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A lot can happen in twenty seconds. What happened Saturday night on the South side of Indianapolis left many at a complete loss for words. The lack of ability to express what we witnessed confirms this is completely new territory for many Laker fans. The high possibility of being un-ranked when the next polls come out, a losing record and a complete feeling of vulnerability. We’ve never looked at Findlay with questions like we are right now. We haven’t been here since the 2000 season, and that’s before a lot of us were around Grand Valley football.

With :36 seconds left in the 4th quarter of the game against the Greyhounds, Laker QB Heath Parling found Andrew Lorman inside the 5 yard line, hit him with a pass and Lorman stretched into the endzone. The GVSU sideline went nuts, the Lakers had a 33-28 lead with half a minute to go. What happened next gave us witness to a feeling not had since the 2001 national championship. A prolific Indianpolis touchdown drive ended in only twenty seconds and Ryan Forney grabbed a 22 yard pass with :11 seconds to play to rip out GVSU’s collective heart.

“You’re at the top of the world one second, and then your heart is in your throat the next, it’s just an empty feeling.”, Jarrod Cox was quoted in the Grand Rapids Press (Zuidema).

It took only three passing plays for Indy to get that winning touchdown. All complete and all for sizeable, deadly yardage (14, 27 and 22 yrds.). That one drive highlights a night where the Lakers fought from as much as 21-7 down, for the second week in a row. The GVSU secondary got schooled for 344 yards through the air which marks the second week in a row our opponent has thrown for over 300 yards.

It’s becoming plainly obvious to see that there are issues with the 2011 Lakers that they must find a way to overcome or face a long season. The defensive side of the ball needs to find a way to limit opponent’s effectiveness. A five-point lead with half a minute to go in the game should be enough. Thirty-three points should be enough as well. Allowing an opponent who has not made the playoffs in the last decade to get over 500 yards of offense is too much to overcome for almost any offense.

Look for more to come later. Here’s a link to the official recap, as well as video highlights from the game (if you dare to watch).

Twice in three years, and it might as well be a three-year run for Hillsdale as the Lakers got outplayed in last year’s matchup as well. Once again the Muddy Waters Stadium crowd got to witness a thrilling last-second upset of the #3 ranked Lakers. For the second time in three years the Hillsdale students stormed the field. It’s not a sight one can really get used to, especially with the way the game was lost. You could not nail it down to one thing. Much like in the loss to Augustana last season, everything seemed to go wrong at all the wrong times.
Speaking of that fateful playoff game last season, this makes two losses for the Lakers in their last three games overall, something not seen since the back-to-back losses to Saginaw and Northwood in 2004.

For second-year coach Matt Mitchell, the pressure has got to be ringing off the hook. After Saturday night’s defeat he discribed the loss as a “complete lack of execution” by coaches and players on all sides of the ball. Every positive turned in by the Lakers squad was met with an equal or greater setback. The momentum ever so close, but hopelessly out of reach. When one looks at the statistics from Saturday night, you can’t help but wonder “Do they have our number now?” That question goes back to the complaints from some of the alleged “un-creative” and “highly-predictable” offensive play-calling of Chuck Martin.

Speaking of those stats, let’s have a look at some standouts.
First Downs: HC-23/GV-14
Total Offensive Yards: HC-462/GV-338
Turnovers Forced: HC-3/GV-1
Third Down Conversions: HC-6-16/GV-3-11
Fourth Down Conversion: HC-3 of 4/GV-0 of 1

Now for the last one, remember what we mentioned last week about time of posession? Well Hillsdale did it again, holding the ball for almost 35 minutes while the Lakers had the rock only 25 minutes. This is all emphasized by a disasterously lost 2nd quarter where the Chargers held the ball for 12:13! Furthermore, while GV started the game with the ball and scored first, the Chargers answered right back in under four minutes. From there the first-half was off and running, where the Lakers would put themselves in a 21-7 hole at one point.

Now in the past two days many have argued and have felt GVSU got unfairly screwed at the end of the game on a roughing the kicker call, giving Hillsdale a second shot at kicking the game-winning FG. All emotions aside, if you’re the #3 ranked team in the country you should not have put yourself in the position to be relying on blocking a last-second field-goal attempt to simply go into overtime. It’s very hard to allow the opponent to score 31 points and expect to win that ball game at the end, especially spotting them a 21-7 lead in the first half.

