7-4.

No, it isn’t how long I worked on these beloved sports pages, or even the amount of time I spent arguing with the boss, Megan (that’s an all day, every day affair.)

7-4 is my severely overeducated, tremendously overanalyzed prediction for the Wayne State football team this year.

I’ll allow you to stop choking on your gag food and grab a drink.

If you watched the Wayne State football team last year, or saw its 2-9 finishing record, you’d say that they aren’t worth anything and that there’s no need to take notice this year either.

You’re wrong.

Out of those nine losses, we lost five of those by a touchdown or less—20 points to be exact. Most of those games came down to late turnovers and mistakes that cost WSC the game.

That’s not going to happen this year, and I explained why in last week’s issue (look it up if you haven’t seen it yet.)

Broken down below is every opponent Wayne State will face this year, and a prediction for that game by yours truly.

(By the way, have you seen the new uniforms yet?)

The first game is at home against Bemidji State. The Beaver football team that finished last year with a 3-8 record did not, however, play Wayne State. Bemidji State averaged 18 points per game last season, one of the lowest averages in the conference. They totaled out with 3,214 yards, 1,861 on the ground and 1,353 through the air. They were one of the worst teams in both categories and failed to score points. The Beavers will also fail to score points against this tough Wildcat defense, chalk up a win for WSC (and the first win at home on the new turf.)

Wayne State travels to St. Cloud State the next week. The Huskies were a little better on offense, as they averaged nearly 40 points a game.

However, they lost some key players from last year’s team, including their quarterback, running back and top wide receiver. Compare that to WSC’s seven returners on offense and nine more on defense, this is another victory for Wayne state.

The next week, MSU Moorhead pays a visit to Wayne, America. The Dragons averaged around 32 points per game last season, again more than the Wildcats. MSU Moorhead brings back Jake Hodge, who threw for 2,518 yards last season and helped MSU Moorhead to be the top passing offense in the conference. That, coupled with a defense that will definitely perform better than they did last season, I believe will hand Wayne State its first loss of the season.

Wayne State then takes its 2-1 record to play the second Beavers team on the schedule in Minot State. The Beavers face a similar road as the Wildcats in that they also went 2-9 last season. Minot State returns its starting quarterback, who will surely improve on his passing game from a year ago, but I feel like Zach Osborn will be even further ahead. Minot State was one of the worst offenses in the conference last season, only averaging two touchdowns last year and allowed 34 points on defense. Wayne State will be able to put up points against this defense and will defeat the Beavers easily.
HOMECOMING!

Winona State comes to Wayne on Homecoming and brings in an explosive offense and a defense that allows almost as many points as the offense gains. Last year, Winona was the worst defense against the pass and I think that is where the game will be won: which team can pass the ball better. I am going to give the slightest of edges to Wayne State here and say that Adam Stark catches a LATE touchdown to win the Homecoming contest, which then leads to a major party at the 50-yard line. I’m calling it, “The Party on the Paw.”

Wayne then travels to take on Concordia-St. Paul. I am giving the edge to Concordia because I believe the excitement of winning a close Homecoming game will lead to a bit of a lapse on the road that the Wildcats will never be able to recover from. The Golden Bears are a good team, they finished last season at 6-5 and beat us in a close game last year.

Augustana makes the trip down to Wayne the next week. The Vikings only scored 20 points a game last season, just one short of the Wildcats. Of course, this is a rivalry game. These two teams don’t like each other. This game is going to be one of those close, grind it out games that is exciting to watch with every play leaving fans on the edge of their seats. Wayne State wins this game with an interception by one of “The Killaz” (WSC’s secondary nickname, get used to it).

Wayne State travels to Southwest Minnesota State for a night game. The Mustangs had one of the top offenses in the conference last season, but also gave up a lot of points to opponents. Coming off a 7-5 season, I think this one will be a shootout, where both teams light up the scoreboard better than an arena football league game. I give the slight edge to Southwest Minnesota State.

For the second week in a row, WSC travels, this time to Upper Iowa. Upper Iowa comes back after a 6-5 season. The Peacocks sport an offense that was decently efficient in both passing and rushing, but their achilles heel last year, similar to Wayne State, was turnovers. Based on that, I think Wayne State wins this game because of a turnover, and wins by two scores, pulling away late.

Minnesota State comes to Wayne for WSC’s senior day, as the Wildcats take the home field for the last time of the season. This game will be tremendously tough for Wayne State, as Minnesota State sported one of the top offenses AND defenses last season. Wayne State is much improved, but I’m not sure that they are THAT improved. This will be Wayne State’s largest margin of defeat.

Wayne State finishes out the regular season traveling to Sioux Falls. Sioux Falls has similar statistics as Wayne State last season. WSC lost a close game to Sioux Falls last season, and I think the fortunes reverse this season. The Cougars won by a field goal in Wayne last season, so the Wildcats will win the final game of the regular season in Sioux Falls by, you guessed it, a field goal.

So, there it is. 7-4. You heard it here first.

There’s one thing we all can agree on—let’s play football.