FAYETTE, Iowa - The Peacock football team (1-1) wraps up nonconference play on the road Saturday against No. 24 Michigan Tech (3-0). Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. CT at Kearly Stadium in Houghton, Michigan, for the Huskies' Homecoming game.  

LIVE OPTIONS
Fans unable to attend the game in Houghton this weekend can stay connected with a pair of live options available at UIUPeacocks.com/Live. This week's game will be pay-per-view video-streamed on FloSports. 

The game can also be listened to for free on Michigan Tech's affiliate, The Mix 93.5. Live Stats are also available. Fans can refer to the links attached to this story for all live options as well. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Peacocks defeated South Dakota Mines, 58-14, on Saturday behind four receiving touchdowns by Mante Morrow and five passing touchdowns by Darryl Overstreet Jr. Morrow finished with a career-high 216 receiving yards while Overstreet Jr. threw for a career-high 406 yards. 

The first quarter was a shootout, with the Peacocks scoring on a 55-yard Morrow touchdown, an 81-yard Morrow touchdown and a 55-yard Angelo Butts touchdown to lead 20-14. An interception by defensive back Darrell Matchem recorded UIU's first stop of the game, and the Hardrockers did not score the rest of the way. 

Upper Iowa outscored Mines 24-0 in the second quarter. A rushing touchdown by Damon Head Jr., a reverse rushing touchdown by Butts and a 4-yard receiving touchdown by Morrow extended the lead to 41-14. Sophomore kicker Nathan Behne kicked a career-long 47-yard field goal as time expired. 

Morrow added his fourth touchdown on a 10-yard catch in the third quarter. Backup quarterback Clark Coleman found Lonny Melvin Jr. for a 17-yard touchdown with 1:29 left in the fourth quarter. 

Head Jr. led the Peacocks on the ground with 66 yards on 10 carries. Koda Gates-Bridges added five catches for 54 yards. Eddie Burgess had four catches for 32 yards, and Melvin Jr. had three for 32 yards. 

Demontay Mack was a monster on the defensive line with two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Linebacker Evan Dorn led UIU in tackles with 11. Matchem added eight tackles, while Wes Willis added 1.5 sacks. Gavin Bridgewater and Hunter Kane both tacked on fourth-quarter interceptions. 

PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Morrow earned GLVC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after his performance against the Hardrockers. It marked the senior's first conference award of his career. 

On Tuesday, Morrow earned the accolade of Offensive Player of the Week for D2Football.com. He became the first player since 2007 to earn the honor and the fourth player overall for the program. 

AROUND THE GLVC
Lincoln (Mo.) and William Jewell (Mo.) both remained undefeated at 2-0. Lincoln had a bye while William Jewell picked up a 48-21 win over Kentucky Wesleyan this past weekend. 

UIndy (2-1) received 70 votes in this week's AFCA Coaches' Poll, the most of any team not ranked in the poll. The Greyhounds picked up a 33-26 win over Ashland (Ohio), which was ranked No. 20 last week. 

Missouri S&T (2-1) took its first loss last weekend to Missouri Western, 27-10. No. 2 GLVC Preseason Poll pick Truman State (Mo.) (1-2) got its first win, 28-27, over Davenport (Mich.). Southwest Baptist (Mo.) (1-1) joined Upper Iowa in the win column after defeating Roosevelt (Ill.), 40-34. 

STATISTICS SUMMARY
Heading into week three, Overstreet Jr.'s 70.9% completion percentage ranks 11th nationally. He is 15th in the nation in passing yards per game, averaging 290. He is averaging 10.55 yards per pass attempt, which ranks eighth in the nation. 

Morrow's five receiving touchdowns rank second in the nation and currently lead the GLVC. His 301 receiving yards are the most in the GLVC and the 11th-most in the nation. He's averaging 150.5 all-purpose yards through two games, which also leads the conference and is 20th nationally. 

Defensively, Mack ranks 14th in the nation in sacks with two this season. He also ranks 35th in the nation in tackles for loss with three. Brycen Hendrix is seventh in the conference in solo tackles with 11.

ABOUT THE HUSKIES
Michigan Tech enters this week ranked No. 24 after receiving 83 points in the AFCA Coaches' Poll. The Huskies defeated preseason-ranked No. 16 Bemidji State (Minn.) (0-3) in the opener, 37-17. They then picked up wins over South Dakota Mines, 45-9, and Hillsdale (Mich.) (1-1), 34-21. 

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Alex Bueno leads the Huskies in both passing and rushing. He's 58-of-92 (63.04%) with 722 yards, seven touchdowns and an interception this season. The redshirt sophomore has added 188 yards on the ground with two rushing touchdowns. Bueno threw for 364 yards and three touchdowns while running for 68 yards in the win over Hillsdale. 

Junior running back Jake Rueff has added 181 yards on the ground with a touchdown. The Huskies have a balanced receiving core, with 6-foot-3 senior Ethan Champney totaling 222 yards and a touchdown, along with 5-foot-11 redshirt sophomore Nic Nora receiving 202 yards and three touchdowns. 

Junior defensive back Dakota Blackwell and senior linebacker Porter Zeeman lead the team in tackles with 16 each. Junior linebacker Chase Koch has the most solo tackles for the Huskies with 13. Michigan Tech has three players with two sacks this season in linebacker Joe Marano, nose tackle Connor Hindenach and defensive tackle Noah Johnson. 

Head coach Dan Mettlach is in his third season with Michigan Tech. He has a 15-9 record with the Huskies entering this weekend. This is the second 3-0 start for MTU under Mettlach (2023). 

2023'S MATCHUP WITH THE HUSKIES
The Huskies won 2023's matchup at Harms-Eischeid Stadium, 34-31. The Peacocks jumped on Michigan Tech early, taking a 24-0 second quarter lead. An interception by Michael Bates Jr. got the Huskies on the board with 2:58 left in the first half. 

UIU held a 31-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter. A field goal and a Champney 73-yard receiving touchdown cut that lead to seven. Champney then threw a touchdown on a trick play, tying the game at 31. A field goal with 36 seconds left completed the comeback and a 20-0 Husky fourth quarter. 

Morrow finished with 11 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown in the loss. Burgess added four catches for 111 yards and a touchdown. The Peacocks totaled 143 yards rushing.

The 73-yard touchdown was Champney's only catch of the game, but it made him the leading Husky receiver. MTU quarterback Alex Fries was 11-for-20 with 121 yards, 1 touchdown and three interceptions. Tyler Owen had two of the interceptions for UIU. 

The Huskies found success in the ground game with 226 rushing yards compared to 143 for UIU. The Peacocks outgained the Huskies 349-139 through the air and 447-343 in total offense. This was the first time that both teams had faced each other in football, giving MTU a 1-0 early advantage in the series. 

NEXT THREE GAMES

• Saturday, Sept. 27 - Homecoming/Hall of Fame Weekend and first GLVC game vs. Lincoln
  Saturday, Oct. 4 - First GLVC road game vs. Missouri S&T
  Saturday, Oct. 11 - On the road again against Truman State