When UWF sought to finalize its 2024 football schedule, there was a void for a game on the last Saturday in September.

The Argos opted to go big.

In the kind of early-season, cross-sectional game, that is a rarity at the NCAA Division II level, the Argos will travel to Allendale, Michigan to face Grand Valley State University in a marquee matchup on Saturday between two nationally-ranked D-2 teams with perennial success.

Grand Valley State (3-0) is ranked No. 2 in the current American Football Coaches Association poll, after two consecutive wins against ranked opponents. UWF (1-1), coming off its heartbreaking, double-overtime loss against West Alabama, is No. 21, after dropping from No. 12.

"Our athletic director, Dave Scott, is phenomenal and wants us to play the best teams in the country. And we have a chance to do it," said UWF football coach Kaleb Nobles. "I know we were looking (years ago) to fill a game on this year's schedule. It presented a good opportunity and made the most sense to do. So we are looking forward to the challenge of playing what is historically a really good Division II team."

Grand Valley has won four NCAA D-2 national titles, the last one coming in 2006. In the 2007 season, Grand Valley set the Division II record (at that time) for most consecutive wins with 40, which had stood since 1957. That streak has since been surpassed.

The game at 3 p.m. Saturday (available on FloSports) will feature a large crowd at Grand Valley's Lubbers Stadium, capacity of 10,444 seats, which has overflow room for up to 15,000-plus and is considered one of the best venues in Division II football.

The school has led in D-2 attendance average for 12 consecutive years.

UWF is scheduled to fly out of Pensacola on Friday to Grand Rapids, Michigan, located 12 miles west of Grand Valley State. The Argos hope to get Grand Valley to play in Pensacola in a future season.

"For us, it's one of those big matchups like SEC vs. BIG 10 which you see on that high level," Nobles said. "We know it's a good matchup between two historically good teams. We know this is a big challenge for us. They have a great stadium. It will be a great opportunity."

The Argos were hoping to enter this game 2-0, following their Gulf South Conference opener last Saturday at PenAir Field against West Alabama. But the Argos fell behind 20-10 after three quarters, rallied to force overtime with a field goal on their last possession, then missed on a two-point conversion attempt to send the game into a third overtime and absorbed at 35-33 loss.

While the defeat was deflating in the instant moment, Nobles liked how his team reacted in the locker room and in Sunday film meetings.

"I told the team that I loved how we played together for 60 minutes and I told them, there are a lot of good things we can take out of this and use to grow," Nobles said.  "This is an opportunity. "We can either go one way or the other. We can either move in a good direction or move in a bad direction and I feel confident our team will move in a good direction together."

Among the positive elements included the fourth-quarter and overtime performance from redshirt freshman quarterback Marcus Stokes. He made several big throws, highlighted by a fourth-down, do-or-die touchdown pass to Da'Mani Brown from the 12-yard line in the second overtime.

That followed a 12-yard TD pass to Jackson Blalock early in the fourth quarter and a 23-yard pass to Brown in the first overtime that set up Jamontez Woods' 3-yard run.  It enabled Stokes to finish 205 passing yards, three TDs.

"(Stokes) has grown up a lot the last couple weeks," Nobles said. "I think this will build some confidence in him with how he played in the fourth quarter against a very good defense and good team. That throw (OT touchdown) was exactly what we wanted and he made a heckuva throw to Da'Mani. He is a really good player. We know what (Stokes) is and we just have to help him keep growing and learning through the process of becoming a good quarterback."

Grand Valley State will present a formidable challenge. The Lakers followed their 58-0 win against Central State (Ohio) University with a 24-21 road win against then No. 22 ranked Colorado State-Pueblo on Sept. 14, then a 20-13 win last Saturday against No. 5 Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Nobles said early scouting and study on the Lakers began in the summer, knowing this would be a game that could help define the season.

"They are very big on the offensive line and defensive line and they do a good job of trying to move and win the line of scrimmage," Nobles said. "We will have to play better and execute earlier in the game and don't wait for the third and fourth quarter to get hot."

Through two games, Woods leads UWF in rushing with 85 yards and three touchdowns. Corey Scott, who came in with Stokes as part of the 2023 recruiting class, leads with nine receptions for 162 yards.

"They are both Jacksonville area kids and they worked a lot in the summer together and post practice," Nobles said. "And we've had a lot of opportunities to get Corey the ball and we know he is one of our special playmakers."

Nobles has reminded the players it's still a long season and there is time and opportunities like Saturday to make it a special season.

"Our locker room after a game was about as good as it could be after a loss, because they know how close we were (to winning)," Nobles said. "I learned how resilient we are, how gritty we are, that we have some heart to us, and some fight. To me, you can win a lot of football games with those traits."
 
WANT TO WATCH?
WHO: West Florida vs. Grand Valley State
WHEN: Saturday, 2 p.m. CT / 3 p.m. ET
WHERE: Lubbers Stadium, Allendale, Michigan
Live VideoStream: Available on FloSports (subscription required).
Live Audio: https://espnpensacola.com/ (UWF Broadcast)
Live Stats: https://gvsulakers.com/sidearmstats/football/summary