Top five matchup across divisions as UW-La Crosse travels for primetime game with Grand Valley State
The UW-La Crosse Eagles are on the road again this weekend and are gearing up for a stern test from another Division 2 opponent.
A week after dispatching Northern Michigan 35-21, the Eagles, ranked #5 in the latest polls, will visit Allendale, Michigan for a date with the Grand Valley State Lakers at , who are ranked #2 in Division 2, at 6PM CT.
UW-La Crosse Head Coach Matt Janus views the trip as a unique opportunity for his team.
“I don’t know there’s been a matchup of cross division teams that have been rated this high,” Janus said. “I just think that’s such a cool atmosphere to be in for college football in general.”
UW-La Crosse reached the D3 quarterfinals for the first time since 1996 last season, and Grand Valley State has lost in the quarterfinals the last two seasons.
The Eagles last faced Grand Valley State in 2021, a 45-21 loss, which was a 7 point game until midway through the 4th quarter.
Janus says with noise being predicted, they are preparing their quarterbacks accordingly.
“We’ll have to do a great job with communication, especially on the offensive side of the ball,” Janus said. “I hope we’re not hurting the hearing of our quarterbacks because we’ve got a speaker behind them the entire time throughout practice.”
Beyond hinting at the less than PG commentary from fans, Janus added he expects intimidation tactics from the GVSU players as well, noting that surviving the first quarter will be key to the Eagles’ success Saturday night.
“They’re going to try to overwhelm us in warmups by talking crap to us,” Janus said. “We’ll be jawing back and forth. They’ll be blitzing the heck out of us and trying to take deep shots on us. We know the salvo is coming. The biggest thing is keeping our heads and our cool, and focus on one series at a time.”
Pregame coverage will start at 5:45. Listen live on 96.7 FM and 580 AM and stream the game live on wktysports.com and the WKTY app.