Time is running out for Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams to sort out their plans and shake off any remaining rust before beginning the chase for this year’s GLIAC title and a guaranteed chance to stay in the running for a national championship.

The road is long, and there will plenty of obstacles along the way, mainly Grand Valley State and Ferris State, which have dominated the league standings in recent years. 

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It’s still early in the 2024 college football season, meaning that early nonconference games can be looked at as opportunities to gauge strengths and weaknesses, rather than as memories of an already broken season.  

However, some trends from the eight GLIAC teams in recent years are repeating themselves, and things are beginning to look eerily similar.

First, despite being nearly invisible in their first game, the Ferris State Bulldogs have gone back to putting up some huge numbers, outscoring their opponents 99-6 over their last two games. The Bulldogs have this week off, though.

Next, Grand Valley State is 2-0 and rolling, though the Lakers’ Week 3 win over Colorado State-Pueblo nearly got away in the final quarter.

And, if we’re talking about title contenders, it’s important to mention Davenport, which continues to find itself on the verge of a breakthrough. 

The Panthers are off to a perfect start for the third consecutive season (2-0), after going 8-0 in 2022 and 2023. Unfortunately, what followed both times was losses to GVSU and Ferris State and the conference title slipping away.

Here’s a look at the matchups for the GLIAC teams during Week 4 of the 2024 season, along with predictions for each game.

Note: All start times for Saturday are Eastern. Games marked with an asterisk will be streamed live on FloFootball.

GLIAC Teams In Week 4

Sept. 21

*Central Missouri At Davenport, Noon

In baseball, altitude can account for inflated home run numbers, but what in the world is the explanation for the number of points being scored in football games involving the Central Missouri Mules?

Last season, the Mules scored 34 or more points in every game they played on the way to an 11-2 record. Their season ended in the second round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs in a 35-34 nailbiter with eventual national champion Harding. 

The season-ending loss was the lowest point total for the Mules in 2023, a run that saw them score 55 or more points five times, including a 77-point outburst in a win over Emporia State. At the same time, Central Missouri also gave up at least 14 points in every contest.

The onslaught of points has continued in 2024 with a 63-21 win against Northeastern State and a 57-40 loss to Central Oklahoma last weekend.

Sure, Davenport was a combined 16-5 in 2022 and 2023, including 8-0 starts each season, but while the Panthers have put up some big scores at times, they have been relatively quiet against the playoff perennials. 

There’s no doubt the Panthers are the third-best team in the GLIAC and a big win or two away from breaking through, but it’s likely the Mules will give them their biggest test outside of conference play.

After slipping from No. 2 to No. 11 in the D2Football.com after last week’s loss, the Mules are going to be fighting mad and ready to spoil the Davenport home opener. 

PREDICTION: Central Missouri 39, Davenport 14

*Alma College At Northern Michigan, 1 p.m.

The last time the Northern Michigan Wildcats won a football game was Nov. 12, 2022, a 33-11 contest with Lake Eric College to wrap up a second consecutive 4-7 campaign.

The 2023 season featured an 0-11 performance, and 2024 hasn’t been any better, with the Wildcats losing three straight games to open the year, while being outscored 103-41. 

The most recent loss, 35-21 on the road at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, saw Northern Michigan hold its own statistically and collect 405 total yards to UWL’s 443.

The Wildcats got multi-touchdown performances from sophomore quarterback Aidan Hoard and senior receiver Michael Love and a 137-yard rushing effort from freshman fullback Elizin Rouse. 

Some of the losses the Wildcats are experiencing are complete blowouts, but many of the final scores show life and fight, meaning things potentially could swing the other way with some breaks for Northern Michigan. 

If Northern Michigan is going to end its losing streak, this is the perfect week to do it. 

The Wildcats are on their home turf. It’s homecoming weekend. They’re playing a Division III team – albeit a really good one that’s coming off a trip to the Division III national quarterfinals.

It’s like a roulette game. No matter how many times in a row the result is the same color, eventually it will be something else. Why not now?

Alma enters this weekend at 1-1 on the year – a 41-35 loss to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and a 38-30 win over Denison. 

In their all-time history, Alma and Northern Michigan are 1-1, but those to matchups came in 1955 and 1956.

PREDICTION: Homecoming win. Northern Michigan 27, Alma 21

*Wisconsin-La Crosse At Grand Valley State, 7 p.m.

Grand Valley State nearly let one slip away last week against Colorado State-Pueblo, so expect the Lakers to tighten things up this week against Wisconsin-La Crosse. 

GVSU led 17-0 at halftime against CSU-Pueblo in Week 3 and saw the ThunderWolves mount a second-half comeback that included two fourth-quarter touchdowns. 

In the end, a win is a win, but there’s no doubt the Lakers would prefer things to go more like their 58-0 season-opening win against Central State, compared to the 24-21 close call with CSU-Pueblo. 

