Grand Valley State University will play the role of elder statesman for the second time in two weeks when round two of the NCAA playoffs kicks off Saturday afternoon.

The No. 6 Lakers travel to face ninth-ranked Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. and the game will be televised on WGVU TV Channel 35-2 and Comcast Channel 287.

Augustana is hosting a playoff game for the first time in school history and the Vikings are making their first playoff appearance in more than 20 years.

Meanwhile, GVSU is making its 10th consecutive playoff appearance. The Lakers advanced to the second round with a 35-13 defeat of the Colorado School of Mines at Lubbers Stadium last weekend.

“They’ll be pretty excited to get this thing kicked off,” said GVSU head coach Matt Mitchell. “I’m sure this is going to be a big deal for them, to take the field against Grand Valley.”

Mitchell said Augustana’s defense will pose a challenge for the Lakers. The Vikings yield less than 14 points per game to opponents thanks to a defense led by seven starting seniors.

“It’s a very complex defense that they run,” Mitchell said. “There’s a lot of blitzing and zone pressuring and there’s a lot of stuff coming at you from a lot of different angles. They do a great job with their kids.”

Senior quarterback Kyle McMahon said he expects to see a defense similar to the one Mines ran last weekend.

“It’s kind of like a chess match, you know, see who is going to make the right move,” said McMahon. “It’s going to be all on how we prepare this week so we can get used to the looks and hopefully find some tendencies in the defense.”

Augustana utilizes several offenses with many different personnel packages, Mitchell said. The Vikings lost sophomore starting quarterback Josh Hanson to an injury earlier in the season and rotate quarterbacks throughout the game.

Wide receiver Tyler Schulte leads the team with 14 receiving touchdowns and 43 catches. The senior also acts as a quarterback when the team changes packages. Senior running back Joe Clark averages 4.6 yards per carry and has eight touchdowns this season.

Mitchell said Augustana does a good job of mixing up its offense, which made the week’s film sessions all the more important.

“You’ve got to get their tendencies down and what they like to do with certain people on the field and the different looks that you get,” said senior safety Matt Bakker. “It’s just a lot of tape, and kind of being able to adjust during the game as well.”

Despite the holiday weekend, the Lakers prepared for the game like any other week. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were normal practice days, while Thanksgiving included meetings scheduled around dinner. The team will depart Allendale Friday morning.

“Fortunately, this is 10 years in a row,” Mitchell said. “We’ve been down this road before.”

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