Calvin is under the direction of head coach Trent Figg who guides his 112-member roster into year three this fall. 

Tickets - Tickets are available through the Otterbein Box Office online at: Calvin-Otterbein Football Tickets.

How to Watch/Listen:  Saturday's game can be followed by Live stream, live audio and live stats.

The Otterbein live stream broadcast can be found online at: Calvin-Otterbein Live Stream Broadcast.  The live stream broadcast is aired through FloSports and requires a subscription fee. In addition, Saturday's game will air on Grand Rapids radio Station 96.1 FM The Game iHeart Radio at: 96.1 The Game iHeart Radio. An audio stream will also be available through Michigan Sports Radio (Michigansportsradio.com).

Live statistics of the game will be produced at: Calvin/Otterbein Live Stats

The Lead-Up – Calvin heads into season three under head coach Trent Figg. The Knights are coming off a 7-3 campaign in 2025 after producing a 2-8 record in year one (2024). Calvin finished fourth in the 2025 MIAA standings with a 4-3 conference record and were picked to finish fourth in the 2026 MIAA preseason coaches' poll. Calvin returns 72 letterwinners including 10 starters on offense and eight starters on defense from its 2025 campaign. The Knights take on Otterbein University out of the Ohio Athletic Conference. It marks the second straight year Calvin has met an OAC opponent for non-conference play. Calvin defeated OAC foe Heidelberg 40-37 in overtime last fall. Otterbein is coming off a 1-9 campaign. The Cardinals were picked ninth in the preseason OAC Coaches' poll. The Cardinals are led by second-year head coach Dave Marquis.

Inside Calvin Football / MIAA Football Pulse -  Beginning October 13 join Calvin head football coach Trent Figg  for this year's  edition of Inside Calvin Football,  on 96.1 The Game and Michigan Sports Radio.  The show is live from Big E's Sports Grille on East Beltline and begins at 7pm.  Fans are welcome to attend to meet players, coaches and other Calvin fans. Starting on September 24, WXSP-TV and WOOD-TV+ bring The MIAA Football Pulse – a 30-minute television program providing fans with up-to-date coverage, expert insights, highlights, and exclusive interviews from across the MIAA. The MIAA Football Pulse airs Thursday, September 24 at 7:30pm on WXSP-TV and on demand at WOOD-TV+.   It's powered by People Driven Technology, Van Wyk Risk Solutions and Culver's.  

Radio/TV -Catch the Knights all season long , home and away, on 96.1FM The Game and Michigan Sports Radio.   Home games are televised live on WXSP-TV.

The Calvin Coach-Head coach Trent Figg was hired on January 6, 2023. He has a career won-loss record of 9-11 heading into Saturday. Figg is a native of Chillicothe, Missouri, located an hour-and-a-half from Kansas City. He is a 2008 graduate of William Jewell College where he was a four-year member of the football program as a special teams ace and defensive back. He later earned his master's degree from Northwest Missouri State in 2013. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at (then NAIA) William Jewell and later had stints as the special teams coordinator and defensive coordinator at D2 Southern Arkansas, defensive coordinator at William Jewell and special teams coordinator at Missouri State. He later spent two years (2019-21) at the University of Hawaii, serving as chief of staff of the football program and later associate head coach. In 2022, he served as the lead offensive analyst for the University of Oregon football program under head coach Dan Lanning. Figg and Lanning are former teammates and roommates at William Jewell College and stood up for each other at their respective weddings.

A Look at the Otterbein Head Coach– Otterbein head coach Dave Marquis heads into his second year at the helm of the Cardinal program. Marquis came to Otterbein from NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision member Valparaiso University, where he had served as defensive coordinator since 2023. His other Division I coaching stops included the University of Dayton (2017-18, linebackers coach/recruiting coordinator; 2011-12, defensive line coach) and Kent State University (2008-10, defensive graduate assistant), and he has coached at the Division III level at Wittenberg University (2016 and 2019-22, defensive coordinator; 2015, linebackers coach/special teams coordinator) and Randolph-Macon College (2013-14, linebackers coach/special teams coordinator; 2006-2007 tight ends coach). During his time as the defensive coordinator at Wittenberg in Springfield, Ohio, Marquis helped lead the Tigers to two North Coast Athletic Conference championships (2016 and 2019), advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs in 2016. Born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, Marquis graduated from Chartiers Valley High School in Bridgeville, Pa., just outside of Pittsburgh. He went on to attend Kent State University, earning a bachelor's degree in education in 2006 and a master's degree in sport and recreation management in 2010.

