The No. 7 Shippensburg University football team opens the 2013 season Saturday, September 7 with a matchup against No. 25 Shepherd in the 16th Great Valley Classic at Ram Stadium in Shepherdstown, W.Va. This is the first time in the history of the Great Valley Classic that both teams enter the game with a national ranking in the AFCA Division II poll.

A radio broadcast of the game will be available on 88.7 FM in Shippensburg and can be accessed online by fans at www.wsyc.org. Perry Mattern returns as the play-by-play voice of the Red Raiders while Jimmy Wright will provide color commentary.

Shippensburg enters the game as the preseason favorite in the PSAC Eastern Division for the first time in history after an 11-2 season in which it reached the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. SU was picked atop a PSAC divisional coaches poll for the first time since 2004 and has not been ranked higher than fourth in any preseason poll over the last nine years. Shippensburg returns 29 letter-winners from last season, including eight starters on the defensive side of the ball.

Shepherd enters the game as the preseason favorite in the Mountain East Conference after an 8-3 season in which it reached the opening round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. Shepherd returns eight starters on both offense and defense, including its entire offensive and defensive lines. Forty-two letter-winners are back for the Rams in total.

Game Storylines

• Saturday's game is one of three in Division II's opening weekend that features a pair of nationally-ranked teams. No. 4 Northwest Missouri State will face No. 21 Saginaw Valley State and No. 9 Ashland will face No. 19 Indianapolis.

• The last time that Shippensburg played at Shepherd was Mark 'Mac' Maciejewski's debut as SU head coach in 2011. The Rams hung 53 points on the scoreboard that day — the most by an opponent under Coach Mac.

• Four of SU's six losses under Coach Mac over the last two years have come against nationally-ranked opponents, including the 2011 loss to Shepherd (ranked No. 11 at the time). Overall, SU is 3-4 against Top-25 opponents under Coach Mac.

• Shippensburg has had at least one passing touchdown in 21 consecutive games. The same streak also applies to starting quarterback Zach Zulli.

• Shepherd has had at least one rushing touchdown in 18 consecutive games dating back to a 28-14 loss at Concord on Oct. 1, 2011.

• Both teams ranked among the Top 15 in Division II last season in turnover margin. Shippensburg ranked seventh (1.31 per game, +17); Shepherd ranked 15th (1.00 per game, +11).

• Both teams have three players ranked among the Top 100 in Division II per d2football.com, including five in the Top 40.

The Great Valley Classic

• The Great Valley Classic was first instituted in 1998 and is named in recognition of the two schools and their locations in the Great Appalachian Valley. Shippensburg, nestled in the Cumberland Valley, and Shepherd, tucked into the Shenandoah Valley, are approximately one hour apart from one another.

• This year's meeting will be the last Great Valley Classic between the two teams for the near future, as Shepherd must commit to conference games with its new Mountain East schedule.

• Shippensburg is 2-5 in Great Valley Classic matchups at Ram Stadium and has not won in Shepherdstown since 2003 (four straight losses).

• Shepherd is 10-5 in the Great Valley Classic and has won 10 of the last 13 meetings over the Red Raiders dating back to 2000.

• Overall, Shippensburg has opened its season against Shepherd 23 times in history — totaling a 12-11 record which includes a 33-10 victory in the first opener between the teams back in the 1965 season.

• SU is 58-46-4 all-time in season-opening games. Until last season's 38-28 victory, Shippensburg had lost its last six season openers, all to Shepherd in the Great Valley Classic.