Game 5: Saginaw Valley vs. Davenport
Saturday, October 3, 2026 | 2 PM ET
Wickes Memorial Stadium | University Center, Mich.

Kick Off...
The Cardinals return to the field for their GLIAC opening contest at home against No. 11 Davenport after a bye week last Saturday. Both teams are coming off a break, with SVSU hosting for the first time since the second game of the season. The Cardinals (2-2) look to bounce back after dropping their last two road contests. The Panthers enter unbeaten at 4-0 after wins over Gannon, Truman State, UIndy, and Northern Michigan.

Last Time Out...
The Saginaw Valley State football team suffered a close 21-17 loss at Kentucky State in Alumni Stadium on Saturday. The Cardinals (2-2) gained 372 yards in the loss and blocked two Thorobred (3-1) field goal attempts.

Jayden Whitaker came in during the second quarter and went 10-of-19 for 114 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Devin Miles had 16 carries for 87 yards, leading a rushing attack that picked up 205 yards on the ground. 

Jevon Jones and Jalen Edwards co-led the SVSU defense with seven tackles each, and both also got 1.5 TFL. Tyrese Rawls had an interception in the endzone to halt one Thorobred drive. Rawls also broke up a deep pass into the end zone in the fourth quarter and finished with three tackles.

The Series...
This is the ninth meeting between the Cardinals and Davenport. The series is tied 4-4, with the Panthers taking three of the last five matchups, including a 31-17 win last year in Caledonia.

Two of the last four meetings have been decided by a single-score margin, while a two-score margin has decided the other two. The Cardinals hold the two largest margins of victory, 33-0 from the inaugural matchup with Davenport in 2017 and 21 points (24-3) in 2021. The Panthers' largest margin of victory was last season when they won by 14 points. The series average margin of victory is 12.38 points.

All-Time Results
Nov. 11, 2025: Davenport def. Saginaw Valley, 31-17 - Caledonia, Mich.
Nov. 2, 2024: Saginaw Valley def. Davenport, 24-14 - University Center, Mich.
Oct. 28, 2023: Davenport def. Saginaw Valley, 24-21 - Caledonia, Mich.
Oct. 29, 2022: Davenport def. Saginaw Valley, 29-28 - University Center, Mich.
Oct. 30, 2021: Saginaw Valley def. Davenport, 24-3 - Caledonia, Mich.
Nov. 16, 2019: Davenport def. Saginaw Valley, 33-23 - University Center, Mich.
Nov. 10, 2018: Saginaw Valley def. Davenport, 24-17 - Caledonia, Mich.
Oct. 7, 2017: Saginaw Valley def. Davenport, 33-0 - University Center, Mich.

1st-and-10...
•Saginaw Valley State football enters a new era with first-year head coach Michael Engle. Engle became the eighth SVSU football coach when he was hired in January. Engle spent four years at UIndy before he joined the Cardinals.

• The Cardinals were chosen fifth in the GLIAC Preseason Coaches Poll. SVSU finished with 28 points, three points behind fourth-place Davenport. 

• Defensive Lineman Adom LeDuc (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Utica Stevenson HS) was named to the D2Football.com Elite 100 Watch List. LeDuc was named to the first-team defense, earning a spot among the 11 best defensive players in all of Division II college football. 

• The Cardinals named wide receiver Braden Hill, offensive lineman Kaiden Bell, defensive lineman Adom LeDuc, and linebacker James McDonald.

• Kicker Teagen Lenderink was selected as the GLIAC Special Teams Player of the Week following his performance in the season opener. He is the only Cardinal to receive a GLIAC Player of the Week award so far this season.

• The Cardinals lead the GLIAC in passing yards per game (299.3) while the Panthers' passing defense ranks second, surrendering 155.8 yards through the air per game.

• Despite leaving the game at Kentucky State with an injury and having a bye week last week, Connor Wolf still leads the country in yards per pass attempt (12.89) and yards per completion (20.43). He also remains in the top 10 in passing efficiency (2nd, 209.8) and passing touchdowns (9th, 11). 

• Davenport leads the league in rushing with 312.3 yards per game (3rd in NCAA D2). DU also ranks third in rushing defense, holding opponents to just under 100 yards per game (96.3), exactly 12.0 yards more than Saginaw Valley allows (84.3), for second-best in the conference.

