU – Darius Willis: 6 receptions, 91 yards, 1 TD
FSU – Xavier Wade: 6 receptions, 106 yards, 2 TD :

### No. 8 Grand Valley State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan Tech | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| Grand Valley State | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
at Klearly Stadium • Houghton, MI
* Date: October 30, 2021
* Game time: 3:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Overcast, Footbally
* Game attendance: 8,652
* Referee: Brian Bower
* Source:
Game information :
First Quarter
(05:27) GVSU TD: Scott Cooper 30-yard pass from Cade Peterson (Kollin Kralapp kick) GVSU 7–0; 5 plays, 68 yards, 3:41
Second Quarter
(08:34) GVSU TD: Jacob Miller 3-yard pass from Cade Peterson (Kollin Kralapp kick) GVSU 14–0; 10 plays, 56 yards, 4:43
Third Quarter
(04:20) MTU FG: Drew Wyble 30-yard field goal GVSU 14–3; 13 plays, 55 yards, 6:15
Fourth Quarter
(13:23) MTU FG: Justin Davis 14-yard pass from Will Ark (two-point conversion failed) GVSU 14–9; 7 plays, 69 yards, 4:00
Passing
MTU – Will Ark: 15/31, 180 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
GVSU – Cade Peterson: 20/31, 181 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
MTU – Jared Smith: 15 carries, 47 yards
GVSU – Cade Peterson: 9 carries, 56 yards
Receiving
MTU – Jordan Janssen: 4 receptions, 77 yards
GVSU – Jacob Miller: 8 receptions, 56 yards, 1 TD :

### Northwood

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan Tech | 7 | 6 | 14 | 7 | 34 |
| Northwood | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Klearly Stadium • Houghton, MI
* Date: November 6, 2021
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 1,031
* Source:
Game information :
First Quarter
(06:31) MTU TD: Justin Davis 3-yard pass from Will Ark (Drew Wyble kick) MTU 7–0; 5 plays, 38 yards, 2:31
Second Quarter
(02:29) MTU FG: Drew Wyble 25-yard field goal MTU 10–0; 14 plays, 65 yards, 6:20
(00:01) MTU FG: Drew Wyble 27-yard field goal MTU 13–0; 9 plays, 58 yards, 1:24
Third Quarter
(08:51) MTU TD: Jared Smith 41-yard rush (Drew Wyble kick) MTU 20–0; 7 plays, 61 yards, 3:51
(02:58) MTU TD: Kyle Wood 7-yard rush (Drew Wyble kick) MTU 27–0; 7 plays, 70 yards, 3:16
Fourth Quarter
(07:45) MTU TD: Michael Bates 100-yard INT Return (Drew Wyble kick) MTU 34–0
Passing
MTU – Will Ark: 14/24, 182 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
NU – Jacob Baldwin: 5/10, 60 yards, 1 INT
Rushing
MTU – Jared Smith: 21 carries, 123 yards, 1 TD
NU – Ty Cox: 12 carries, 47 yards
Receiving
MTU – Justin Davis: 7 receptions, 76 yards, 1 TD
NU – Ethan Bunch: 3 receptions, 40 yards :
In impressive fashion, Michigan Tech was not only able to get their first shutout win since November 13, 2010 (a 21-0 win against Northern Michigan), but the Huskies were also able to not only intercept the ball at an important spot in this victory, but also return it all of 100 yards for a touchdown as the last scoring play of the game.

### Saginaw Valley State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Saginaw Valley State | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
| Michigan Tech | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
at Klearly Stadium • Houghton, MI
* Date: November 13, 2021
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Cloudy
* Game attendance: 1,315
* Referee: Mike Packard
* Source:
Game information :
First Quarter
(10:03) SVSU FG: Connor Luksic 27-yard field goal MTU 0–3; 7 plays, 35 yards, 2:47
(06:01) MTU TD: Darius Willis 28-yard pass from Will Ark (Drew Wyble kick) MTU 7–3; 8 plays, 68 yards, 3:54
Second Quarter
(10:11) MTU TD: Jared Smith 4-yard rush (Drew Wyble kick) MTU 14–3; 15 plays, 82 yards, 7:18
(03:25) SVSU TD: Colby Newburg 4-yard rush (Ryan Heicher) MTU 14–10; 5 plays, 30 yards, 2:14
Third Quarter
(07:07) SVSU TD: Tommy Scott 34-yard rush (Connor Lusic kick) MTU 14–17; 9 plays, 80 yards, 4:25
(01:18) MTU TD: Hunter Richards 23-yard pass from Will Ark (Drew Wyble kick) MTU 21–17; 12 plays, 82 yards, 5:49
Fourth Quarter
(04:57) SVSU FG: Connor Luksic 24-yard field goal MTU 21–20; 10 plays, 30 yards, 5:23
Passing
MTU – Will Ark: 15/28, 141 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
SVSU – Colby Newburg: 10/15, 116 yards
Rushing
MTU – Jared Smith: 15 carries, 61 yards, 1 TD
SVSU – Tommy Scott: 18 carries, 94 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
MTU – Jordan Janssen: 4 receptions, 36 yards
SVSU – Isaiah Johnson-Mack: 9 receptions, 78 yards :

## Personnel
### Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Season |
| Steve Olson | Head coach/defensive line | 5th |
| Dan Mettlach | Associate head coach/offensive coordinator | 5th |
| Phil Milbrath | Running backs coach/special teams coordinator | 5th |
| Bryan Thomas | Defensive coordinator/linebackers | 12th |
| Josh Wood | Secondary Defensive coordinator/recruiting coordinator | 11th |
| Jace Daniels | Offensive line coach | 3rd |
| Ken Klein | Defensive line coach | 10th |
| Bryan Parker | Outside linebackers coach | 1st |