No. 1 Grand Valley football faces No. 8 Northwest Missouri State in NCAA playoffs

After a first-round bye in the NCAA playoffs, the No. 1 Grand Valley football team welcomes No. 8 Northwest Missouri State to Lubbers Stadium for the second-round game at 1 p.m. on November 26.

Saturday’s game features two of the top defenses in the country. Northwest Missouri State leads the nation in rushing defense while the Lakers rank fourth, and Grand Valley has the top scoring defense in Division II, surrendering fewer than 11 points a game.

“I’m not going to say it’s going to be a 10-7 game, you never know,” head coach Matt Mitchell said. “But, there are certainly challenges for both offenses when you take a look at what each has to go against.”

The teams also have a history of meeting in the NCAA playoffs, most recently the Bearcats’ win over the Lakers in the first round of the 2018 playoffs. They have met three times in the Division II National Championship with the Lakers winning the 2005 and 2006 titles and the Bearcats winning the 2009 game.

“They have a big, physical defensive front with a lot of experience,” Mitchell said. “Their quarterback is a very mobile one that can create some issues. They will run him to try and create some plays.

“The team is really excited. They were fired up in practice. The guys are well aware of the history and tradition that Northwest Missouri State has.” 

Saturday's game will be live streamed via FloSports, and is available online or via iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast. Lakers fans can register for a subscription at the GLIAC’s home page on FloSports. 

The game will also be broadcast locally on WXSP-TV (Channel 15 over-the-air broadcast in the Grand Rapids area). 

Tune in to 96.9 WLAV-FM for the radio broadcast of the game. Pre-game coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. 

Tickets and parking passes are available on the Lakers tickets website.  

For full coverage of GVSU football, including broadcast info, news, features, highlights, press conferences and more, follow @GVSUFootball on social media or visit gvsulakers.com.