Ninety-one years of Wayne State football — three teams have won eight games in a single season.
Yes, I know that back in the day the Tartars only played eight or so games a calendar year, but the fact still is, only two other teams are comparable to the current edition.
Those were back in the Dick Lowry era (1974-1979), when in 1975-1976 Wayne State was 8-3 and 8-2, respectively.
The fact that I just name-dropped Lowry like a majority of you know who he is should say something.
Lowry was 38-21-1 over his six seasons at the helm and has the highest winning percentage of any coach in the program’s history.
Unfortunately, any turnaround he brought about faded away over the next 30 years (the only time WSU sniffed seven wins was in 1983).
So when the Warriors take the field on Nov. 8 and host the top-ranked, undefeated mammoth of Division II football in Grand Valley State, school history will not only be on the line, but the beginning of the rejuvenation of the program begins with 15 minutes on the clock in quarter one.
A win would be epic — and quite possibly the biggest ever — and absolutely the most memorable in recent time.
Sure, a loss wouldn’t put a damper on the overall success of the season, but Paul Winters and his squad believe there is no better time than now to solidify their place atop the Wayne State record books.
“We still got one more,” quarterback Kevin Smith said. “We could be the first team with nine wins. So we aren’t satisfied.”
And that’s the attitude they’ve taken all season — never quite pleased, but still appreciative of the marks they have overcome.
“It’s gratifying for me to have kids that have done so much to get this thing turned around,” Winters said.
Some will call the GVSU game make-or-break. For the season — maybe — but not for the future. A win would just blow the lid off things.
One quote puts the entire Winters-led turnaround in perspective: “I think earlier in the year we would have looked at this game as ‘I hope we can show them that we belong,’” Winters said.
“Now, I’d like to think we can go into the game thinking ‘this is our house and nobody comes in here and beats us.’”
If they lose, it will still have been a success, but if they win — it’ll be the biggest in school history.
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