Cheese Bowl: Lakeland and Concordia also are playing for the Cheese Bowl trophy for the 30th time. The Cheese Bowl originated in 1992 as a traveling trophy for the winner of the two teams' annual game when they were the lone two Wisconsin members of the old Illini-Badger Football Conference. Lakeland and Concordia were conference rivals in the IBFC from 1980 through its final year in 2007, when both joined the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference for football. Concordia holds a 15-14 edge in Cheese Bowl games but Lakeland has won the last two games, holding the trophy for over two years now since taking it back with a 44-0 win Oct. 12, 2019.

Lakeland last time out: Won at Concordia Chicago 63-7 last week
The Muskies responded after their first loss of the season a week earlier, scoring 35 points in the second quarter to take a 42-0 halftime lead on the way to a rout the Cougars. Shazon Crutcher and Rayshion Brumfield returned interceptions for touchdowns in that second period, two of the three defensive TDs by Lakeland. Freshman Matt Glogowski also returned a fumble 48 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Larry Rivers rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns and also caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Charl'Tez Nunnery. Kolby Cohen and Devin Martin also caught touchdown passes, while the Muskies defense forced six turnovers.

Concordia last time out: Defeated St. Norbert 24-14 last week
The Falcons overcame a 14-3 halftime deficit, taking over in the second half and scoring 21 unanswered points. CUW trailed 14-10 going into the fourth quarter but scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run by Pierre Summers III with 10:20 left and added an insurance score with a 48-yard James Linn touchdown run with less than four minutes remaining. The Falcons defense limited St. Norbert to 244 yards of offense and intercepted the Green Knights twice in the fourth quarter. Summers also rushed for 121 yards and Concordia converted 8 of 16 third downs, holding the ball for nearly 33 minutes.

About the Falcons: Concordia enters with a 6-1 record and is in the thick of the NACC title hunt with a 4-1 mark in conference. The Falcons have won four straight since a 31-20 loss to Benedictine in September led by a defense that leads the conference in points allowed per game (20.6) and ranks third in yards allowed per game (355.6). CUW also has a veteran quarterback in Linn, in his third year as a starter and who is a threat through the air and on the ground, with 14 touchdown passes and five rushing TDs this year.

Head coach Greg Etter is the longest-tenured head coach in the NACC, in his 14th year in charge at Concordia. The Falcons have been on the upswing and have clinched a winning record for the third straight year, including a 3-2 mark in the NACC's spring 2020-21 season earlier this year.

4,000 for Rivers? Lakeland running back Larry Rivers can hit a pair of milestones Saturday, as he needs just 34 yards to become the first Muskies back to run for 4,000 yards in a career. He also needs 70 yards for 1,000 yards this season, and if he reaches that mark he will become the first in Lakeland history to run for 1,000 in two separate seasons, having already set a school single-season record with 1,375 yards in 2019.

Rivers also continues to lead the NACC and rank among the NCAA Division III leaders in rushing, and he has rushed for at least 130 yards in each of Lakeland's first six games. Another superlative for the senior: Rivers has rushed 122 times this season, and has lost yardage on just three of those carries, for a total of five yards.

Quarterbacks beware: Watch for ballhawks Saturday, as the Cheese Bowl will feature two of the top teams in Division III when it comes to defensive thievery. Concordia is tied for second in the country with 15 interceptions as a team, while Lakeland is just behind the Falcons-tied for fourth with 14 interceptions. CUW's Josiah McDermit also is tied for fourth in D-III with five interceptions, and the game will feature three of the top five in the NACC in picks, with McDermit tied for the conference lead and the Muskies' Rayshion Brumfield and Shazon Crutcher (3 INT each) tied for fourth.

Nunnery moving up the lists too: Lakeland quarterback Charl'Tez Nunnery is joining Larry Rivers as Muskies moving to near the top of the school's all-time lists. Nunnery passed for 139 yards against Concordia Chicago and moved into sixth for career passing yards with 4,343 yards, surpassing Dylan Van Straten (4,303 from 2010-13). Nunnery also topped the 1,500 yard mark for rushing in his career against CUC, and with 5,872 career total yards is nearing 6,000 yards of total offense. He is on pace to soon catch Jake Dworak (6th, 5,948 yards from 2007-10) and Van Straten (5th, 6,009 yards) to move into the Muskies' top five in career total offense.

Bruton one win from 40: Lakeland head coach Colin Bruton enters Saturday's game with 39 career victories with the Muskies, and with his next win will tie for second on the school's all-time list for wins. With the win Bruton will tie Marinus Kregel (1937-50) and his predecessor Kevin Doherty (2007-14) for second on the wins list. John Thome is Lakeland's all-time leader for career wins with 79 victories in 14 seasons from 1967-80.