Now the MLive beat-writer for the Lakers (Michael Zuidema) has come out with a peice that states what many of us are thinking in the back of our minds. The game was worrisome, and on so many levels it makes you want to look at the remainder of the season with question. Michael has done a great job in following the program and giving insight to the players and staff goings-on in my eyes. I think he’s very right to see this as a cautionary possible pivitol point. Link to the article

As I mentioned to start the article, the pressure of Mitchell and crew escalates again. Many see GVSU success as all-or-nothing. The coaching staff know this, so do the players. I’ve been quoted as saying early and often that as a fan-base we’ve become extremely spoiled. A win by 15-20 points is “not good enough”. An 11-2 first season as head coach was to some voices I heard last winter a “fireable offense”. Some voices scream of it as a “nepotistic experiment failure” in less than two full seasons. Other voices proclaim with gloom (and glee in some cases) “The reign is over! GV is no more!” These are the extremes I’ve heard out in D2 fan-land, but they lend an insight into what some are thinking. Are any true? There is the chance, as in any situation. What is far more likely is for the program to continue it’s winning ways, even if that means 9-2/10-1 seasons with no national title in the next couple of years. Success builds on success, and the athletic staff at Grand Valley don’t allow their programs to stay “down” (if you can even use that word here) for long.

However now it’s playoff time in Allendale, we have to win-out. The GLIAC is stacked, and with Augustana, UMD and St. Cloud State in our region two losses won’t get you a sniff of a playoff birth. Homefield advantage is gone. Just win baby. The cliches are endless. The season just got a lot more interesting, and stressful.

Go Lakers!!

With opening weekend out of the way we now have something with which to gauge the 2011 Lakers by. We saw some great things in the 2011 squad in their 44-20 win over Western Oregon last Thursday night. We saw a “new” quarterback settle in and find his recievers, to which Heath Parling threw for 247 yards. We also saw a defensive front get penetration and record 5 sacks on WOU quarterback Evan Mozzochi. In total on defense the Laker defense limited WOU to less than 300 yards for the night, including only 85 yards rushing which was a big issue coming off last season.

Next up is Hillsdale, and coming into the season the Chargers were ranked #18 in the D2football.com polls until a 20-17 loss against Ferris State in the opening weekend dropped them out. Despite the loss Charger RB Joe Glendening ran for 157 yards and a touchdown against the Bulldogs. Anthony Mifsud and Matt Bryan split time at QB in the opener for Hillsdale, with Mifsud taking 2/3 of the snaps and slinging the ball around for 144 yards.

Despite the loss to Ferris the Chargers are a dangerous team. The Lakers have to go back to Hillsdale and prove their metal against the team that beat them at Muddy Waters Stadium in 2009 and was less than two minutes and bad clock management away from soundly beating the Lakers in Lubbers last season. Hillsdale is in the running to be the challenger to Wayne State to win the GLIAC-South Division and have come off two straight seasons in which they have made playoff appearances.

From looking at the FSU game and the Lakers’ game against Hillsdale from last season, ball control will be a big factor in this week’s game. In 2010 the Chargers finished the game with a 2/3 advantage in possession time then did GVSU. In last week’s game against Ferris, Hillsdale controlled the ball for that same 2/3 majority of clock. Now one might very well look at that statistic and dismiss it in light of them losing both those games mentioned. I would caution that Mitchell and crew need to set a tone early. Hold Hillsdale to a three and out on their first possession, hurry Mifsud and/or Bryan and limit Glendening’s long carries.

Making the game an up-hill battle for Otterbein and crew will eat away at the confidence gained from the last two years. Look for more to come before Saturday at Muddy Waters!

Go Lakers!!!

A rare and exceedingly hot and humid September day greeted the Wolves first trip to the Eastern time zone on September 1st, 2011. Temperatures exceeded 90 degrees F with high humidity right up until kickoff. 2011’s Opener would be Coach Matt Mitchell’s second season with something to prove.

The July-like weather greeted a great crowd of 15,004, the third largest in GVSU history along with GVSU football alumni Brad Iciek, Scott Blasko, Alex Gilde, Curt Anes, Nick Lawrence and more, including a huge GVSU student presence.

