Roosevelt aims to flip last year's loss to Northern Michigan

A year ago Northern Michigan handled Roosevelt 42-21, but little else about this GLIAC matchup looks the same now. Roosevelt comes in at 5-2 and carries an A- overall grade, while Northern Michigan is still hunting its first win at 0-7 and has been outscored by a wide margin over its recent stretch. Versus has Roosevelt 34th in Division II, 70 spots ahead of Northern Michigan at 104th, and projects a 33-28 Roosevelt win with a 62 percent chance to cover that margin.

The road element favors the Lakers more than it might appear. Roosevelt has actually scored more per game away from home than at home this season, which lines up with a trip to Northern Michigan rather than working against it. Roosevelt's offense, graded B-, should find room against a Wildcats defense ranked 121st in Division II.

Northern Michigan does carry the division's best strength of schedule rank at No. 1, a sign its 0-7 record has come against difficult competition, and all seven of its losses have come to teams with winning records. That context does not change what is at stake here. This is a GLIAC game that counts in the conference standings, and Roosevelt looks positioned to avoid a repeat of last October's result.