SOUTHFIELD--New Lawrence Tech football coach Scott Merchant has released the Blue Devils 2024 schedule, which will feature five home dates among 10 games.

The Blue Devils Merchant coaching era gets an early-season test with the Sept. 7 season opener at home against Mid-States Football Association Midwest League champion Saint Xavier University (Illinois), which reached the quarterfinal round of the NAIA playoffs.

Next up is the University of St. Francis (Illinois) on the road on Sept. 14 in a MSFA crossover game. The Saints finished in a tie for third-place in the Midwest League standings.

Lawrence Tech will host back-to-back opponents in Marian University (Indiana) on Sept. 21 and Judson University on Sept. 28. The Marian Knights--who shared the division title with Indiana Wesleyan--signal LTU's Mideast League opener. Judson went 0-9 last season, including 0-6 in the MSFA Midwest.

After a bye week, LTU is back in action on the road against MSFA Mideast foe University of Saint Francis (Indiana) on Oct. 12. The Cougars were third in the Mideast standings with a 5-2 league mark.

The Blue Devils return home on Oct. 19 to host MSFA Mideast opponent Siena Heights University at Blue Devils Stadium.

The following week, LTU stays in the MSFA Mideast circuit with a road meeting at Taylor University (Indiana), which went 2-9 overall and 1-6 in the league a year ago.

Madonna University on Nov. 2 will serve as the LTU home finale for Blue Devils seniors. The Crusaders were winless in 11 games last fall.

Lawrence Tech closes out the regular season at Concordia University (Michigan) on Nov. 9 and at Indiana Wesleyan University on Nov. 16.