A crazy first half resulted in 23 points for the home boys in black and none for the visitors from Oregon. Highlights from the opening half included GVSu’s first-half drive of just over two minutes which drove the Lakers sixty-some yards to go ahead 7-0. Later on the Lakers fumbled the ball inside the Wolves ten yard line squandering a major scoring chance. The next play from scrimmage the boys in black got a controversial call that resulted in a safety in the South endzone taking the home team to a 9-0 first half lead. Up next, Jovonne Augustus climbed the ladder to give GV a 16-0 lead, and then Grand Valley blocked a Western Oregon punt deep in Wolves territory and ran it to pay-dirt to give the Mitten-men a 23-0 lead going into the half.

The second half started with a GVSU kickoff to the Wolves, which was fumbled and ultimately recoved by the vistors to their fortune. Both teams traded scores and in the end the Lakers ended up with a 44-20 season and home opening win to start 2011. The Lakers second and thrird strings came on late to close out the opener and did a pretty respectable job.

Parling went 15/27 for 205 yards, and on defense Brandon Allen recorded five tackles and a sack on the night. We’ll have more stats from the opener as well as a look-ahead to Hillsdale in the coming week. Have a fun and safe Labor Day weekend GV nation!!

Go Lakers!

Well the “decade of dominance” will come to a full ten-year circle this season. Has it been that long!? My how time flies when you’re winning and having fun. The program as we know it today really took shape right after the events of 9/11. That 2001 team set the bar for the decade that followed, and helped the program and athletic department as a whole realize it’s true potential. There have been lots of changes in Allendale since those days. The media exposure, the fan base, the athletic department and school have all evolved in those ten years. In some ways we’ve become a spoiled lot. By some measures 2010 was our “worst” season in those ten years, going 11-2, capturing the conference title but only making to the second round of the playoffs before being blown out of the water in our worst loss since 2003. For many that game in Sioux Falls, South Dakota was a sobering moment. That 38-6 loss to Augustana was hopefully a wakeup call to the team as well. That score is posted in the locker room as a daily reminder. That game has made many fans wonder what direction the program will take the this year in response, for it was just about the first time in that decade that Laker fans have felt as vulnerable as we did on that day.
Coach Matt Mitchell is entering his second season as the captain of the Laker’s ship this year, and while there have been changes, he’s noted that for the first time in this past decade the whole staff is returning. In the face of change some consistency is a good thing and hopefully we see the results on the field. During the pre-season media shows Mitchell has noted that new starting quarterback Heath Parling is looking great, has taken a real leadership role on the team and the only thing in the coach’s eyes Heath lacks are game-reps. He’s a “similar duel to Cullen (Finnerty) but a little smaller…” noted Mitchell last week. We all know that in leading up to the season Parling was far and away the favorite for the starting QB spot, but even though the coaching staff held a competition for the job. While Parling won, Isiah Grimes has really caught the coaching staff’s attention. “Isiah Grimes is a little more like Ryan Mallet…” noted Mitchell in a recent interview with WBBL. By that description we know Grimes is more of a classic pocket-passing quarterback. Mitchell noted that if there’s going to be someone who is likely to get game reps outside of Parling, it’s likely to be Grimes.
Offensive Coordinator Eric Taylor broke down the changes on the offensive side of the ball this year. He’s called this year a “unique QB transition.” “There are some challenges because Heath has no game reps, but Heath is about three to four times ahead of where Kyle (Mitchell) was at this time last year.” Taylor mentioned to Brett Bakita of WBBL recently. He attributes Heath’s readiness due to his familiarity with the team, as he’s been around the program a couple of years as opposed to Kyle Mitchell who was a transfer. He’s also said the offense will be able to do some things is hadn’t been able to do last season. “We’re going to have four wide-out sets as well as full-back sets this year…also more movement on the line with personnel shifts.” Again, he’s credited the offenses new versatility this season to depth and experience. The offensive skill player positions are loaded. With Augustus and Gay returning, as well as Allendale local Jackson likely to get more touches running the ball with Juniors Norman Shuford and Jake Aberg. As Taylor mentioned to former Buffalo Bill (NFL) Ray Bentley recently, the skill guys are the deepest part of the offense at the time. That skill, experience and depth could give Parling a real cushion to work with as he grows into his position.
As much as Taylor is looking forward, he’s also looking back to improve on last season. “The biggest thing from the two losses last year (to Mi-Tech and Augustana) was turnovers, we just can’t turn the ball over.” In the second-round playoff game in Augustana GVSU had by some counts as many as six turnovers, and lost both offensive fumbles. Coach Taylor is as focused on having a big-threat offense as he is on simply holding on to the ball, maintaining possession, using the clock to our advantage and not being forced to play outside of our style.
Look for more 2011 season preview articles in the coming week-long run-up to the opener against Western Oregon on Thursday, September 1st.

