November 27th, 2024 12:10pm
The march to a repeat continues for the Harding Bisons. This week, the Bisons will be on the road once again, taking on Grand Valley State up in Allendale, Mich. It’s a rematch of the Super Region Three final from a season ago, when the Bisons defeated the Lakers in Searcy, Ark., 7-6, in an absolute slobberknocker of a game.
Things might look a little different this time around, beginning with the weather. The forecast for Saturday is 28 degrees with a bit of wind, making it feel even colder. Will that play a factor in this one? Possibly, but let’s dive into the personnel matchups first.
Harding’s offense shredded a really good Pitt State defense last week, rolling up over 500 rushing yards against the Gorillas. The Bisons are absolutely rolling right now, and have been all year. But in the past two weeks, the Bisons have not had a negative play, as both the Gorillas and Arkansas Tech failed to accumulate and tackles for loss. Grand Valley State’s defense has been really good again this year, holding opponents to 4.2 yards per play and 13.7 points per game. The run defense has been sound, giving up just 115 yards per game and 3.6 yards per carry. Again, they haven’t seen a rushing attack like Harding this year, but seeing the Bisons a season ago certainly will help the game prep. Third downs will be a key in this one. The Lakers allow opponents to convert just 27 percent of the time on third down, good for sixth nationally. The Bisons are first in the nation on third down, converting over 58 percent of the time. Of course, the key to third down is winning on early downs and putting yourself in manageable situations. After the first quarter, the Bisons did that at will against Pitt State, converting 9-of-11 chances in the win. I don’t pretend to know the GVSU personnel, but I know their linebackers are solid and defensive lineman Niles King (12 TFL, 8.5 sacks) can be a major disruptor. The defensive line isn’t the same it was a year ago, but we’ll see how much that matters with the Lakers still employing plenty of returners from last year’s team.
On the other side of the ball, there are questions on who will be behind center for the Lakers on Saturday. Usual starter Avery Moore didn’t play last week against UIndy and it’s unclear if he’s going to be the guy this week. He’s a senior and can make plays with his legs, carrying at least 12 times in five games this season. It could be junior Ike Udengwu at quarterback again this week. Udengwu had a nice game last week, throwing for 223 yards, two touchdowns and a single interception in the win. Overall, the Lakers have the potential to control the game on the ground if they’re able to block the Bisons up front. GVSU averages 233 yards per game and five yards per carry, while averaging 5.9 yards per play on offense. And the Lakers have been pretty consistent on the ground this year, finishing under 200 yards rushing just four times this season. However, one of those times was last week, when the Lakers ran for 68 yards on 39 carries. Easy math shows that’s less than two yards per carry. Not a good tune-up before facing one of the nation’s top rush defenses in the Bisons, who give up just 73 yards per game and 2.4 yards per carry. If the Lakers can’t establish the run, I don’t think there’s an opportunity for GVSU to gash Harding through the air. The Bisons have picked off 16 passes this year and the Lakers only average 168 yards per game and just eight yards per attempt. It’s not an explosive, downfield attack, and I think the inability to stretch the field will play right into Harding’s hands.
There are a lot of questions surrounding the Lakers coming into this game. On the Harding side, there are no questions, only boring predictability, both of which are good things for the Bisons. Will the weather affect ball security for the Harding backs? Possibly. And frankly, on paper, that may be the biggest unknown on the Harding side of things. But I trust the Harding defense immensely and I don’t see the Lakers doing enough on offense to supplement any positives that come from their defensive performance. Bisons move on.
Harding 27, Grand Valley State 10