More on Otterbein – The Cardinals will look to senior quarterback Kace Kinnamon, a transfer from NAIA Reinhardt University in Waleska, Georgia. As a prep standout at Coahulla Creek High School, Kinnamon was an Honorable Mention All-State selection as well as a Regional Player of the Year choice. He is backed up by sophomore Duke Corley who appeared in nine games in 2025, completing 49 of 85 passes for 617 yards and four touchdowns. Senior running back Matt Griffin is the top returning offensive weapon. He rushed for 613 yards on 153 carries with five touchdowns. Fifth-year senior tight end Christian Pataky is another face to watch. He grabbed 18 receptions for 151 yards and two touchdowns last fall. Sophomore linebacker Kaden Bruner is the top returning tackler, making 39 stops including three tackles for loss. On special teams, junior Braylon Balandra returns after connecting on 20 of 23 extra-point attempts last fall while also hitting his only field goal attempt of the season.

Snarling Schnurstein – Calvin is led by preseason All-American linebacker Carson Schnurstein who was picked as a D3football.com All-America Second Team choice last month. Schnurstein was named to the 2025 All-MIAA First Team and to the D3football.com All-Region IV Second Team last fall. He amassed a Calvin single-season record 115 tackles last fall, 52 solo and 63 assisted. He was amongst the NCAA Division III leaders in tackles throughout the 2025 campaign. He tallied 14.5 tackles for loss and six quarterback sacks. He was also credited with three interceptions, three forced fumbles, four quarterback hurries and two pass breakups.

More Conference Accolades – Schnurstein was one of four Calvin players to receive All-MIAA honors last year with all four returning. The remaining trio include junior running back/slot receiver Hunter Hogan, junior offensive lineman Brayden Steinbacher and senior defensive lineman C.J. Sheets. Hogan, Steinbacher and Sheets were all named to the 2025 All-MIAA Second Team.

Hogan's a Hero – Calvin junior Hunter Hogan is coming off a big sophomore campaign. He atoned for a team-leading 1,454 all-purpose yards in 2025. He rushed for 868 yards on 155 carries with eight rushing touchdowns including a long of 65 yards. He added 451 receiving yards by way off 39 receptions with two receiving touchdowns. He was also credited with 135 yards of kick return yardage. He had back-to-back 200-yard games on the ground in September, rushing for 215 yards on 34 carries in a 34-7 win over Concordia (Wisc.) and came back with 233 rushing yards on 41 carries in a 43-40 overtime win over Heidelberg the following week.

Calvin Quarterback Room – Calvin returns senior quarterback Thomas Vaccaro who grabbed the starting role last year and never let up. A native of Franklin, Tennessee, Vaccaro was 177 of 286 (61.89%) through the air for 1,794 yards and 17 touchdowns while throwing just six interceptions. He is backed up by sophomore Beau Harris and junior Drake Irwin. Irwin saw action in all 10 games last fall, serving as Calvin's primary punter for large stretches of the season while completing 14 of 25 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown.

Family Tree – Calvin's leading returning receiver is junior Luke Michmerhuizen who snagged 57 catches for 618 yards and eight touchdowns in 2025 including a walk-off overtime touchdown grab to defeat Heidleberg 43-40. The 6-7 Michmerhuizen is the second member of his immediate family to be a Calvin varsity athlete as his older sister Nicole was a multiple All-American for the Calvin women's track and field team including a national champion in the 10,000 meter run in 2013. His father Mark Michmerhuizen is an associate professor in the Calvin engineering department. Sister Nicole was a chemical engineering and biochemistry student at Calvin, an Acadmeic All-American and later a PhD recipient from the University of Michigan in the field of pharmacology. Luke is also an engineering student at Calvin.

MIAA Preseason Poll – Calvin was picked to finish fourth out of eight teams in the 2065 MIAA preseason poll with champion Hope selected as the MIAA's pre-season favorite with defending champion Alma picked  second. 2026 MIAA Preseason Poll: 1. Hope, 2. Alma, 3. Adrian, 4. Calvin, 5. Trine, 6. Albion, 7. Kalamazoo, 8. Olivet.

NCAA III Statistics Rewind – Hunter Hogan was ranked 21^st in the final 2025 NCAA III statistics in all-purpose yards-per-game (145.5). Drake Irwin finished 23^rd in net punting average (40.4). Caiden Bolduc was ranked 12^th in sacks-per-game (1.0) and 30^th in tackles for loss per-game (1.50). Carson Schnurstein was ranked 10^th tackles-per-game (11.5). As a team, Calvin was ranked 50^th in scoring offense per-game (34.6) and 155^th in defensive scoring average per-game (29.6).