The Lakers enter the 2011 season ranked 5th in the AFCA Coaches Poll and 4th in the D2Football.com pre-season poll. But as we all know, pre-season rankings can mean very little.

GO Lakers!!

Peter James - Writer and Columnist - GVFootball.com

So this is listed as a rivalry officially between the two schools and the rivalry even has its own trophy. It certainly was a rivalry in the 1990’s when the series was a close, hard-fought battle between Ferris and GV whom the Lakers edged 5-4-1 in that decade. Ferris actually brought something to the table in those days. I’m curious as to the health of the rivalry almost more than a decade later. As we noted in the preview Ferris hasn’t won a game in this rivalry since 1999. A lot has changed since that time and in a lot of ways.

It was a slightly chilled day Saturday with pesky intermittent rain showers throughout the morning and first half of the game. Despite the annoying conditions, a rather decent GVSU following showed up. However not quite as many students as I would have liked to see. As kickoff approached, it was apparent there was an evident apathy amongst the Ferris faithful. A home crowd that was far from being a sellout with hardly a sniff of an organized student section (on a campus with 12,000+ undergrads). The announced crowd was only 3,256 in a stadium of 5,000 total seats and plenty of open lawn area. The lead-up to the game hardly felt like a rivalry and what followed confirmed the suspicions.


Grand Valley started off the day with a drive that lasted almost eight minutes of the first quarter, ending with a four-yard touchdown run by QB Kyle McMahon. That drive set the stage for the rest of the day. A grinding, meticulous GVSU offense ground down the Bulldogs without much flash or fanfare. They just did their job and it showed. After forcing a Ferris three-and-out on the “Dawgs first posession, the Lakers took less than two minutes to drive down to the FSU red-zone and convert a Ryan Stokes field goal to make the lead 10-0. At the 7:03 mark of the 2nd quarter, Norman Shuford rushed up the middle for a one-yard scoring drive to grow the GVSU lead to 17-0. After forcing another Ferris punt, the road-warriors from Allendale put on their most explosive offensive show of the day to that point. McMahon found Jovonne Augustus for a deep, 55-yard touchdown pass. At the 2:13 mark of the 2nd quarter, it was now 24-0 Grand Valley, and the outcome was certainly stamped.

The game followed much of the same script in the second half, this time with a lot of the second string getting valuable playing time. By the time the clock hit 00:00, the Lakers had racked up 41 points, and had recorded their first shut-out win since 2008. The effort was a full-team achievement. All aspects of the game were executed as needed culminating in what many feel is the most complete game played to date by the Lakers. Let’s go over some of the notable game stats that really help tell the story of this win.

Grand Valley racked up 503 yards of offense on the day and held the Bulldogs to only 118 total, all-purpose yards. An even more shocking number was that Ferris was held to a frighteningly measly 29 yards of rushing. That means that the FSU passing attack was equally tepid, amassing less than 100 yards on the GVSU secondary. GVSU recorded 29 first downs, to only 9 for Ferris. GVSU only punted once in the game, compared to eight times for FSU. The Lakers had seven total red-zone scoring chances, converting on six of them. The Laker defense was in the face of the Ferris QB all day long, sacking him six times for a total loss of 41 yards. The Bulldogs on the other hand had ZERO, yes (0) red-zone scoring chances on the day, and despite having more than twenty three minutes of posession time. It doesn’t matter how long you have the ball, if you can’t move the chains, you won’t score!

How is this still a rivalry? Well, it’s a rivalry it appears in name only lately. Maybe down the road it will heat up again, but we will have to wait for that day to come for at least one more year. The photo below really sums up the rivalry from the past ten games between the schools.

The Lakers travel to their farthest location of the year next weekend, as they will take on the Huskies of Michigan Tech on the tundra of Sherman Field in Houghton, MI. The match-up looks to be a fun one, and we will see if the Techies can give the Lakers a challenge in the Keweenaw. CowboyEric and a small crew will be present with the camera at the game. Look for my preview later in the week.

Congrats again to the Lakers!

As Kyle McMahon looked toward the Northeast corner of the endzone as time wound down in 4th quarter of last night’s game, he saw a familiar number. Jovonne Augustus’ number ‘80′ was headed for the corner. McMahon floated up a fade pass “jump ball” that Laker fans have become very accustom to seeing in the past six years. Martin was known for using it all the time with his big wide recievers and now it appears Mitchell is continuing the trend. That very play was used in the red-zone last night countless times, sometimes even twice in a row to the same player and to the same corner. Sometimes even, failing to convert but this time the play worked to perfection. Augustus came down with the ball with the game clock reading 00:30. A PAT was added to make the final score 38-31 in the Laker’s favor.

