A poor first half led to a big loss at Saginaw Valley State, as the Cardinals racked up 26 points by halftime en route to a 33-14 win over the Dragons.
The offense never got on track all day, totaling just 149 yards to SVSU's 304 yards. Matt Root threw 4 interceptions on 23 of 44 passing for 177 yards. Root also was sacked 6 times.
The Cardinals first cracked the scoreboard with 5:09 left in the first quarter when they recorded a safety. They came back on the ensuing kickoff and recorded a 41-yard touchdown pass just 1:13 later to take a 9-0 lead. After picked off a Root pass, the Cardinals quickly converted again with a 9-yard TD pass at the 1:48 mark of the 1st quarter, completing a flurry of scoring that saw the Cardinals score 16 points in 3:21 to take a commanding lead.
Poor field position hurt the Dragons all day, as the longest Cardinals drive of the day was only 57 yards. SVSU added 10 more second-quarter points on a 2-yard run and a 20 yard field goal leading to a 26-0 halftime lead for the Cardinals.
SVSU completed their scoring at the 11:20 mark of the third quarter with a 9-yard TD pass making the score 33-0. TU got both of their scores in the 4th quarter, as Trey Williams caught a 14-yard pass from Root and Root rushed for a 1-yard score.
TU had -28 rushing yards in the game. Offensive leaders were Dyshaun Edwards with 8 receptions for 74 yards and Trey Williams with 5 catches for 53 yards. Parris Burt had 14 tackles in the game to lead the defense, while Steve Yarbrough had 8 tackles and a 64-yard interception return. Drew Douthit had 7 tackles with a sack and Arthur Allen had 5 tackles with 2 blocked kicks.