The Grand Valley State Lakers will visit University Center, Michigan, to take on Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival Saginaw Valley State in this year’s Battle of the Valleys. Their Week 5 matchup will take place at Harvey Randall Wickes Memorial Stadium.

This will be the first conference game of the season for both teams. 

Just as Grand Valley State (2-1) was gaining some momentum, the Lakers had a week off. They’ll enter this week’s meeting with Saginaw Valley either well-rested or a little rusty.

GVSU last played on Sept. 16, but that was a big win in front of the 10th-largest home crowd in school history (15,844). The 43-7 victory over Assumption gave the Lakers 100 points in their last two games, which also included a 57-49 double-overtime win against Colorado State Pueblo on Sept. 9. 

The Lakers were the GLIAC champions in 2022, a title they claimed with a perfect record (6-0). They finished the year at 12-1, with their lone loss coming to eventual Division II national champion Ferris State in the national quarterfinals. 

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Grand Valley State Football In 2023: What To Know About The Lakers

Saginaw Valley State Football In 2023: What To Know About The Cardinals

What Are The Top 5 Division II Football Rivalries? Here's A List

GVSU started the 2023 season with another tick in the loss column, falling to last year’s Division II runner-up, Colorado School of Mines, 31-28 in Colorado. 

Saginaw Valley State, a middle-of-the-pack team in the GLIAC in 2022, is on a different trajectory than GVSU now that 2023 is rolling along.

SVSU (2-2) opened the year with a pair of wins—Winona State (34-24) and Northwood (31-8)—but the last two weeks have included losses to Truman (21-7) and the University of Indianapolis (35-10). The skid comes before a pair of conference games against GLIAC titans, Grand Valley State and Ferris State. 

GVSU and Saginaw Valley State have a longstanding rivalry that kicked off in 1975. It’s called the Battle of the Valleys, and Grand Valley State leads the series, which includes four playoff games, 40-11.

Grand Valley State has won the last 10 editions of the Battle of the Valleys, including a 29-10 win in 2022. The last time SVSU won the battle was a 55-52 nailbiter in 2012. 

How To Watch The Grand Valley State Vs. Saginaw Valley State Football Game

Football action is streaming live on FloFootball and the FloSports app, including the Grand Valley State and Saginaw Valley State football game during Week 5.

Replays and postgame highlights also will be available on both platforms. 

What To Know About Grand Valley State Football

Yes, Grand Valley State is coming off a near-perfect season, but the responsibility of repeating last year’s success falls on first-year head coach Scott Wooster, who stepped into the role in January 2023. 

Wooster is familiar with the program, however, as he spent the last three years looking after the Lakers’ offensive line/tight ends/run game, and he doesn’t seem to have missed a beat during the transition. 

The Lakers have picked up a pair of wins in 2023, while averaging nearly 43 points per game. 

They’re averaging 263.33 yards through the air and 201 yards on the ground, and voters have continued to take notice—GVSU is ranked No. 4 in the D2Football.com Top 25 Poll and seventh in the American Football Coaches Association Division II Coaches Poll.

Senior quarterback Cade Peterson has shown his versatility this year for GVSU, but should the quarterback be the team’s leading rusher? Peterson has carried the ball 32 times for 185 yards and three touchdowns, while senior running back Tariq Reid has 144 yards and five scores on 40 attempts.

Peterson has completed 42-of-71 passes for 687 yards and five more touchdowns, while also being intercepted twice. Junior Cody Tierney has hauled in the most passes for the Lakers (15) for 292 yards and two scores. 

Defensively, senior defensive end Christian McCarroll leads GVSU with 21 tackles, including 3.5 sacks, which is tied for the lead in the GLIAC through four weeks of play. 

Following the Lakers’ win over Assumption, Peterson and McCarroll earned GLIAC Player of the Week honors.

What To Know About Saginaw Valley State Football

After scoring 65 points in two wins to start the year, Saginaw Valley State has dropped two consecutive games, while being outscored 56-17. All of that was nonconference action, however.

Next up, is a pair of GLIAC games—Grand Valley State and Ferris State—and the next two weeks could determine SVSU’s conference fate for 2023.

In last week’s loss to the University of Indianapolis, senior Jarius Grissom took most of the snaps at quarterback, going 13-for-23 for 141 yards and a touchdown. 

On the season, Grissom is 15-for-26 for 163 yards, while sophomore Mike O’Horo is 27-for-40 for 303 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Junior Willie Taylor also has 20 pass attempts. 

Will the QB roulette be a help or a hinderance for SVSU as conference play gets underway?

Redshirt freshman running back Terrance Brown is the team’s top rusher with 330 yards and two scores on 54 carries, senior wide receiver Derrick Hinton Jr. leads the receivers with 151 yards and a touchdown on 12 receptions and junior linebacker Alfred Dailey Jr. leads the defense with 40 total tackles.

When Is Grand Valley State Vs. Saginaw Valley State?

The Grand Valley State Lakers will take on the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals on Saturday, Sept. 30 at 6 p.m. ET at Harvey Randall Wickes Memorial Stadium in University Center, Michigan.

What’s The Weather Forecast?

Daytime in University Center, Michigan, on Saturday will feature a pleasant fall day with a mix of sunshine and clouds and a high of 78 degrees. Into the evening and gametime, the skies will be clear, but the temperatures will dip into the mid-50s.

Archived Footage On FloFootball

Video footage from the event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloFootball subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscription.

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