A late win in a tight game. Deja Vu. The thrilling cheers from last weekend’s Hillsdale game seemed more hushed. It seemed far more like relief than excitement amongst the family day crowd of 11,682. Too close for comfort has been the M.O. for the season so far after just three games. At the same time, it has been “just three games” and we are still undefeated. The question will be for how long though?

Can the defense find the cohesion it needs? They held Indy to only 255 total yards for the night. That is a vast improvement over the past two weeks, however that is against a team that is not exactly of the same caliber of West Texas or Hillsdale. The problem seemed to come with keeping Indy off the scoreboard. If the Lakers can’t keep the opposing team off the scoreboard well enough, we will lose GLIAC games. The new question then becomes, how many will we lose? I’ve heard people talking about playoffs already. “Playoffs?!! PLAYOFFS?!?!” I thought but you get my drift. Right now, it’s one game at a time. Until we have that breakout game, it’s simple survival right now and there is no more simple way to state that fact or get around that truth.

Once again GV relied on a balanced offensive attack to carry the day. Three rushing touchdowns were complimented with two scores converted through the air. McMahon compiled 239 yards and spread the ball around evenly to his recievers including Justin Sherrod. Luther Ware is continuing to show his worth to the team on the defensive side of the ball. Ware dropped Indy QB Rob Doyle for two sacks for a total loss of 20 yards. Carlisle and Breen both intercepted Rob Doyle passes for the Lakers and Breen also recorded 11 tackles. On the flip side of the ball, the GV O-line kept the Indy D from getting to McMahon pretty well last night. No sacks allowed and no interceptions is a good sign as the first game of the road schedule nears.

For right now, let’s just live in the moment with this team. Live in the moment of close games, count our blessings this past decade from the football Gods and just be thankful that we have a group of kids who appear to be able to rally together very well in tight games.

The Lakers travel to Ohio next weekend to take on the Findlay Oilers. It’s a noon kickoff just minutes off I-75. GVFootball.com will be there and we hope to see you as well!

Go Lakers!

So here we are entering the third week of the season and we still have quite a few questions, concerns and mysteries surrounding the look of the team. The first two games have been heart-stoppers with nationally-ranked competition. This week features a team that is no where to be found on any national poll, yet is undefeated.

The Greyhounds of Indy are 2-0 coming off consecutive wins against Kentucky Wesleyan and the always formidable Ashland Eagles. The game that gets my attention is the Ash;and game for Indy. Despite being out gained in yardage 378-242, with only 11, yes ELEVEN, of those yards coming on the ground the ‘Hounds found a way to get the job done. One would expect the historically stout Laker D to be able to control the Indy ground game at will. Despite struggles the past two weeks, I think the defense will be able to get a good grip on Indy’s offensive capabilities. With no significant rivaly between the squads, Indy has always played the Lakers tough. Expect them to come right at us and test our defense from the first snap of the ball. Obviously after the results of the past few weeks, they want to find as many kinks in the armor as possible, as fast as possible.

What I am worried about this weekend is a let down. As we know, any team in the GLIAC can be a sleeper and catch a team looking ahead or elsewhere. I think that after the first two games, Indy is completely under the radar of the fans. I think more than a few may feel we are at the part in the schedule where we can hit the cruise button. We’ll see what happens Saturday in Lubbers before the team hits the road for Ohio for a pair of games in a row.

See you Saturday!

What can you do in 77 seconds? You could wash some dishes. You could do an insufficient job of brushing your teeth. You could download some music, send some text messages or make your bed. You could also orchestrate one of the most thrilling come-from-behind wins in Laker football history. What GVSU did in the last 77 seconds relied on a lot things to go right, and a lot of things to go wrong. What happened at Lubbers Stadium last night was an instant classic witnessed by 11,637 hearty fans.

