The Ashland University football team, which is now 5-3 overall and 4-2 in GLIAC play, will travel to University Center, Mich. to play the Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals on Saturday.

The Eagles are coming off of a victory against Michigan Tech, in which the team came out on top in the pouring rain 21-12 at home. This is the fourth win in the last five games that the Eagles have played.

Against the Huskies the Eagles played a much different football game comparably to their previous streak of wins.

For the first time in weeks the Eagles started out on top on scoring.

“I got the team together Friday night and showed them some tape and talked about not getting in a whole,” head AU football coach Lee Owens said. “We had to get out of the gate to have a chance and we did that.”

Sophomore quarterback Austin Brenner, junior wide receiver Logan Bolin and freshman tailback Gei’ Vonni Washington all scored within the second and third quarters to secure a 21-0 lead in the third over Michigan Tech. The Huskies outscored AU at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth, but ultimately fell to AU 21-12.

Looking forward, AU will have to compete with a tough Saginaw Valley State team who is undefeated at home.

“It’s a tough stadium to play in and they bring a lot of enthusiasm to the game,” Owens said. “We’re the third team ranked higher than them in the preseason in the last four weeks and they’re hoping to knock one of us off.”

The Cardinals are currently 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the GLIAC, however their past three games were against top ranked teams: Ferris State (undefeated 8-0), Grand Valley State (7-1) and Lindenwood (5-3).

“It’s gonna be a big challenge and we knew it’s gonna be a big challenge,” Owens said. “They’ve got good players on offense; quarterback has played a bunch, the receivers and tailbacks are really good. Their defensive front may be the best pass rushers we’ve seen.”

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Wickes Stadium in University Center, Mich. Live coverage can be heard on 88.9 WRDL.