This week came the unveiling of the NCAA Power Index rankings which will determine the selection of postseason teams in NCAA Division II on the gridiron. Davenport is one of 10 undefeated teams in Division II remaining and is ranked 10th in the nation in the NPI. In addition, the Panthers are sitting fourth in the Super Region 3 NPI rankings with a chance to bolster their resume over the next couple of weeks against other nationally-ranked teams.

It was a complete showing last Saturday in Arlington Heights, Illinois as the Panthers took care of Roosevelt by a final of 59-21. The 59 points tied for second most in a game for Davenport after scoring 75 in last year's win over Roosevelt to set the record. DU had a school-record 660 offensive yards, breaking the old mark of 562 against Northwood in 2022. DU set a team record with 33 first downs and Cephus Harris tied his own record with four rushing touchdowns. Jonathan Palmer had his best game of the season statistically setting the single-game record for completion percentage (17-for-20) while passing for a season-high 273 yards and three scores. He also rushed for 59 yards as well. Mac VandenHout had the first multiple-TD receiving game of his career and finished with six catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns. Landon Tungate rumbled for a career-long 56 yards to the house in the fourth quarter and gained 77 yards on four carries. Vincent Cooley also had an interception for the second straight game as the DU defense gave up 324 yards and limited the Lakers to 5-of-13 on third down. The Panthers were lethal in the red zone going 7-for-7 and the kicking game contributed 1-of-1 in field goals and 8-of-8 in PAT's. The game also marked the second time this season that the Panthers did not commit a turnover and the first since the season-opening win over Gannon.

Wayne State enters this week with an overall record of 0-7 and 0-3 in the GLIAC under first-year head coach Terrence Isaac, Sr. The Warriors fell 49-3 last Saturday in the Motor City against Saginaw Valley State. WSU could only manage three first downs in the contest and finished with 31 yards of offense on 51 plays. The Cardinals threw for 322 yards and finished with 474 offensive yards at 8.6 yards per play. The lone points for the Warriors came on a Griffin Nowak 28-yard field goal early in the third quarter. Brody Thompson completed 5-of-12 passes for 16 yards and was sacked five times. Jayden Whitaker completed 14-of-17 for SVSU and finished with 293 passing yards and two scores. Devin Miles carried the ball 11 times for 48 yards and two touchdowns. Luke Johnson and Dereon Foster led the WSU defense with eight tackles, and Foster also was credited with two tackles for a loss of nine yards. Johnson added a forced fumble to his stat line. Johnson leads the team this season with 52 tackles and has forced three fumbles. Max Edwards is second on the team with 36 tackles and has two sacks for a loss of 14 yards.

Davenport leads the all-time series against Wayne State by a 5-3 margin. The Warriors were able to win three of the first four meetings when DU joined the GLIAC, but since then, Davenport has won the last four contests in rather convincing fashion. The average margin of victory in those four wins is 21.3 points per outing. Last year's 49-14 decision was the largest win by the Panthers in eight tries and that occurred on Oct. 18, 2025 in Detroit. Cephus Harris led the ground attack with 133 yards and four touchdowns on 20 carries. Jeremiah Sterling, Jr. also added a rushing touchdown for a total of five by the Panthers. D'Wan Mathis completed 18-of-25 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns. Keonta Nixon finished with 90 receiving yards and a score. Dom Grguric caught the other touchdown pass and caught three passes for 49 yards. The final totals on offense showed Davenport with 544 yards compared to 175 for the Warriors. The Wayne State scoring plays were a 67-yard interception return by Luke Johnson at the end of the second quarter and XaVior Tyus with a one-yard TD run in the early stages of the fourth quarter.



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