Saginaw Valley State University football makes its first road trip (the only one out of state this season) to Connecticut to face the New Haven Chargers. 

 

The Cardinals (1-2) enter after a 38-14 Axe Bowl loss to Northwood. While SVSU outscored the Timberwolves 14-10 in the second half, they couldn't overcome a 35-point deficit established early in the game.

 

Quarterback Mason McKenzie (Caledonia, Mich. / Caldonia HS) led SVSU with 14 carries for 61 yards, often improvising under Northwood's pass rush. The sophomore completed 13 of 26 passes for 131 yards and one touchdown. He now ranks ninth in career passing yards (2,748), tenth in completions (209), and eighth in completion percentage (57.6%). 

 

Looking to rally in the second half, the Cardinals scored on a seven-play, 75-yard drive to make it 35-7 with 7:43 left in the third. Michael Jamerson III (Flint, Mich. / Davison HS) rushed for seven and 12 yards on consecutive plays, moving into Northwood territory. Terrence Brown Jr. (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King HS; Meijer Player of the Game) added a 23-yard run to the 25-yard line. McKenzie's 23-yard run then set up Nicholas Patterson's (Mooresville, Ind. / Mooresville HS) first 2025 touchdown, a two-yard run putting SVSU on the board.

 

Later in the fourth quarter, Later in the fourth quarter, McKenzie connected with Brown Jr. for a 15-yard touchdown with 8:37 to play, capping SVSU's scoring at 38-14. 

 

 

• The Cardinals were chosen third in the GLIAC Preseason Coaches poll after gaining one first-place vote and totalling 38 points.

 

• The 2025 schedule features seven home games and four road contests. SVSU draws three-straight at home (Northeastern State, Ganon, Northwood) to begin the season before making its only trip out of the state of Michigan in week four against New Haven in Connecticut. The Cardinals then open GLIAC play for a homecoming game against Northern Michigan before hosting Roosevelt the following week. Saginaw Valley then makes the first of two trips to Grand Rapids with a game at Grand Valley State for week seven before hosting Wayne State the next weekend. The second trip to Grand Rapids comes in week nine against Davenport. SVSU hosts Ferris State for the final home game of the season in week 10. It is the first time the Bulldogs have visited Saginaw Valley since the 2022 season. The season wraps with a trip to Houghton for a game against the Michigan Tech Huskies.

 

• Mason McKenzie has totaled 533 passing yards and 262 rushing yards this season. McKenzie is among the top 10 in all of NCAA Division II in rushing yards per carry (9th, 7.71) and 15th in rushing yards (262).

 

• Four Cardinals have broken into the career leaders list: McKenzie ranks 9th in completion percentage (57.6%) and 10th in completions (209) and passing yards (2,748). Tylor McCoon is tied for 6th in average yards per punt with 39.0. Jaquan Howard moved up two spots to 4th in all-time kick return yards (827). Adom LeDuc is 20th in sacks with 13.5. He is a half-sack short of advancing to 19th all-time. Terrence Brown Jr. is just 30 kick return yards outside of the career top 10 list.

 

• Christian Boivin leads the defense with 34 tackles. In his impressive week one debut, he notched 18 stops to pace the Cardinals. In addition to his tackling, Boivin has been credited with two pass breakups, one quarterback hurry, and a half sack so far.

 

• Adom LeDuc leads the Cardinal pass rush with two sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss. He has 19 tackles total, third-most on the team. He leads with three quarterback hurries. Junyoung Chung has 20 tackles, second-most, and eight solo tackles.

 

• Sean Hodges has 14 tackles for the fourth-most on the team. He adds two PBUs and a tackle for loss to his stat line.

Jamil Thomas and Jaden Bevier have 13 and 12 tackles respectively. Bevier adds a half sack, while Thomas has a pass breakup to his credit.

 

• Saginaw Valley State ranks 9th nationally in rushing defense, with the unit allowing just 59.0 yards per game so far this season.

 

The Saginaw Valley State Cardinals named the team captains for the 2025 season. 

 

Quarterback Mason McKenzie, receiver Eric Craft, and offensive linemen Ryan Whitely and Tyus Thompson join defensive lineman Adom LeDuc and linebacker Christian Boivin as the six captains.