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ASHLAND – The hearts of voters aligned with solid logic this week when 22nd-ranked Southern Oregon University vs. No. 2 Carroll College was chosen as the NAIA Football Game of the Week in a landslide.

The Raiders and Saints have gotten together for four matchups to date, and an intriguing storyline has accompanied every one of them. Saturday's 1 p.m. Frontier Conference clash at Ashland High's Walter A. Phillips Field is no exception.

E-tickets are available for purchase online at souraiders.com/tickets. Tickets will be available at the gate on a first come, first serve basis.

"You see the big games around the country this weekend – Oregon against Michigan State, Stanford against USC – at our level of football, that's what this is: the game of the nation," fourth-year SOU coach Craig Howard said. "Both teams have national title aspirations. They've done it six times and we haven't done it yet, but this is the team to beat if we want to."

When these teams hooked up last year, first place was on the line with three games left in the regular season, and Carroll forced six turnovers to win 48-30 on its home field. That paved the way to a Frontier title and an eventual appearance in the NAIA semifinals. With three games left in the 2012 regular season, the Raiders claimed a 52-49 decision in Ashland that was responsible for ending Carroll's run of 12 consecutive conference championships and gave SOU the co-title. The two games before that occurred in the NAIA quarterfinals – and the Saints won both in comeback fashion, crushing the souls of the 2001 and 2002 SOU squads.

"We have great respect for that program. They're such a great defensive squad every year, one of the best historically at the NAIA level," Howard said.

Here we are again, a budding rivalry pitting one of the nation's top defenses (Carroll allowed 16 points per game in 2013) against the top offense (SOU scored 47 per game). The Raiders haven't started a season with two straight wins since 2001.

Whose house?: Walter A. Phillips Field is the home of the Ashland Grizzlies but a rental of the Raiders' this week. SOU last played there during the 1983 Raider Stadium rebuild, and a 9-2 team went 2-1.

"It's a smaller venue and it's going to be kind of like a cage match with standing room all around the field," Howard said. "It's different than what we're used to but it could be a lot of fun."

SOU's aim is still to complete the Raider Stadium turf/track construction in time for the Sept. 20 game against College of Idaho, but that game will be moved to Medford's Spiegelberg Stadium if necessary. 

Enough offense to plague a Saint (we hope): The Raiders were their usual fast-moving selves in a 51-14 Week 1 win at Menlo last Saturday, running 46 percent more plays than the Oaks (94-64) and amassing 25 more first downs (35-10) with approximately the same time of possession. SOU scored on five of its first six possessions – getting two first-quarter touchdowns from freshman running back Keegan Lawrence (Sherwood, Ore./Sherwood) – and midway through the third quarter led 48-0.

The 618 yards of offense were the most for an opener in program history. Dylan Young (Salem, Ore./North Salem), who averaged 112 yards per game last year, caught seven balls for three TDs and 110 yards. For his part, quarterback Austin Dodge (Vancouver, Wash./Skyview) was named the Frontier Conference Offensive Player of the Week.

Like we weren't going to talk about him: Dodge needed just 2 ½ quarters of action at Menlo to complete 23 of 35 passes for 321 yards and four TDs, and to register his first rushing touchdown since 2011. It was his 25th career outing with over 300 passing yards, his 13th with at least four TD passes, and his sixth with at least four TD passes and no interceptions. Dodge is now just 1,424 yards shy of matching the NAIA career passing yards record (13,388) and 14 TDs shy of matching the NAIA career TD passes mark (120).

He had 415 yards but was picked off three times vs. Carroll in 2013.

Gotta hear both sides: SOU's revamped defense – led by returning starters Heston Altenbach (Coquille, Ore./Coquille), Mylz Blake (Los Angeles, Calif./Palisades Charter), Daniel Breaux (Greenfield, Calif./Greenfield), Laurence Calcagno (Canby, Ore./Canby) and Dustin Fretwell (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oakridge) – appeared to be on its way to its first shutout since 2003 until the benches emptied last Saturday, blanking Menlo through three quarters, which was something the Raiders didn't do to an opponent all of last season while surrendering 440 yards per game.

The Oaks only picked up 214 yards. Blake and Alex Stork (Klamath Falls, Ore./Klamath Union) combined for 13 tackles and two sacks, and Altenbach, a fourth-year starter, had an interception.

"I thought our defense was outstanding in the opening game and some of our guys played the best game of their careers," Howard said. "Continuing that against Carroll is going to be an enormous challenge but an exciting one."

About Carroll: The Saints, who were the preseason pick to repeat as Frontier champion, held opponents to seven points or less on six occasions last year and are led by returning All-American defenders Sean Blomquist and James Dowgin. Blomquist had 124 tackles and seven sacks, and Dowgin intercepted seven passes.

"Blomquist is probably the best middle linebacker in the country, so we'll have to do a lot of hard work blocking him," Howard said.

Dustin Rinker is on pace to break Carroll's all-time rushing record after averaging 141 yards/game a year ago, while first-year starter Mac Roche replaces Raider-killer Dakota Stonehouse to quarterback an offense that put up 431 yards and 35 points weekly.

"They have a great runner in Rinker, some great receivers, and two of the best offensive linemen in the country," Howard said. "This is not a one-dimensional offense."