So you’re up one on Grand Valley with a minute and a half to go in the fourth quarter, on the road, you’ve got possesion, momentum and the clock on your side. You can see the light and you’re so close you can taste it. You can barely stand it. You’re anxious to make a statement and put points on the board. You decide to go against logic and don’t burn the clock. You drive right down the field and give the ball to Joe Glendening (who’s already scored two rushing TD’s and compiled over 200 yards so far for the night) for a seven yard touchdown run. And just like that, you’ve built a seven point lead. Your crowd and sideline are hysterical. You figure kick the field goal to go up eight, so GVSU will have to go the distance, score a TD AND get a 2-point conversion to tie. Keeping in mind, you will have left them only 1:17 to do so.

Here’s where your nightmare starts.

The Laker’s Luther Ware breaks through the line and blocks your PAT. He scoops up the loose ball and runs clear for a defensive 2-point conversion. Your lead is now only five with little over a minute remaining and the home crowd is back in it. Here’s where you’re second decisive coaching directive comes into play. Instead of kicking it off deep to make the boys in black go the length of the field, you gamble. You want the ball back. You squib the kick which GVSU ends up recovering in great field position. The Lakers need to go only 53 yards to your endzone and have 1:01 in which to get it done. Now the crowd is roaring with hope and the home sideline believes they can work a miracle.

Laker QB Kyle McMahon drives his team right down the field and they now sit at your 8-yard line with 16 seconds remaining. You watch as McMahon sees Jovonne Augustus in the back of the endzone. McMahon floats a pass up and the 6′5″ WR toes the back of the endzone and comes down with the go-ahead score. In a dizzying amount of time, your 7-point lead has been erased, you’re down 42-41. Then Grand Valley’s QB calls his own number for the 2-point conversion and runs it in to make the score 44-41. Your fans and sideline are in silent shock. When you get the ball back, you call a timeout. Your final effort is a heaving pass down to the GVSU 19 yard line that is picked off by Erik Thompson. So close and yet so far, all at the same time. That’s what you can do with 77 seconds.

Folks, Hillsdale is for real and they have one heck of an offense. They came perilously close to taking us for the second year in a row. I’d be surprised if they don’t run-the-table the rest of the season and get a playoff birth. It’s a good bet we see them again in November for second year in a row.

The start of this season has seemed more like a playoff run than anything else. We’ve been treated to two wild, hard-fought matches with nationally ranked opponents. If this keeps up, the Laker faithful might aquire a collective cardiac arrest by season’s end.

Our third home game in a row is next Saturday, Sept. 18th against Indianapolis. We’ll see you there!

So who remembers October 10, 2009? I sure do, anyone at Muddy Waters Stadium that day in Hillsdale does and you can be sure both these teams remember that date as well. Despite having our ultimate revenge at home in the playoffs last year with a first-half shock and awe campaign, there is still an uneasiness in the air about this game. Hillsdale’s 27-24 regular season upset of the Lakers last year struck a David and Goliath chord. Well after last weekend, GV is once again in the number one spot in both the AFCA and D2Football.com polls. Hillsdale now sits at #11 on the AFCA poll, and 14th on D2Football.com. That target on our backs is all that much bigger…again.

Last weekend, the Chargers offense exploded in their home and season opener against Ferris State racking up 453 total yards in a convincing 35-17 beating of the Bulldogs. Hillsdale still has their prolific passer, Troy Weatherhead. Andre Holmes, the Charger’s 6′5″ senior WR compiled 132 yards recieving and a score in the season’s first contest. “David” now has a new weapon that wasn’t used much last season. Anyone remember a kid from East GR named Joe Glendening? All he did was run for 88 yards and two touchdowns last weekend against Ferris. They have weapons to be sure. Oh yes, and Mr. Glendening is only a sophomore.

Even though they lost their star Jared Veldheer to the Oakland Raiders in the NFL draft, the Chargers are still a very formidable opponent who has tasted our blood before. Coach Otterbein will have his team ready to go and we’ll see their best shot. A win in our place might cement that program as for real. If they lose but  keep it close and win out the rest of the season, it WILL factor in strength of schedule when playoff seeding time rolls around. They want nothing more than to make a headline statement again and they’d love to do it in front of our crowd. Hillsdale always brings a large following so expect a good number to come Saturday. They too remember what it felt like on October 10, 2009.

So friends… this is what we wanted. For years, we had to defend our beloved program from critics and “haters” who cited our scheduling of weak out-of-conference and in-conference opponents. We beat #8 out of the LSC in our place last week and Saturday we get another top-25 match up in only the second week of our season. This can be a blessing and a curse all in one. Whichever it turns out to be, the results will factor heavily come November.

Saturday has all the ingredients of an explosive contest. See you at Lubbers!