INDIANAPOLIS - A scheduling alliance between the Great Midwest Athletic Conference and the Great Lakes Valley Conference comes to full fruition for the next two weeks in the Division II football landscape starting on Saturday.
Week 3 is full of Great Midwest vs. GLVC matchups – all at GLVC locations, before the Great Midwest turns around and hosts all of the Week 4 contests on their respective campus facilities.
Two weeks are down in the fall season and Saturday will feature eight more non-conference games on the slate.
The marquee matchup between two AFCA nationally ranked programs is set up between No. 12 UIndy hosting No. 15 Tiffin. The Greyhounds edged out Hillsdale in Week 2 in a close score while the Dragons routed future conference member Northwood to improve to 2-0.
Both programs were NCAA qualifiers in 2019 and also secured spring conference titles earlier this year. Tiffin brings in a 16-game regular season win streak while UIndy has won 14 straight at Key Stadium.
The Great Midwest’s other 2-0 program is Lake Erie and the Storm. After beating Clarion and Franklin Pierce, the program has high hopes against a Bearcats’ squad that has dropped games to Northern Michigan and No. 22 ranked Delta State.
LEC QB Gerald Gardner has completed almost 66 percent of his passes and is averaging over 329 yards per game through the air. He has spread the ball around to his talented WR group that includes Nate Dantley Jr, Josh Hufstetler, Eric Daniels and Peyton Brown, who had a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown vs. Franklin Pierce.
After becoming the first player in conference history to rush for over 300 yards, Findlay’s Derek Lynch will look for an encore at Southwest Baptist. SBU is looking for its first win of the season along with McKendree, Lindenwood and William Jewell.
The Oilers were able to beat UNC Pembroke in OT on short notice with not much time to prepare in Week 2 for their first tally in the win column. By the numbers, Southwest Baptist’s Cooper Callis is the GLVC’s leading passer at 259 yards per game.
Hillsdale goes on the road to face Truman State, the Great Midwest’s first-ever America’s Crossroads Bowl Game opponent in 2019. The Bulldogs run a ground and pound style of offense with RB Cory Schrader responsible for 58 of TSU’s 70 carries.
The Chargers offense was synchronized and clicking in the upset effort against UIndy as QB Luke Keller tossed for over 300 yards and three touchdowns. DB and Academic All-American Alex Anschutz is the league leader in total tackles with 27.
Walsh and Ohio Dominican were both involved in low-scoring Week 2 affairs with different outcomes. The Cavaliers will be taking on Quincy and the Panthers kick things off at 1 p.m. ET against William Jewell.
Kentucky Wesleyan, after beating Kentucky State in a thrilling final seconds for its first win of the season, will be the late contest with an 8 p.m. ET kick under the lights at Lindenwood.