Sports · Houghton
Michigan Tech wins its 16th straight Miner’s Cup, 56-33 over Northern Michigan, and heads to No. 1 Ferris State
HOUGHTON, Mich. — The Miner’s Cup is staying in Houghton again.
No. 14 Michigan Tech beat Northern Michigan 56-33 on Saturday at Kearly Stadium for its 16th straight win in the Upper Peninsula’s college football rivalry. The Huskies improved to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the GLIAC, and the Wildcats fell to 0-7.
Big plays. Tech averaged 9.8 yards per play and went 5-for-5 in the red zone, scoring eight touchdowns, according to the school. Quarterback Alex Bueno completed 10 of 13 passes for 268 yards and three touchdowns, and Abram Larner caught eight passes for 236 yards and two scores, including a 64-yard touchdown. Elliott Larner ran 10 times for 93 yards and three touchdowns, NMU’s game story said.
The play of the day came on the last snap of the first half. Bueno hit Larner on a deep pass, and as Larner was wrapped up he lateraled to Bryce Kurncz, who ran in for a touchdown and a 35-12 halftime lead.
A promising start for NMU. Making his first career start, Wildcats freshman Matt Stevens completed 25 of 38 passes for 319 yards and a touchdown and ran for 68 yards and another score without a turnover. Northern piled up 553 yards, its most since 2022, outgained Tech by 61 yards and matched the Huskies 21-21 in the second half, NMU said. Noah Dobert ran for two touchdowns.
“We didn’t play particularly well on defense, giving up too many third downs and missing some tackles,” Tech coach Dan Mettlach said, “but we’ll continue to work on that side of the ball and get it cleaned up.”
Next up. Tech plays at No. 1 Ferris State on Saturday, Oct. 24, the first of two straight road games. Northern Michigan hosts Roosevelt the same day in Marquette.
Sources:
Michigan Tech Athletics, “#14 Huskies win Miner’s Cup for 16th straight time over NMU,” Oct. 17, 2026 (score, records, red zone, yards per play, Bueno line, Mettlach quote, Ferris State next), https://michigantechhuskies.com/news/2026/10/17/football-14-huskies-win-miners-cup-for-16th-straight-time-over-nmu.aspx
Northern Michigan Athletics, “Stevens impresses as Wildcats fall at Michigan Tech,” Oct. 17, 2026 (Stevens line, NMU yardage, Larner lines, halftime lateral, Roosevelt next), https://nmuwildcats.com/news/2026/10/17/football-stevens-impresses-as-wildcats-fall-at-michigan-tech.aspx
Photo: Charlie.snelson, “KearlyStadiumAerialView.jpg,” 2021, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KearlyStadiumAerialView.jpg
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