FOOTBALL: Week 4 GLIAC Overview

BIG RAPIDS - This is rivalry week around the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and there are a few matchups, on paper, that appear to be intriguing ones.

The Anchor-Bone Classic is played between Ferris State University and top-ranked Grand Valley State University, The 36th annual Axe Bowl pits Northwood University and Saginaw Valley State University against each other and The Miner's Cup is the showdown between Northern Michigan University and Michigan Tech University for Upper Peninsula bragging rights. These are three of the bigger rivalries, the ones with name recognition, that most fans in the conference are familiar with as far as the gridiron is concerned.

The Axe Bowl is interesting this year because Northwood is off to a 2-0 start this season after an upset victory last week over Hillsdale and taking on No. 23 SVSU. So, that game takes on a little added meaning this year as the Timberwolves make the short trip to University Center.

As one might expect, the standings are tightly compacted at this stage of the season as No. 18 Ashland, Findlay, Grand Valley and Northwood are all 2-0 in the conference standings. Tied at 1-1 are the following teams: Hillsdale, Saginaw Valley, Wayne and Northern. At 0-2 so far are Ferris, Indianapolis, Michigan Tech and Tiffin. Now, before the start of the season, few would have had Findlay and Northwood at 2-0 and few would have had Tech and Ferris at 0-2.

In the next couple of weeks, we should begin to see a little separation between the teams as we have more conference games played.

That separation begins this weekend with some key contests.

Week 4 Games

Northwood at Saginaw Valley State

12 p.m., Harvey Randall Wickes Stadium, University Center

COMMENTS: This is usually a fun matchup as the Timberwolves and Cardinals will play for the big axe with this year's contest taking place in Saginaw Valley's stadium. How will the Cardinals bounce back from a huge loss last weekend at Grand Valley? There's no shame in losing to GVSU, as nearly all teams on the Lakers' schedule will, but Saginaw now has to bounce back, pick itself up and get focused for Northwood. On the other side, the Timberwolves are coming off an upset victory over a Hillsdale team that seemed to be heavily favored in most circles to come out of that game with a victory. Is Northwood for real this season, as an upper-division GLIAC team? This game should tell us a lot. I like Saginaw Valley in this game.

Findlay at Wayne State

12 p.m., Adams Field/WSU Stadium, Detroit

COMMENTS: This has a chance to be one of the more competitive games in the GLIAC this weekend. Wayne, of course, features Joique Bell, who is one of the best running backs in the league and in the nation. If the Warriors can establish his dominance running the ball then that should take some of the pressure off of its youth at the quarterback position. Findlay is a team coming in with a lot of confidence after a dominating victory over Ferris, 43-7. In that game, the Oilers ran the ball with dominance. The team best able to establish its run could be in good shape to win this contest. I keep flip-flopping on this one, but at this very moment I like Findlay (but ever-so slightly).

Northern Michigan at Michigan Tech

1 p.m., Sherman Field, Houghton

COMMENTS: The Miner's Cup could be an interesting one as Tech looks to (surprisingly so) get its first GLIAC win of the season. Tech at 0-2 in the league is evidence of just how tough it is to get wins in this conference. MTU is a good football team that has had a little bit of tough luck the last couple of weeks (at Hillsdale and at Ashland). I like the passing game of Michigan Tech to have some success in this game, but Northern is coming in with some confidence after crushing Tiffin 62-0. Confidence means something in this game and could especially mean something in a rivalry. Still, I like the Huskies, with their offensive weapons, in this one.

Ashland at Tiffin

1:30 p.m., Frost-Kalnow Stadium, Tiffin, Ohio

COMMENTS: I don't see Tiffin having any shot against Ashland in this game. The Eagles have too much on defense and WAY too much on offense for the Dragons to have much of a shot (home or away). Ashland rolls to a victory in this one. Look for quarterback Billy Cundiff and company to attack early and often, build a large lead and run the ball powerfully throughout the second half.

Indianapolis at Hillsdale

7 p.m., Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium, Hillsdale

COMMENTS: Hillsdale already has had a big slip with a surprising loss to Northwood. The Chargers can not afford another slip with more tough games still to come on their schedule. It's only the third week of the GLIAC schedule, but this game is almost a must-win for Hillsdale. I suspect the Chargers understand that and should prevail against a solid Indianapolis team that seems to have played Grand Valley as tough as anyone has so far this year.

Note: I will have more on the Ferris-Grand Valley game in later blogs