The last time Grand Valley State and Wisconsin-La Crosse met was in 2021, with the decision going to the Lakers, 45-24. That was a solid 10-win season for GVSU, but the Lakers went on to collect 12 and 11 wins in 2022 and 2023, respectively. 

The only other time the teams faced each other was in the 1978 NAIA Division I Playoffs, with GVSU winning 24-14.

Wisconsin-La Crosse was a Division III playoff team last season, bowing out of the national quarterfinals, while this year has started with a pair of wins – 35-0 over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a 35-21 victory against GLIAC cellar dweller Northern Michigan.

If there are any assumptions or measurements to be made off those two games, however, it’s that a team expecting to beat Grand Valley State should be beating Northern Michigan by much more than 14 points. 

There’s not much else to say here. GVSU should be disappointed after last week’s second half, and the Lakers will take it out on the Eagles this week. They’re going to score early and often to put it away early and in a big way.

PREDICTION: Grand Valley State 49, Wisconsin-La Crosse 16

What Else Is On Tap?

Michigan Tech At Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 1 p.m.

Michigan Tech is riding a two-game winning streak, which includes a 52-50 win over South Dakota Mines that took four overtime periods to settle. That came after a 19-13 overtime loss to Bemidji State to open the season.

Week 3 for the Huskies was a slightly less eventful 21-6 win over Hillsdale.

Wisconsin-Oshkosh also doesn’t mind a little extra time on the field, which the Titans needed in order to defeat Linfield last week, 28-21, and improve to 2-0 on the year. 

Michigan Tech and Wisconsin-Oshkosh met once, in 1987, so past performance isn’t a thing here. 

Instead, it’s Michigan Tech’s lack of success in recent seasons that will allow the Titans to take this one.

PREDICTION: Wisconsin-Oshkosh 19, Michigan Tech 9

*Truman State At Saginaw Valley State, 2 p.m.

Saginaw Valley State is a middle-of-the-pack team in a very touch GLIAC. Truman State has been a contender in the smaller Great Lakes Valley Conference.

SVSU is 1-1 this year and coming off a low-scoring loss to Northwood (10-7), while the Bulldogs are 0-2 but have put up 55 points on the season.

This one is a coin flip.

PREDICTION: Truman 28, Saginaw Valley State 21

Roosevelt At Valparaiso, 2 p.m.

Roosevelt is new to the GLIAC this season and is making the transition to the NCAA Division II level from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

The team’s history is a little more complicated, however, as the Lakers previously played as the Robert Morris University Illinois Eagles. The two Chicago-area schools merged in 2020.

Since the merger, the team has not had a losing season, winning a high of eight games in 2021 as part of an 8-8 record. Under a more traditional schedule the Lakers were 7-3 in 2022 and 6-4 in 2023.

The Lakers’ 2024 campaign kicked off last weekend with a 24-14 loss to Wisconsin-Whitewater, a respectable first game of its Division II era.

Against Valparaiso, an FCS team, Roosevelt will be outmatched, but it will be a good opportunity to play against tougher competition and continue working toward the start of conference play against GLIAC big dog Ferris State on Oct. 5. 

While Valpo is 1-2 after starting the year with back-to-back losses, a 20-17 home win over Indiana Wesleyan last weekend will be good for momentum.  

PREDICTION: Valparaiso 42, Roosevelt 13

*Indianapolis At Wayne State, 6 p.m. 

Wayne State showed improvement from 2022 to 2023, going from 1-9 (0-6 in the GLIAC) to 3-8 (2-4), but this won’t be the week where the Warriors pick up their first win in 2024.

The Warriors already are 0-2 this season, with both losses coming to teams battling for sports among the Division II top 25 – Tiffin and Findlay. 

Next up is Indianapolis, which ranked 15th in the D2Football.com Top 25.

UIndy was a Division II playoff team last year, and the Greyhounds at 2-0 to start this season. 

The numbers just aren’t in Wayne State’s favor, and recent history suggests the same. UIndy has won the last three meetings (2017, 2018 and 2023), though the Warriors to the five before that, dating back to 2007.

In the 2023 contest, played in Indianapolis, the Greyhounds won 28-7.

PREDICTION: Indianapolis 45, Wayne State 10

Ferris State Off In Week 4

Ferris State is off this week and will visit American International College on Sept. 28.

How Did The GLIAC Football Teams Perform In Week 3?

*GLIAC teams in bold

Michigan Tech 21, Hillsdale 6

Davenport 17, Bowie State 14

Northwood 10, Saginaw Valley 7

Findlay 42, Wayne State 30

UW-Whitewater 24, Roosevelt 14

UW-La Crosse 35, Northern Michigan 21

Ferris State 43, Ashland 3

Grand Valley State 24, Colorado State-Pueblo 21

D2Football.com Top 25 – Sept 15, 2024

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