ASHLAND — No deficit is too big for the surging Ashland University Eagles.

Ashland will take a three-game winning streak to Detroit on Saturday for a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown with Wayne State.

AU (4-2, 3-1) has overcome a deficit of at least 10 points in each of those three victories. The Eagles trailed Davenport 13-0 late in the second quarter of last week’s Homecoming game before rallying for a 30-27 win.

“When you get behind, (usually) there’s this fear that comes over you that you’re going to lose,” AU coach Lee Owens said. “With this group, we sense the total opposite. It’s always what we have to do to get back in it. It’s a completely different mindset.

“It’s great to be around that kind of maturity, because it’s not easy to do.”

Ashland’s three-game winning streak has coincided with the emergence of freshman tailback Gei’vonni Washington. The nephew of former AU standout (and current Kentucky defensive backs coach) Steve Clinkscale has rushed for 428 of his 562 yards in the last three weeks with six touchdowns.

“You just don’t know what you are going to get with a freshman sometimes,” Owens said. “We had good feelings about him, but until you get out there and play and put him on the road and on a stage against a team like Grand Valley, you just never know for sure.

“The bigger the state, the tougher the situation, the better he gets. The guy just thrives on pressure.”

Defensively, the Eagles have allowed just one rushing touchdown and forced six turnovers during the current winning streak. Linebacker Clay Shreve continues to lead the charge with 57 tackles, including a team-best 23 solo stops.

Wayne State (3-3, 2-1) is coming off a 59-13 loss to No. 2 Ferris State. The Warriors trailed 35-0 at the half and 42-0 early in the third quarter.

Ashland leads the all-time series 25-7 and won last year’s meeting 30-21 in Detroit.

“They’re a physical football team. They’re big and strong up front on the offensive and defensive lines,” Wayne State coach Paul Winters said. “They’re as good or better (along the line of scrimmage) than anyone we’ve played.

“They’re the kind of football team that we want to be.”

Winters served on Owens’ coaching staff at the University of Akron from 1995 to 2003.

“Coach Owens and I have a history together so a lot of our philosophies are similar,” Winters said. “It’s like playing a team in the mirror. Coach Owens is one of the most intelligent guys I’ve been around.”