With three weeks left in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season, there’s a little bit of clarity as the season winds down, with two simple scenarios that would make for the easiest end to the season. And, with it, playoff seeding.

The simplest scenario is either Grand Valley State or Davenport winning out (they play each other to end the regular season) and taking the GLIAC title outright.

The next scenario, which would cause some chaos, involves Ferris State beating Davenport next week, then Davenport beating GVSU in the finale, potentially causing a three-way tie atop the league standings.

But before any of those scenarios can take shape or questions can be answered, those teams will play their final tune-up games ahead of the mega showdowns during the final two weeks of the season.

GLIAC Game Of The Week

Saginaw Valley State (4-4, 1-2) At No. 11 Davenport (7-0, 3-0)

Both of these teams are coming in hot, with Davenport continuing its undefeated start, while SVSU has found momentum the last two weeks with a pair of wins that helped the Cardinals climb back to .500 for the season.

The key for Saginaw Valley the last two weeks has been a rejuvenated defense, which struggled the previous four weeks, albeit against four ranked teams, including two of the best offenses in the country in Grand Valley State and Ferris State.

In wins over St. Xavier and Wayne State, the Cardinal defense gave up just 20 combined points and a shade over 400 total yards.

The win over Wayne State was a battle to the end, with the Cardinals needing overtime in a game their offense struggled, to get going. 

Despite getting outgained by over 120 yards, and Wayne State holding a nearly 42 minutes to 18 minutes edge in time of possession, the Cardinal defense limited the Warriors to just one touchdown drive that was 37 yards and posted a zero in overtime, before Mike O’Horo played the hero with a touchdown from two yards out.

On paper, 212 rushing yards allowed doesn’t seem great, but it took Wayne State a whopping 66 attempts to get to that point, while the secondary allowed just 107 yards and picked off a pass.

Elijah Gordon Tabbed @GLIACFootball Defensive Player of the Week @svsu_football #EarnIt #BeaksUp https://t.co/eWZfWUe9Oi

— svsuathletics (@svsuathletics) October 23, 2023

That improved rush defense is a must, if SVSU is going to pull off the upset against Davenport, which after racing out to a 19-0 lead against winless UMary, let the hose Marauders back into the game with a 24-7 run over the second and third quarters. 

While the Panthers never trailed, that the game was in doubt late into the fourth against a winless team should serve as a wake-up call for the Panthers.

Despite the defensive problem, the Panthers remained efficient, averaging nearly five yards per carry on the ground. Jason Whittaker passed for 218 yards on 13 completions, while not tossing an interception. 

Running back Myren Harris, who leads the GLIAC in rushing by over 50 yards per game from the next best rusher, continued his monster season with 139 yards in the win, giving him six-consecutive 100-yard games and bringing him to 898 yards for the season.

If SVSU is going to top the Panthers, slowing him down is a must. 

The Cardinals also must get a big effort from the defense, because it’s an offense that is experiencing a down year from past high-scoring SVSU teams. The Cardinals are among the bottom three teams in the GLIAC in yards and scoring, ahead of only Wayne State, which just outgained them, and winless Northern Michigan.

These same two teams played a thriller last season at SVSU, with Davenport rallying from a 14-3 deficit to take a 29-28 decision, getting the winning touchdown with around 10 minutes to go, and holding off SVSU the rest of the way. 

The key in that win, and it’s an area where Davenport has an edge over SVSU this season: turnovers. SVSU coughed up the ball four times last season, while Davenport has just seven turnovers during the 2023 campaign.

GLIAC Games At A Glance

*All Games Scheduled For Saturday

American International (2-6) At No. 8 Ferris State (5-2, 3-1)

Ferris State takes its turn as the lone GLIAC team to play out of the league this week, hosting Northeast 10 foe American International ahead of a potential showdown with Davenport next week.

Ferris State got back to its winning ways last week behind five rushing touchdowns from Carson Gulker, but the game was closer than Ferris hoped, with Michigan Tech outgaining the Bulldogs, despite the 35-21 win. 

Part of that was more about struggles from the Ferris State secondary, which gave up 326 yards.

American International has struggled to a 2-6 mark this year, and in one of the more bizarre stats you’ll ever see, the Yellow Jackets played four straight games where they scored 14 points. All four were losses.

Wayne State (2-6, 1-2) At Northern Michigan (0-8, 0-4)

Don’t expect a lot of fireworks in this one, as the two teams with the worst offenses in the league, both in terms of yards and points, square off in what might be the last chance for either team to grab a win.

Wayne State’s defense played a heroic game last week against Saginaw Valley State, but unfortunately, the offense couldn’t find a way to back up the defensive effort. Wayne State suffered a 17-10 overtime loss, despite big advantages in yards and time of possession. 

The Warriors will look to repeat that formula against the worst defense in the GLIAC.

Northern Michigan dropped to 0-8 last week in a beatdown at the hands of Grand Valley State, giving up 73 points and over 600 yards. If there was some good news, it’s that the Wildcats did manage a pair of touchdowns and put up nearly 300 yards of offense against a very tough GVSU defense.

#WarriorFB: WSU will play the second of back-to-back road games this Saturday at Northern Michigan.https://t.co/WHhIiZ91P4#REPthe313 pic.twitter.com/ansLXHcGzT

— WSU Athletics (@waynestwarriors) October 25, 2023

Michigan Tech (4-3, 1-3) At No. 3 GVSU (6-1, 3-0)

Despite a loss, Michigan Tech has a lot to build on after last week’s game at home against Ferris State. 

The Huskies outgained the Bulldogs and passed for over 320 yards in the loss, which could bode well against a Lakers defense that, at times, has been susceptible to big passing plays.

GVSU was clicking on all cylinders last week at Northern Michigan, scoring at least two touchdowns in each quarter and racking up over 600 yards in an easy win, while climbing to No. 3 in the polls. 

GVSU dominated this game last year, winning 42-7, and limiting the Huskies to 167 yards of offense, despite the game being in Houghton.