ALLENDALE, Mich. — College football season is finally here, and the Grand Valley State Lakers are ready to play some ball.
The Lakers start the season with a very difficult Top 5 matchup against Colorado School of Mines. The Lakers enter the season ranked fourth in Division 2 football, while the Orediggers are ranked fifth.
Grand Valley State has certainly performed well in season openers.
The Lakers have won 18 of the last 20 first games of the season.
While the Lakers have no idea what to expect from the 2022 season, head coach Matt Mitchell knows what he wants to see from his squad in the opener.
"[We should be] playing Grand Valley football, a physical brand with a lot of discipline," Mitchell said. "Not beating ourselves. We are going to give our best effort. We just can't beat ourselves. Turnovers. Pre-snap penalties. Post-snap penalties. Assignment busts. We can't be soft. We are going to have to be really physical. We live and work 15 miles from Lake Michigan. There are times in November, December where it's not great. That is built on both sides of the line of scrimmage. You can't have a soft mindset. We are going to be physical on both sides of the line of scrimmage. We're physical at every position. That has to show up."
This is only the second ever meeting between Grand Valley State and Colorado School of Mines. The first time the school played was in the first round of the 2010 postseason. The Lakers dominated the Orediggers 35-10 in that playoff matchup.
Thursday's matchup has a 7 p.m. kickoff at Lubbers Stadium.
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