TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University football team returns to the gridiron after a week off on Saturday, making the short trek across town for the Battle of the South Sound against the University of Puget Sound. 

Saturday's tilt will be the Northwest Conference opener for both squads. The Lutes (1-1) are coming off a bye week after closing out their non-conference slate with a 10-7 victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges back on Sept. 15 at Sparks Stadium. It was a heavyweight fight that saw the Lutes score a touchdown on their first offensive play before staving off a late Stag charge in the fourth quarter to escape with the win. 

While in his first year as the Lutes' Head Coach, Brant McAdams is no stranger to the natural grass of the Loggers' Baker Stadium. It's one of four stadiums around Division III that McAdams will have coached at as both a host and a visitor. 

McAdams, who had stops at three institutions as an assistant prior to accepting the head coach gig with the Lutes, has served on both sidelines at Trinity University's Trinity Stadium, University of Redlands' Ted Runner Stadium, PLU's Sparks Stadium, and come Saturday will add Baker Stadium to that list.  

"It's going to be a special game. Anytime you see a competition like this from both sidelines it puts the greater purpose of our profession in perspective," said McAdams. "It's not about the results of one competition. It's about impacting the game, impacting a group of players, and doing things the right way." 

McAdams' experiences at all four stadiums have helped mold his current philosophy at PLU.

"I think a lot of that perspective is what prepared me to take over this program, having been at three different Division III institutions, having coached on both sidelines at four different Division III football fields. I've seen a fair amount of football and teams, departments, and universities, and that's what's helped build my understanding of what it takes to be successful. It's also more clearly defined for me the themes and characteristics of success that are timeless no matter where you are."

Reflecting on those experiences has given McAdams a clear vision for the future of Lute football.  

"Every place is going to be unique to itself, at the same time, there is nothing unique about the hard work and the quality relationships that are required for an organization to be successful."

Saturday kicks off the first of seven consecutive weeks of conference action. For McAdams, it's the first chance for the team to build on their performance against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. 

"The expectation for this weekend is to show improvement. That's what I expect every week. We just focus on us and get better at what we do and further define and refine our identity as a football team. I think that's really important, especially early on in this program, were only two games in, and so as we continue to jump into the fire on Saturdays we'll continue to go into each week knowing ourselves better and come out of each week with the expectation to learn, grow, and improve."

Already some of the pieces have fallen in place. The defensive unit has allowed just 17 points all season and just three in the first half. They've also shown an ability to find the quarterback, registering seven sacks against CMS. 

"We've shown that we're a bend but don't break defense. I think that comes with phenomenal effort. Guys flying around and giving great effort and pursuit to get the ball carrier down and give us another chance to lineup and play football again." 

The offensive unit outgained California Lutheran University in the opener and has shown flashes of brilliance, scoring on its first play from scrimmage against Claremont. 

"Offensively I think we're a couple of connections or plays away from a pretty potent offense. Looking at our game against Claremont, we were just a couple of missed assignments away from moving the chains and really building momentum. That's something that we've identified and are going to continue to build on because I think we're close." 

Sept. 29: PLU vs. Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington (1 p.m.)

Series History: The Lutes and Loggers have met 92 times on the gridiron since the 1931 season. PLU's has won the last two, including a 23-13 victory last season at Sparks Stadium. UPS's last win in the series came on Oct. 31, 2015, a 6-2 victory in the pouring rain.  

About the Loggers: Puget Sound (2-1) has shown a propensity to put up points, averaging 40.7 points per game and 431.3 yards per game. The Loggers opened the season by outsprinting CMS 45-35 on Sept. 1 before falling 28-21 to Redlands the following week. Puget Sound closed out the non-league slate two weekends ago with a 56-28 steamrolling of the University of La Verne.

UPS does a majority of damage through the air with Murdock Rutledge and Nick Bernhardt combining for 12 touchdowns and no interceptions. Jewell Day has been on the receiving end of six of those touchdowns, heading into the weekend with 352 receiving yards and a team-high 19.6 yards per catch.