• The Davenport football team moved up two spots in the AFCA Division II Poll this week and have their highest ranking in school history at No. 11 entering the contest against Saginaw Valley State. The Panthers will put their 7-0 record up against a Cardinal squad that has two in a row coming into the contest. DU is fresh off a long road trip in non-conference action as they beat the University of Mary, 44-34, in Bismarck, North Dakota last Saturday. DU jumped ahead 19-0 early second quarter and then the Marauders made things interesting from that point as they got within two points at 26-24 late third quarter. DU got a touchdown pass from Jason Whittaker to Preston Smith with 1:02 left in the third quarter and then Whittaker scored on the ground from one yard with 9:30 left in the fourth quarter. With a one-possession game coming down to the wire, Brandon Gielow kicked his third field goal of the game with 1:55 to play to ensure the win for Davenport. The Cardinals needed overtime to dispose of Wayne State, 17-10, at home last Saturday. Quarterback Mike O'Horo had the winning score with a two-yard touchdown run in overtime on third-and-goal. The Warriors had second-and-goal at the one-yard line on their overtime possession, but the Cardinal defense held and intercepted a pass on fourth-and-goal by Eli Gordon.
• DU trails 3-2 in the all-time series against SVSU, but won a thrilling 29-28 game last season in University Center. It was a top-25 showdown as the No. 18 Panthers clashed with the No. 23 Cardinals. The win by DU propelled them to an 8-0 record and eventually a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time. Trailing 28-23 in the fourth quarter, DU got the final score at the 9:51 mark as Whittaker found Brenden Sherrod on a 27-yard touchdown pass. Whittaker threw for 307 yards and three scores. Caleef Jenkins ran for 102 yards and Geemontae Peck recorded six tackles including a sack and a forced fumble. The Panthers will be looking for their first win at home against Saginaw Valley State as the Cardinals won 24-17 in OT in 2018 and 24-3 back in 2021. The visiting team has won the last four matchups in the series.

• Caleef Jenkins carried 12 times for 42 yards and a touchdown at UMary last Saturday and became the all-time leading rusher in school history with 1,090 yards. He surpasssed William Gist who totaled 1,053 yards from 2016-18. In his career, Jenkins has 292 carries and has also scored 17 rushing touchdowns, which is also a school record. He has rushed for two scores in a game on five different occasions and this season had two rushing touchdowns against William Jewell and Michigan Tech.

• Myren Harris went over 100 rushing yards for the sixth straight game at UMary with 14 carries for 139 yards. This included a 67-yard run in the second quarter which was his fifth carry of 35-plus yards this season. He continues to lead the GLIAC in rush yards per carry (7.7), rushing yards (898), and rushing yards per game (128.3). Harris through seven games has already broke the single-season rushing record at DU previously set by Seth Acda (581) in 2018. His 117 carries is currently third in a season and he had a single-game record 161 rushing yards at Wayne State on Oct. 14. Harris ranks second in Division II in yards per carry and sixth in total rushing yards.
• Jason Whittaker accounted for three touchdowns in the win at the University of Mary. He had two rushing touchdowns including a two-yarder in the first quarter to open the scoring and a one-yarder in the fourth quarter, which put DU ahead by 14 points with 9:30 left. He also connected with Preston Smith on a 17-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. He has thrown at least one TD in every game this season and went 10-of-12 down the stretch through the air. He finished with 218 passing yards and did not throw an interception.
• Davenport is one of just 11 teams that are currently undefeated in NCAA Division II.
• The Davenport defense once again has been one of the best in NCAA Division II. The unit ranks 21st nationally in third down conversions (29.4 percent), 16th in first downs allowed (110), fourth in rushing defense (61.3 yards per game), fifth in tackles for loss (9.1 per game) and 12th in total defense (251.9 yards per game allowed).
• Brandon Gielow connected on three field goals for the second straight week and the Panthers needed all 12 of his points in the win at the University of Mary in non-conference action. DU improved to 7-0 as Gielow made from 31 yards in the first quarter, 23 yards in the second quarter, and 20 yards in the fourth quarter with 1:55 left to put the Panthers up 10 points. He is 8-of-9 this season in field goals and 27-of-29 in extra points.
• Donavan Franklin had the first defensive touchdown of his career in the first quarter on Saturday at the University of Mary. He scooped up a fumble and returned it 31 yards for the score which gave DU a 13-0 lead. It was the first fumble return for a touchdown by a Panther since Nick Cain against Ferris State in 2021. It was the second fumble return for a score by a Panther and the second-longest return behind Jon Simmons (37 yards) at Michigan Tech in 2018. He also shared the team high with four tackles in the 44-34 road win.

Live Video - (FloSports)

Live Stats

Live Audio Stream (96.1 The Game with Rick Berkey and Bill Rohn)

Complete Game Notes