ASHLAND — The first month of the season hasn’t gone according to script, but Ashland University can right the ship Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles head to Columbus for a Great Midwest Athletic Conference grudge match against Ohio Dominican. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Panther Stadium.
AU (1-3 overall, 1-1 in the GMAC) was picked in the preseason to defend its GMAC championship, but a rugged schedule has conspired against the Eagles.
All three losses, including last week’s 55-30 setback at Tiffin, have come against teams that at the time were nationally-ranked or receiving votes in the American Football Coaches Association Division II poll.
While one conference loss won’t eliminate Ashland from title contention, a second before the calendar flips to October would be hard to overcome. Each of the past two GMAC champs, including Ashland last year, had a league loss.
First-year head coach Doug Geiser said there were lessons to be learned after last week’s loss, just as there were following a Week 3 win over Hillsdale.
“Whether it’s the highest-of-high wins or the lowest-of-low losses, you … evaluate the tape, make the corrections you need to,” Geiser said. “You see what the mistakes are, try to correct those mistakes, and once you’re done on Sunday, you turn the page and close the book on it and move on to the next week.
“What you do is look at it and you ask them, ‘Where do they want to go from here?’ ”
Like Ashland, Ohio Dominican comes into Saturday’s game with a 1-3 record. The Panthers are 0-2 in GMAC play.
“You can’t get lulled to sleep by their record,” Geiser said. “You’ve got to look at the series and the matchups. It’s been kind of a rivalry game with us through the years.”
ODU boasts one of the top-ranked defenses in the 10-team GMAC. The Panthers rank second in both scoring defense and total defense, allowing 17 points and 258.3 yards a game.
Defensive end Eddie Miller-Garrett leads the GMAC with 5.5 sacks. He was an All-GMAC first-team pick last year.
Offensively, running back Jonzell Norrils ranks among GMAC leaders with 297 yards on 47 carries. Norrils has a pair of rushing touchdowns and averages 6.3 yards per carry.
For the Eagles, running back Larry Martin leads the charge with 239 yards and four TDs on 47 carries. Quarterback Trevor Bycznski has completed 67-of-117 passes for 787 yards and seven touchdowns. Receiver Dezmin Lyburtus leads the GMAC with 23 receptions and is tied for the league lead with four touchdown catches.
Defensively, linebacker Jackson Myers is tied for the GMAC lead with 8.5 tackles for loss. Chris Julian has 4.5 sacks.
A win Saturday would vault Ashland back into the GMAC title chase.
“It’s going to be very physical. It always is,” Geiser said. “This is another one of those games … where you kind of throw the records out the window.
“If I was a betting man, I would say this games comes down to one score at the end of the game. Whoever wins the last play probably wins the game.”