Date/Time/Location: Saturday, September 6 / 5 p.m. MT/7 p.m. ET / Allendale, Mich. / Lubbers Stadium

Tickets: Tickets can be purchased online at the link above.

FloSports: Those looking to watch Saturday night’s game will need to purchase a monthly subscription to FloSports.

KDSJ Radio: Black Hills State football continues to air live on KDSJ Radio with the voice of the Yellow Jackets, Steve Ammerman, giving the play-by-play for all the action.

• Black Hills State currently sits at 0-1 on the season after a 21-27 loss at home to Sioux Falls in week zero last Thursday night.
• The Yellow Jackets finished tied for fifth in the RMAC a year ago and are predicted to finish tied for fifth in the standings in 2025.
• The Green & Gold will be on the road for the first time in 2025 this weekend. Last season they were 2-4 away from Lyle Hare Stadium, however, they closed 2024 with a 2-2 mark in those contests with victories at South Dakota Mines (22-20) and New Mexico Highlands (48-31).
• Black Hills State has dropped their last two season opening road games and will seek their first win in a road opener since September 1, 2023, when they won at Dickinson State 17-2.
• Saturday night’s contest will be just the Yellow Jackets fourth game in program history east of the Mississippi River, but the first in program history in the eastern time zone. In the previous three games out east, they lost at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire by a score of 0-20 on September 9, 2006, lost at the University of Wisconsin-Stout by a score of 7-19 on September 3, 2011, and won at Robert Morris University (Ill.) by a score of 28-20 on November 10, 2018.
• Black Hills State is coming off their third consecutive winning season, the extending the longest stretch for the program in their NCAA Division II era (2011-present) and marking the longest stretch since they posted six straight from 2005-10.
• The Yellow Jackets ended the 2024 season by winning three of their final four games, defeating their opponents by an average of 31.8 to 18.8.
• Returning starting quarterback Luke Duby completed 24-of-36 passing attempts for 248 yards and three touchdowns against the Cougars last week. The outing matched his career-best output for passing touchdowns and marked his fifth career game of 200 or more passing yards. The redshirt senior needs just 14 more yards through the air to surpass, 2,500 career passing yards as a Yellow Jacket.
• BHSU only rushed the ball 17 times against The Coo, with Cameron Goods and Danny Davis each receiving the bulk of those carries with six apiece. Goods ran the ball for a net gain of 29 yards while Davis tallied 24 yards. Each back posted a long run of 22 yards in the opener. Goods entered the season with 1,535 yards on the ground in his career and has found the end zone 13 times. In his final outing of 2024, he became just the fifth running back for BHSU to rush for 150 or more yards and three touchdowns in a single game since 2004.
• Black Hills State showed the importance of TJ Chukwurah’s return at the wide receiver position as he notched his fifth career 100-yard receiving game and the first for the Yellow Jackets since November 11, 2023. Against Sioux Falls he snagged ten receptions for 109 yards and three touchdowns. The three receiving touchdowns matched a career-high in the category and boosted him into a category all by himself as he is the only player in the school’s DII history to have multiple three receiving touchdown games. 
• A young offensive line, anchored by redshirt senior and 2024 First Team All-RMAC selection, Jayson Rouse, stepped up to the task last Thursday night, not allowing a sack in the season opener. The game marked the fifth time since the start of the 2024 season that the Yellow Jacket o-line has not surrendered a sack in a game.
• The defensive line continues to be spearheaded by returners two key pieces with Kellen Collier, a 2024 First Team All-RMAC selection, and Cooper Brown, the 2022 RMAC Defensive Freshman of the Year, both back for their senior seasons. Brown is the leading tackler returning for the defensive line with 37.0 a year ago, while also bringing back the most tackles-for-loss (9.5) and sacks (5.5). Collier was right behind brown with 36.0 tackles, 9.0 tackles-for-loss, and 4.0 sacks. During the Yellow Jackets NCAA Division II era, Brown currently ranks second (2022) and fourth (2024) for most sacks in a single season and holds the second-most sacks (14.0) in a career during that time span. Collier also ranks third during that time span with 9.5 sacks during his BHSU career. Against Sioux Falls, Collier recorded 5.0 tackles with 0.5 tackles-for-loss, while Brown had 1.0 tackle.
• Another defensive lineman with a standout week zero performance was Isaiah Morales who recorded 4.0 total tackles, 2.0 tackles-for-loss, and 2.0 sacks against the Cougars.
• Sebastian O'Farrell was the leading returning tackler for the Yellow Jacket defense overall, from 2024 totaling 66.0 a year ago while earning Honorable Mention All-RMAC at the linebacker position. Last Thursday night another linebacker stepped up with a big performance, as redshirt sophomore Rune Tepolt led the defense with a career-best 9.0 tackles in the game and found himself in the backfield for a pair of quarterback hurries.
• Maliik Edwards will continue to lead the secondary, returning after posting a career-best 30 tackles in 2024. Against The Coo he notched 6.0 tackles in the game and had one pass break-up. Joining him in the secondary will be redshirt freshman transfer from Kennesaw State, Terrence Curtis, and redshirt junior Beto Ledezma, who each recorded 8.0 total tackles in the contest.
• Josh Breske is in his sixth season as the head coach at his alma mater and is now tied as the third-longest active tenured coach in the RMAC. Additionally, he will be just the tenth coach in school history to reach the 6-year threshold. His six wins in 2024 brought him into the top-10 all-time in Yellow Jacket history with a career record of 23-24 guiding the program, currently ranking ninth in victories.

• Grand Valley State went 11-2 (6-1 GLIAC) in 2024, reaching the second round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs where they fell to Harding by a score of 26-44.
• The Lakers enter the 2025 season picked second in the GLIAC Football Preseason Coaches’ Poll, behind only defending national champion Ferris State.
• GVSU won their season opener over Lincoln (Pa.) by a score of 45-9 last Saturday, racking up 481 total yards with 251 yards through the air and 230 yards on the ground.
• Grand Valley State enters week one ranked No. 3 in the AFCA Division II Coaches’ Poll, and No. 5 in the D2Football.com Media Poll.
• Redshirt freshman Andrew Schuster received the start at quarterback in week zero, posting a 17-for-21 passing performance for 251 yards and three touchdowns against the Lions.
• Grand Valley State possess a balanced rushing attack, with four players carrying the ball six or more times. Leading the position room was Syone Usma-Harper and Derrick Woods with 83 and 47 yards respectively. Usma-Harper was one of three running backs to find the end zone in the game.
• Kellen Reed, Donovan Johnson, and Lynn Wyche-El led the Laker receivers in their opening game, each hauling in four receptions and a touchdown for 85, 56, and 34 yards respectively.
• D2Football Preseason Second Team All-American, Brett Weaver, anchors an offensive line that returns three starters from a year ago.
• Defensively, Grand Valley State is led by linebackers Anthony Cardamone and Jimmy Downs. Against the Lions, Cardamone, a D2Football Preseason Second Team All-American tallied 4.0 tackles, while Downs notched 8.0 with 2.0 tackles-for-loss and 1.0 sack.
• In the secondary, three different defensive backs picked off a pass last week, with Josh Anderson, Matthew Nickens, and Trey Sharp each forcing a turnover against Lincoln.
• Scott Wooster is in his third season as the head coach at Grand Valley State, guiding the Lakers to a 23-4 record and back-to-back 11-win seasons in his first two years at the helm.

• Saturday will mark the first-ever meeting between Black Hills State and Grand Valley State.