Haters are going to hate. It’s lonely at the top. Only the strong survive. 

How many other cliches could be used to describe the way Grand Valley State and Ferris State have dominated the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in recent years or how the conference’s other teams must feel about it?

The next team up on GVSU’s schedule quietly has risen back into contention in the GLIAC and again will have the opportunity to slay one of the giants for a potential season-defining win.

GVSU and Saginaw Valley State are set to meet Saturday at Harvey Randall Wickes Memorial Stadium in University Center, Michigan, for the next edition of the storied Battle of the Valleys. It’s also SVSU’s 2024 homecoming game. 

Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. Eastern, live on FloFootball.

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GVSU and SVSU’s longstanding rivalry kicked off in 1975, but it has been a little bit lopsided. Grand Valley State leads the series, which includes four playoff games, 41-11.

Grand Valley State has won the last 11 editions of the Battle of the Valleys, including a 55-14 rout in 2023. The last time SVSU won the battle was a 55-52 nailbiter in 2012. 

A run of success for Saginaw Valley State was followed by a few seasons of struggles, but the Cardinals have been on the rise again since returning from the COVID-canceled 2020 campaign.

In each of the last three seasons, SVSU has suffered three losses in GLIAC play, with two each time being courtesy of GVSU and Ferris State.

Entering this week’s Battle of the Valleys, all three squads sit tied atop the conference standings at 2-0. Yes, it’s early in the slate, but the next two weeks could be where the 2024 GLIAC title is decided, as GVSU will see SVSU and Ferris State in back-to-back weeks.

Saginaw Valley State is one of six teams not named GVSU or Ferris State to have won the GLIAC title, or a share of it, since the inception of the conference in 1999, but the last time the Cardinals hoisted the trophy was 2003. The last time anyone other than GVSU or Ferris State did so was Ashland in 2017.

Grand Valley State heads into this week’s matchup at 6-0 overall and coming off a 49-17 win over Northern Michigan. SVSU is 5-1 after defeating GLIAC newcomer Roosevelt on Saturday, 27-14.

Do the Cardinals finally have enough firepower to get past the Lakers and make a legitimate bid for the conference title?

How To Watch Grand Valley State Football Vs. Saginaw Valley State Live Stream

The Grand Valley State Lakers vs. Saginaw Valley State Cardinals football game is streaming live on FloFootball and the FloSports app.

Highlights, replays and breaking news will be available on both platforms. 

AFCA Division II Football Rankings For Week 8

Oct. 14, 2024

1. Harding (Ark.) (30) - Prev. 1
2. Grand Valley St. (Mich.) - Prev. 2
3. Valdosta St. (Ga.) - Prev. 3
4. Ferris St. (Mich.) - Prev. 4
5. Kutztown (Pa.) - Prev. 5
6. Slippery Rock (Pa.) - Prev. 6
7. Pittsburg St. (Kan.) - Prev. 7
8. Western Colorado - Prev. 8
9. Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) - Prev. 10
10. West Alabama - Prev. 11
11. Central Oklahoma - Prev. 12
12. Colorado School of Mines - Prev. 13
13. Charleston (W.Va.) - Prev. 14
14. Colorado St.-Pueblo - Prev. 16
15. Minnesota St. - Prev. 15
16. Emporia St. (Kan.) - Prev. 18
17. Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) - Prev. 17
18. Carson-Newman (Tenn.) - Prev. 23
19. Indianapolis (Ind.) - Prev. 21
20. Johnson C. Smith (N.C.) - Prev. 22
21. Central Washington - Prev. 9
22. Frostburg St. (Md.) - Prev. 24
23. West Florida - NR
24. Southern Arkansas - NR
25. Henderson St. (Ark.) - NR

Dropped Out: Delta State (Miss.) (19), Findlay (Ohio) (20), Indiana (Pa.) (25)

Others Receiving Votes: Augustana (S.D.), 34; Delta St. (Miss.), 19; Virginia Union, 19; Findlay (Ohio), 17; New Haven (Conn.), 12; Wayne St. (Neb.), 12; Angelo St. (Tex.), 11; Colorado Mesa, 8; Emory & Henry (Va.), 8; Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 8; Assumption (Mass.), 7; Limestone (S.C.), 7; Sioux Falls (S.D.), 7; Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 6; Ashland (Ohio), 2; Davenport (Mich.), 2; Wingate (N.C.), 2; West Virginia St., 1.

Watch Division II Football On FloFootball

Here's the Division II broadcast schedule for FloFootball for Week 8 of the 2024 college football season. Subscribe to watch.

Saturday, Oct. 19

All Times Eastern

*GLIAC

• Wingate Vs. Limestone, Noon
• *Michigan Tech Vs. Ferris State, 1 p.m.
• *Roosevelt Vs. Northern Michigan, 1 p.m.
• Emory & Henry Vs. Anderson (S.C.), 1 p.m.
• UVA Wise Vs. Carson-Newman, 1 p.m.
• Assumption Vs. St. Anselm, 1 p.m.
• Post Vs. Franklin Pierce, 1 p.m.
• New Haven Vs. Southern Connecticut, 1 p.m.
• AIC Vs. Bentley, 1 p.m.
• West Florida Vs. Chowan, 1 p.m.
• Lenoir-Rhyne Vs. Barton College, 2 p.m.
• *Wayne State Vs. Davenport, 2 p.m.
• Erskine Vs. North Greenville, 2 p.m.
• Tusculum Vs. Mars Hill, 2:30 p.m.
• West Texas A&M Vs. Eastern New Mexico, 3 p.m.
• Mississippi College Vs. Valdosta State, 3 p.m.
• *Grand Valley State Vs. Saginaw Valley State, 3 p.m.
• West Alabama Vs. Delta State, 5 p.m.
• Western Oregon Vs. UT Permian Basin, 7 p.m.
• Central Washington Vs. A&M-Kingsville, 8 p.m.
• Angelo State Vs. Midwestern State, 8 p.m.
• Western New Mexico Vs. Sul Ross State, 8 p.m.

Archived Footage On FloFootball

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