Don’t look now, but the Ashland University football team is warming up as the October weather cools down. Fresh off their 40-35 road victory over the Warriors of Wayne State, the Eagles are looking for their fourth consecutive win this Saturday as the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals visit Jack Miller Stadium for the first time.

The Cardinals defeated the Eagles last year at Saginaw 42-14 and the Eagles are looking to avenge that defeat with one this weekend at home. The Cardinals have yet to win a road game this season, going 0-3. The Eagles come into this weekend’s affair at 4-3, 3-3 in the GLIAC while the Cardinals come in at 3-4 and 3-3 in the GLIAC.

Saginaw Valley has won two straight games, defeating Indianapolis 24-20 last weekend and winning 43-31 over Michigan Tech Oct. 9.

The Cardinals are led by their senior signal-caller, Charles Dowdell. Dowdell is third in the GLIAC with 207 yards passing per game and is 95-for-152 on the season for 1,241 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also has found success on the ground, rushing 68 times for 192 yards and six scores.

Sophomore running back Ronnie Lark and senior wide receiver Andrew Beaver also anchor a balanced Cardinal offense which scores 31.6 points per game, third best in the GLIAC.

Lark has rushed for 513 yards on 97 carries and has scored four touchdowns. Beaver is one of the top targets in all of the GLIAC, as he has made 48 receptions on the season for 542 yards and has five touchdowns.

Defensively for the Cardinals, they are led by linebackers Grant Caserta and Wayne Sanders.

Caserta, a sophomore, leads the team with 62 tackles and also has two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Sanders is second on the team with 47 tackles, one sack and a forced fumble.

Senior Rick Evans leads the team with three interceptions.

During the Eagles three- game winning streak, turnovers, or the lack thereof, have been key.

The Eagles have turned the ball over just once the last three weeks; an interception by Taylor Housewright in the red zone last weekend at Wayne State. The defense, during that stretch, has forced five turnovers.

Housewright won GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week laurels last week for his 302 yard, four touchdown performance against the Warriors and looks to continue his hot streak against the Cardinals.

On the season, Housewright is 112-for-169 for 1,550 yards and 11 touchdowns to just six interceptions.

He is also the team’s second leading rusher with 238 yards.

D.J. McCoy has been on a tear the last four games, carrying the ball 106 times for 532 yards and six touchdowns. In that four-game span, McCoy’s lowest rushing total has been 120 yards. McCoy looks to have another productive day against the Cardinals, who allow just over 143 yards rushing per game.

Housewright and McCoy won’t be the only offensive weapons for the Eagles this Saturday, as wide receivers Joe Horn and Christian Livingston will look to find gaps in the Cardinal secondary.

Horn leads the Eagles in receptions (25) and touchdowns (4) while Livingston leads the team in receiving yards (476). Horn is just 54 yards shy from being the Eagles all-time leader in receiving yards as he comes into this week’s game with 2,274 career receiving yards.

The Eagles’ defense has been a constant force in 2010, recording 17 sacks, ranking them second in the GLIAC.

Carmon Wolfe is the leader of the defense and is fifth in the GLIAC in tackles, recording 64 on the year.

He also has six tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble. Logan Kerr leads the team with three interceptions and Matt Stoinoff leads the team in tackles for loss (7) and sacks (3).

The Eagles and Cardinals will kick off Saturday at 1 p.m. at Jack Miller Stadium. The Eagles trail the Warriors and the Hillsdale Chargers in the GLIAC South Division. Wayne State is 4-2 while Hillsdale is 5-1.