• DU running back Cephus Harris leads D2 in rushing yards per game (183.5) and ranks second in all-purpose yards (216.25), third in yards per carry (8.64), rushing yards (734), scoring (13.5), and fifth in rushing touchdowns (8), total points scored (54), and total touchdowns (9).

• The Cardinals' offensive line will be tested this week as the Panthers lead the GLIAC with 13 sacks this season. SVSU has surrendered the third most sacks (15) and has lost the most yardage (129). Six of Davenport's sacks came from last week's 42-7 win over Northern Michigan at the Superior Dome.

• The Panthers are one of 19 teams that remain unbeaten through the first five weeks of the season, including three other GLIAC teams: Ferris State, Grand Valley State, and Roosevelt.

Cardinal Trio Leads Efficient Passing Game...
SVSU has a trio of receivers with 100-yard performances through the first three games.

JT Webber leads the Cardinals with 365 receiving yards. He had back-to-back 100-yard games to open the season. Webber tallied 107 yards in the season-opening win over McKendree before repeating in game two with 132 yards against Texas A&M-Kingsville. Webber had one catch for an 82-yard touchdown in the loss to Northwood, and he led the team with four receptions for 44 yards at Kentucky State.

Matt Vaughn totaled 102 yards on four catches against the Bearcats in the season opener with two touchdowns. He has finished the first four games with three or more catches for the Cardinals. Against the Javelinas, he caught three passes for 35 yards. At Northwood, the converted TE caught four for 27, then added three for 26 against the Thorobreds.

Braden Hill recorded a team-best 135 receiving yards with three touchdowns in the game at Northwood for his first 100-yard receiving game this season. He leads the team with five touchdown catches. Hill added a sixth score at Kentucky State when he returned a punt for a 58-yard touchdown in the first quarter, giving the Cardinals a 7-0 lead early.

The Cardinals currently rank fourth in NCAA Division II and second in the GLIAC in team passing efficiency with 191.41. Hill is one of 29 players in the country to return a punt for a touchdown. He also ranks eighth with his five touchdown catches, second-best in the league. Webber leads the GLIAC and ranks third in the nation in yards per reception (30.43). Hill is seventh in the same category at 27.73, second in the GLIAC. 

About the Panthers...
Davenport is one of four unbeaten teams left in the GLIAC (19 in D2). The Panthers started the year 3-0 at home, beating Gannon (32-20), Truman State (28-14), and 17th-ranked UIndy (19-12) in Caledonia. 

DU had its first road trip of the season last week at Northern Michigan in a non-conference game against the Wildcats in Marquette. Davenport rolled to a 42-7 win after scoring touchdowns on four straight drives to pull away. 

Cephus Harris rushed for 143 yards in the win, extending his streak to five straight games with at least 100 yards that dates back to the 2025 season. Harris had a career game to start the season against Gannon, totaling a DU record 351 rushing yards in the win. The team amassed 420 rushing yards, a single-game school record. Harris has gained 734 yards on the ground with an average of 8.6 yards per carry; both stats rank third in the nation. He leads the team in scoring with 54 points and currently ranks second in D2 in all-purpose yards (216.5). He also leads the team in receiving with 131 yards on eight catches and a touchdown.

Jonathan Palmer is 38-of-55 through the air (69%) for 492 yards and four touchdowns. Running back Landon Tungate has one completion for a 34-yard touchdown. Mac VandenHout is 2-of-7 passing for 12 yards in his four appearances.

Five receivers have a touchdown for DU, including Michael Young, who leads the team in receiving yards with 91 on four catches. Henry Cason has six catches for 76 yards and a touchdown. Mac VandenHout, Kaleb Parrish, and Kayden Collins also scored. 

Scott Latrell leads the defense with 29 tackles, four for loss, 1.5 sacks, and three breakups. Zack Pappadakis has 26 stops, 2.5 for loss, and one QB hurry. Jaxson Englberg is the biggest pass-rush threat, leading the team with 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. Christian Cramer, Caleb Angst, and BJ Windham have an interception.

Ian Jenkins is 3-for-4 on field goals, with a season-long total of 32 yards. Asher Gregory has 70 yards on nine punt returns and another nine yards on one kick return. Kayden Collins has returned three kicks for 38 yards.