A Look at Calvin – Calvin features a 112-man roster this fall which includes 35 freshmen and 19 sophomores, 49 juniors, seven seniors and two grad students as part of its 112-man roster. 13 players feature from other states including Illinois (4), Texas (2), California (1), Louisiana (1), Tennessee (1), North Carolina (1), Florida (1), New Mexico (1) and New York (1) with the remaining 103 coming from Michigan.  

The Calvin Offense by the Numbers – (50 total) - Quarterbacks (5), Running Backs (8), Wide Receivers (13), Tight Ends (5), Offensive Lineman (19). (Calvin also has 5 kicker/punters)  

The Calvin Defense by the Numbers – (57 total)-  Defensive Linemen (21), Linebackers (11), Defensive Backs (25).  

Double Duty – The Calvin roster features a pair of two-sport Calvin varsity athletes in sophomores Paul Hubbard (DB) and Gavin Currie (WR). Both are also members of the Calvin men's track and field team and helped the Knights capture 2026 MIAA Indoor and Outdoor titles. Currie was a hurdler and scored in the 60 meter hurdles (fifth place) at the MIAA Indoor Meet. Hubbard competed in the long jump at the MIAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships and placed second in the event with a leap of 22-3 ½ to earn a spot on the All-MIAA Second Team for outdoor track and field.  

OK-Red Flavor – The Calvin football team has a strong representation from the Ottawa-Kent (OK) Red Conference as 17 players hail from the West Michigan based conference. The individuals include players from Caledonia (Reed Vogeler), Hudsonville (Cooper Roberts), Rockford (Seth Anderson, Drake Irwin, Mike Liggett, McCoy Baxter, Gavin Currie), Jenison (Zaiden Chirco, Rowan Stewart, Trevor Martens), East Kentwood (ShaMar White, Breylon Cox, Gabe Wolf), Grand Haven (Logan Minier) and Grandville (Aven Kaat and Keegan Kroll).  

Oh Brother – The roster features a set of brothers out of Grand Rapids Northview High School in sophomore offensive lineman Andre Johnson and freshman defensive lineman Keandre Johnson.

Cousin Connection – Junior quarterback/punter Drake Irwin and junior wide receiver Jude Klunder are first cousins.  

Portage Power Plant – The Calvin defense features three Portage Central High School graduates that will all see significant time this weekend including senior linebacker Carson Schurstein and freshmen defensive backs Gavin Grueter and Nolan Bloomquist.  

Classroom Distinction – The 2025 Calvin football team features 13 individuals that were named to the 2025-26 MIAA Academic Honor Roll for maintaining a 3.50 grade point average or above for the entire academic year while earning a varsity letter. Those 13 individuals include: Paul Bouma, Drake Irwin, Brady Jacobs, Brok Jones, Caden Kolanowski, Leighton Kolk, Luke Michmerhuizen, Nathan Mikesell, Micah Pobursky, Tanner Steffens, Brayden Steinbacher, Thomas Vaccaro and Reed Vogeler.  

Transfer Portal – Calvin has 11 players that have transferred over from other collegiate football programs. Those nine individuals are senior C.J. Sheets (Davenport University), senior Sam Gallo (Concordia, Mich.), junior Aiden O'Brien (Hope College), junior M'khi Guy (Wayne State University), senior Justin Evans (Davenport University), senior Dominique Williams (Olivet), sophomore Logan Ginter (Fort Lewis College), senior Thomas Vaccaro (Samford University), junior Tyler Porte (Central Michigan University), junior Carter Bylsma (Dordt University) and sophomore Brock Sperling (Western Illinois University).  

Traveling from Out-of-State – Calvin features 15 players from outside Michigan. Those players include senior C.J. Sheets (Longwood, Fla.), junior Hayden Slegers (Ontario, Ca.), freshman David Dirksen (Davis, Ca.), freshman Kaeson Pressley (Los Angeles, Ca.), senior Thomas Vaccaro (Franklin, Tenn.), freshman Noah Escobedo (Oak Lawn, Ill.), sophomore Christian Flutman (Orland Park, Ill.), freshman Joseph Gray (Chicago, Ill.), sophomore Edward Van Dellen (Evergreen Park, Ill.), junior Max Lenters (Palos Heights, Ill.), sophomore Brock Sperling (Palos Heights, Ill.), freshman Rike Niyongabo (Dillon, S.C.), sophomore Logan Ginter (Evergreen, Colo.), freshman Brayden Cartier (Chandler, Ariz.) and junior Jaden Lewis (Spring, Tx.).  

High Schools Represented – The high schools with the most represented players are: Hudsonville Unity Christian (7), Rockford (6), Holland Christian (4) and Chicago Christian (4).

A Look Ahead – Calvin will host St. Norbert (Wisc.) next Saturday at Calvin Soccer Stadium with kickoff set for 1 p.m.