HOUGHTON, Mich. – Midwestern State seeks its first 2-0 start since 2021 as it makes its first-ever visit to Michigan Tech. Kickoff at Kearly Stadium is scheduled for 11 a.m. CDT.

The Mustangs opened the season with a 30-23 victory over visiting Missouri Southern as junior quarterback Kaden Brown completed 32-of-38 passes for 390 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Brown completed passes to nine different receivers.

Tyler Brown and Dalton Bailey caught touchdown passes, while Dominic Cox caught 10 passes for 81 yards. 

Following the zero-week tilt, Midwestern State has the top passing offense in NCAA Division II, tied with Missouri Western with 390 yards passing. Brown is tied with Jeb Walls of Shorter for the Division II lead, completing 84.2 percent of his passes. Brown also leads the nation with 32 pass completions. The MSU signal caller is second in the nation in total offense with 404 yards, trailing McCalan Beason of UVA Wise. Cox is third in the nation with 10 receptions.
 
Joseph Dodds, a junior running back that transferred to MSU from Baylor, rushed for 70 yards on 13 carries in his Midwestern State debut. Four ball carriers combined for 91 yards on 34 rushing plays for the Mustangs.

Oliver Jack, Ronald Manning and Tre'Von Bates all registered sacks against the Lions, and the Mustangs had four tackles for loss in the victory. Sophomore safety Jake Potucek led MSU with five tackles, including three solo stops. Trevor Brooks — also a sophomore safety — finished with four tackles, as did sophomore linebacker Nathanael Hall.  

Midwestern State won its only previous encounter with Michigan Tech at Memorial Stadium in 2022, when the Mustangs erupted for 21 points in the fourth quarter and pulled out a 28-21 victory. Melik Owens returned an interception 52 yards for the winning score with 12 seconds remaining.

Michigan Tech opened its campaign with a 31-29 victory over Bemidji State. The Huskies scored 18 straight points in the middle two quarters and led by as many as 17 before the Beavers made a late push, scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter.

"I loved the way our guys battled and found a way to make one more play at the end," head coach Dan Mettlach said. "We were able to get out of here with a win on the road against a very good team in a tough place to play."

Quarterback Elliott Larner completed 14-of-22 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 64 yards and two touchdowns. Jake Rueff led the ground game with 78 yards, averaging 4.6 yards per carry. Nic Nora had four receptions for 97 yards, including a 26-yard touchdown. Abram Larner had two catches for 43 yards. 

Michigan Tech's defense was led by Chase Koch with 10 tackles. Jackson Zachary added seven tackles, including five solo stops. Joey Donohue had an interception and a sack.

The Huskies, who are receiving votes in the AFCA DII Coaches Poll, are picked to finish third in the GLIAC behind defending GLIAC and NCAA National Champion Ferris State and Grand Valley State. 

Mettlach is in his fourth season after leading the Huskies to their second-straight 7-4 record last season, and they were 4-3 in conference play. Following last season, Mettlach became the first Michigan Tech coach since 2010 to be named the GLIAC Coach of the Year. The former Michigan Tech quarterback is 20-13 as the head coach of his alma mater, where he was the 2004 GLIAC Player of the Year, and a two-time All-GLIAC selection.

Rich Renner is in his third season at the helm of the Midwestern State program and is 8-15 since taking over the reins in 2024.

The Mustangs return to Memorial Stadium for Family Weekend, which follows a bye week, and they will open conference play against Western New Mexico on Sept. 19. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.