ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T hits the road for the first time in the 2023 season this weekend as the Miners travel to Detroit, Mich., for a matchup against Wayne State University.

Saturday's game features two teams that opened their campaigns last week with losses to nationally-ranked teams, as the Miners fell to 10^th-ranked Delta State 48-20 last Thursday and Wayne State lost two days later 28-17 at 15^th-ranked Slippery Rock.

In the Miners' game, S&T got some solid performances from a pair of redshirt freshmen making their on-field debuts.  Quarterback Tyler Gioia (Huntington Beach, CA/Edison) completed 20-of-33 passes for 224 yards – the most by a Miner in his debut in nine seasons – and threw a pair of touchdown passes to tight end Justis Braden (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) along the way.  In his first game at S&T, Braden caught seven passes for a team-high 112 yards in a game where the Miners outgained the Statesmen 462-453.

Besides his 224 yards through the air, Gioia also ran for a team-best 84 yards to finish the night with 308 yards of total offense.  The Miners ran for 238 yards in their opener, recording more rushing yards than in nine of their 10 contests a year ago.  Josh Sanders (Maize, KS/Maize) added 55 yards on the ground and Cameren Smith (Claymont, DE/Concord), the leading rusher for S&T a year ago, finished with 34.

CJ Wiggins (Yuma, AZ/Gila Ridge) and Blaize Klossner (Rolla, MO/Rolla) had four catches apiece for the Miners to go along with Braden's seven.

On the defensive side, the Miners limited Delta State to 133 yards rushing in the game and had three sacks, which were recorded by Nick Mattli (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt South) – who had a team-high six tackles – Aidan Hurtado (Austin, TX/McNeil) and Zatyvion Miller (Los Alamitos, CA/Los Alamitos).  S&T had six tackles behind the line of scrimmage, two from Hurtado, as well as pass breakups from David Harris (Maidson, TN/Goodpasture Christian) and Rusty Finona (Marina, CA/Seaside).

The Miners and Warriors hooked up in a wild contest two seasons ago in Rolla, as the teams combined for 1,174 yards in a game that eventually ended up in S&T's favor by a 51-45 count in overtime.  Wayne State had 673 yards of total offense in a game that saw the first three touchdowns scored in a span of 25 seconds in the opening period.

ABOUT WAYNE STATE: Like the Miners, the Warriors opened their 2023 campaign with a loss to a nationally-ranked foe with the setback to 15^th-ranked Slippery Rock.  Wayne State trailed 14-7 late in the third quarter before Slippery Rock extended its lead late in that period and added another score in the fourth to keep the Warriors at bay.

Wayne State turned its head coaching duties in the off-season over to former University of Michigan standout and National Football League running back Tyrone Wheatley and its opener, spent most of the night looking to establish its ground game as it ran the ball 50 times and threw it only 13.  The Warriors ran for 223 yards in the contest, 82 of which came from quarterback Jayden Waddell, a transfer from Davidson University.

Waddell also completed five of his six pass attempts for 60 yards, while backup Eli McLean – a transfer from Michigan State – was three-of-six off the bench for 21 yards.  Tight end John Rayba had three receptions for 38 yards and Te'avion Warren caught two balls for 24 yards.  A total of seven different players had carries for the Warriors in the contest.

Defensively, Wayne State allowed just 347 yards of total offense in the loss, 209 of which came on the ground.  Linebacker Matt Buschman, a transfer from Eastern Michigan, had a team-high 10 stops and fellow linebacker Darien Tipps-Clemons recorded seven tackles.