The Game
Findlay's final home game of the year will be on Saturday, Nov. 9 when the Northwood Timberwolves come to town for a noon kickoff.

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Tickets
Tickets for Findlay vs Northwood

Follow the Action
Video streaming of the contest will be produced by UFTV and streamed on the Great Midwest Digital Network and is free of charge.
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LIVE STATS

#24 Findlay Oilers (8-1, 6-1 G-MAC)
2024 Findlay Football Coaching Staff

It would be easy to look ahead to next week's rivalry matchup against Tiffin University, but the #24-ranked Findlay Oilers will not let that happen, knowing that with a playoff berth on the line and a talented roster coming into Donnell, Northwood deserves its' full attention.

Ranked seventh in Super Region 1, Findlay is second in the G-MAC at 34 points per game and will need all of that come Saturday against a potentially explosive squad from Midland, Mich. While UF is picking up a bulk of its' yards through the air, 259 per game, it is the ground game that has been a major factor in each of the previous two games, picking up 195 yards on the ground two weeks ago and a season-high 285 yards and two touchdowns against Walsh last week.

Leading that charge is senior Jayden Farmer who is coming off of back-to-back games of 23 carry games in which he rushed for 143 and 139 yards, respectively. Senior Makya Matthews provides a good second option and the duo has combined for 13 rushing TDs this season, but Matthews will also catch passes in the slot or out of the backfield, tallying eight receptions this season.

Senior Matthew Rueve has throwing for 2,150 yards and 23 touchdowns this season and has shown an ability to run when necessary, picking up 69 yards last week on the ground.

The Oilers are giving up less than 20 points per game this year and the defensive side of the ball is led by junior Sam Weihrauch with 61 tackles. He is flanked by Romaro Warren Jr., who has 48 tackles, and either Christion Stokes or Jon Slaper. Slaper is coming off of one of the best defensive performances by a UF player in a couple of decades, making 11 tackles including 5.5 tackles-for-loss against Walsh, earning G-MAC Defensive Player of the Week in the process.
 
About the Opponent – Northwood (5-4, 3-4 G-MAC)

Chosen sixth in the G-MAC Preseason Poll, the Northwood Timberwolves began the year with a chip on their shoulder and, over the course of the first four games, had many believe this would be a team that could contend with the league's best. With a 3-1 record in the month of September, including a narrow eight-point loss to Tiffin, NU was off to it's best start since 2012. The month of October was not so kind to the Timberwolves as the team from Midland dropped a one-point game to a winless Hillsdale squad and later lost to Kentucky Wesleyan which earned its' first G-MAC win of the year by defeating Northwood. A 27-point victory last week against Ohio Dominican has the team back over the .500 mark and, including the fact it defeated Findlay last season, gives NU some confidence heading into a matchup with the nationally-ranked Oilers.

Northwood's defense has been solid this season, ranking third in the G-MAC at 296 yards per game allowed and, to oppose Findlay's ability to move the chains, makes third down stops 66% of the time, second-best in the league. The Oilers have also been successful in the red zone, but again, that is an area where the Timberwolves defense has stood strong this season, ranking second in the league and 27th in the country in red zone defense, allowing points just under 70% of the time their opponents get inside the 20.

Quarterback Jacob Barlage has completed 120-of-180 passes this year for 1,498 yards and 12 touchdowns, throwing six interceptions. His completion percentage of 67% ranks second in the G-MAC. However, Ethan Hamby is listed as the starter on the depth chart after making his first career start for the Timberwolves last week.

His favorite target, and the team's big difference-maker on offense, is wideout Brendan Teal who has 36 recetpions for 708 yards and nine touchdowns. At 79 receiving yards per game, Teal accounts for nearly 25% of the team's offensive production. He leads the G-MAC at more than 19 yards per reception and is coming off of a game against Ohio Dominican where he put up 181 receiving yards and three scores, one of the top single-game receiving performances by any player in the conference this season. In that game, Teal, who ranks 11th in DII in touchdown receptions, had catches of 32, 36, 40, and 56 yards.

On the ground, junior Devin Brown is the go-to tailback, carrying the ball 135 times this season, third in the G-MAC, for 583 yards and five touchdowns. While he does not have a 100-yard rushing performance year this season, he is coming off of four straight weeks of some of his best work, averaging 5.0 yards per carry over the last four games, almost a full yard higher than his season average.

Junior Cole Simpson is the top tackler, making 54 tackles and racking up five pass breakups. However, linebacker Mbaimba Tunkara is the pulse of the Northwood defense, now in his fourth season as a starter. Tunkara has made more than 200 tackles in his career to go along with 39 tackles-for-loss.

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