In October 2013, the Grand Valley State University football team had its proverbial back against the wall. The Lakers lost a number of key starters to injury, a pair of road games at Ohio Dominican and Ferris State in a three-week span and perhaps a few fair-weather fans in the process.

There were some questions after the 4-2 start, but those questions were answered, and answered emphatically. GVSU won eight in a row and finished as the No. 3 team in the final AFCA poll.

Rankings such as the AFCA poll, which moved GVSU back 16 spots on Monday, don’t seem to matter inside the Laker locker room. What matters is a sense of cohesion, camaraderie and an ability to overcome both injuries and tough losses. But for any team, a double-overtime loss is a tough way to start a season.

“We’ve had to bounce back from things like that before,” said senior defensive back Jack Sauber. “There’s a lot of guys in our locker room that understand what it takes, how we need to refocus and just really get to work so that we can bounce back from it.”

The experienced Lakers have a chance to bounce back at Lubbers Stadium this weekend, but it won’t be easy against reigning GLIAC champion Ohio Dominican (1-0).

Ohio Dominican’s 4-3 defense, which has given up just 17.8 points per game since 2013, will be a test for the Laker offense which scored just 13 points in regulation last week.

The Panthers led the GLIAC with 42 sacks a year ago and most of their starters are back in 2014, so GVSU’s ability to run the ball and protect senior quarterback Heath Parling could be key.

Parling took some hits against against Azusa Pacific, but – after hearing questions about the offensive line on Monday – the captain backed his teammates and said it was mostly his fault, not theirs.

“We weren’t in the right protections and that comes down to me,” he said. “Pre-snap, I didn’t see some coverages, some pressures, some stuff on tape…I have confidence in those guys, they’re good players. They’re all good players, they’re tough guys. I need to get them in the right looks, that’s on me.”

GVSU coach Matt Mitchell said the offense’s play in week one was due to a combination of factors, and that the entire unit – quarterback, running backs, tight ends, wide receivers and coaches included – was responsible for the lack of production, blitz pickup and explosiveness in the run game.

“It’s a complete group effort,” Mitchell said. “If you’re going to get explosive plays in the run game, you have to get great perimeter blocking, and there were times where we didn’t have great perimeter blocking on the outside in the run game, too. It’s not just the offensive line. Our protection issues and our run game issues are not just pinned on one specific unit. It’s a complete thing.”

It’s certainly going to take a complete performance to knock down ODU on Saturday.

The Panthers beat GVSU 57-14 last year, and did so by making plays in all three phases. ODU forced a safety, scored three touchdowns through the air, had two on the ground and two in the return game – both courtesy of now-senior wide receiver Abe Johnson.

Johnson was an All-GLIAC second team honoree in 2013, as were running back Brandon Schoen and guard Perrin Cunningham. ODU also brings back a first-team selection offensively in wideout Dez Stewart.

ODU has won 16 straight regular season games since October 2012, which was also the last time it failed to win a GLIAC contest. The Panthers are certainly a quality opponent.

However, they’ll be playing a motivated GVSU team, and the Lakers don’t lose at Lubbers easily. They may be 0-1 for the first time since 2000, but adversity is their calling card.

“I can see why people are doubting us,” said junior wide receiver Jamie Potts. “But at the end of the day, we’ve all been through camp together. We’ve gone through the summer workouts together. We know what we’re capable of…If we honestly just play how we know we can play, we’ll go out there and be very hard to beat and very competitive.”

The game starts at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Allendale. Home fans are encouraged to wear black. Those looking for live updates of the action can stream the game on YouTube, or follow us on Twitter.