SOUTHFIELD--Lawrence Tech hits the road for the first time in 2023 on Saturday when the Blue Devils travel to Bourbonnais, Ill., to take on host Olivet Nazarene in another Mid-States Football Association crossover match-up. Kickoff at Ward Field is scheduled for 1 p.m. Eastern (noon local).

Multimedia: Olivet Nazarene Athletics will provide Video and LiveStats feeds of Saturday's contest.

Blue Devils on Television: LTU Athletics, in conjunction with Yellow Flag Productions, have teamed up with WXYZ and WMYD TV20 to broadcast up to five home football games this fall, as Detroit is the 13th-largest market in the nation. Learn more here.

2023 Records: ONU Tigers, 1-2 overall (0-1 at home)/0-0 MSFA Midwest; LTU Blue Devils, 1-2 overall (0-0 on the road)/0-1 MSFA Mideast

At the Helm: Detroit native Avante Mitchell is 11-15 in his fourth season as the Blue Devils head coach. He first came to LTU in 2019 as the team's defensive coordinator. He also has collegiate coaching experience at Concordia-Ann Arbor, Taylor and NCAA Division II Northwood. 

Coach Mitchell at the MIC: View the Football Weekly Presser

Last Time Out: CJ Davidson ran for 108 yards and Jalen Wallace led all receivers with nine catches and 92 yards, but Lawrence Tech lost a hard-fought MSFA crossover match-up to visiting St. Francis (Illinois), 14-12. LTU had the last possession of the game but Jalen Cooper created a turnover with the interception that gave USF the ball at the home 41-yard line and the Saints ran out the last 1:42 in game clock to preserve the win. LTU out-gained USF in total yards (349-317), passing yards (228-102) and takeaways (plus-1), but the Saints had the edge in possession time.

Experience is Back: The Blue Devils have six returning starters on offense and seven on the defensive side of the ball, while all specialists are back.

All-Time Series: This is the second meeting between the schools...ONU defeated the Blue Devils in a high-scoring affair, 49-31, back on Sept. 21, 2019...Derrick Hinton Jr. broke the single-game record for all-purpose yards with 267, including a record-breaking kickoff return of 95-yards for a touchdown...the teams combined for 790 yards of total offense (LTU-366)...Kendyl Williams (6 recp., 85 yards, 1 TDs) and Hinton (5, 82, 2) combined for 11 catches for 167 yards and three TDs...quarterback Tyler Kulka was 20-for-40 with 220 yards passing and three TDs.

CJ Davidson Tops LTU Record Book: The redshirt senior out of Pontiac (Walled Lake Central High School) became the Blue Devils career rushing king in the season opener, surpassing previous recordholder Tanner Foley's 642 yards rushing from 2018-19. Davidson, who had his third 100-yard game in his career last Saturday against St. Francis (Illinois), is a 2022 All-MSFA Mideast Second Team pick, and currently has 821 yards to extend his benchmark.

Charting Rembert: Fellow All-MSFA choice Jaden Rembert, a junior, ranks third on the program's all-time list with 1,331 receiving yards (No. 1: Kendyl Williams, 2,015; 2018-22) and third with 90 catches (No. 1: CJ Thompson, 155, 2018-19 and '21-22).

Company on the Receiving Corp: The Blue Devils have another top receiver in Jalen Wallace, who tops the team in receptions (18), yards (245), average/catch (13.61 yards; minimum 3) and average per game (81.7 yards). In his 19-game career, the junior has 77 receptions, 918 yards and five TDs.

Balance on Defense: Lawrence Tech boasts four student-athletes with at least 20 total tackles, including redshirt senior secondary Andrew Perkins III (9+17=26), junior lineman Michael White (6+18=24), redshirt junior linebacker Matt Plaga (6+16=22) and junior linebacker Darian Murray (7+13=20). Perkins ranks 12th in MSFA total stops.

Did You Know?: In the MSFA Mideast preseason poll, LTU is picked to finish seventh (18 points) while in the Midwest rankings Olivet Nazarene is predicted to end up in fourth place with 13 points...the Blue Devils are 2-3 all-time in road openers, including a 1-2 mark under Coach Mitchell....Wallace ranks tied for third in the MSFA in catches and fourth in receiving yards...Rembert is tied for sixth with 13 receptions in the Association...the LTU passing offense is second in MSFA passing yards per game (226.0 ypg) and fifth in passing yards per completion (13.7)...the Blue Devils are third defensively with three fumble recoveries...ONU's MSFA statistical rankings include third in scoring offense (32.3 ppg), total offense (387.0 ypg) and sacks (10)...the Tigers are second with 206.3 rushing yards per game and nine passing TDs...ONU has lost its last two games by an average score of 39-21.