Ice storms put the kibosh on last week's opener for Life University's men's team, and the Running Eagles now will have to content themselves with taking on an imposing Lindenwood team with no buildup.

The story hasn't changed for the Running Eagles. Head Coach Colton Cariaga is still bringing in a relatively young team that will need to make some strides to get to the experienced, gritty stage of the 2018-2019 two-time D1A champs. They have the players to do that, with George Phelan the new captain and Chase Schor Haskin carrying a big load up front.

Winning on the road in the Mid-South isn't easy and in the last two conference seasons, between Davenport, Life, Lindenwood, and Arkansas State, home teams are 9-6. Take out the Davenport games and it's more like 7-2. 

Lindenwood managed to score 31 points on Arkansas State in Jonesboro two weeks ago despite being starved of possession. They managed that because, first off, their backs are quite dynamic. Morgan Purcell, Connor Burns, and impact sub Cody Erhardt all were effective with ball in hand, and Emmanuel Alberts, moved from the forwards (he's played lock and No. 8 for the Lions) to center ended up being the player of the game.

"It was tough," Alberts said after the game, adding that Arkansas State "was physical and took advantage of our early errors. We held them out with line speed and double tackles. Our preparation in training, especially on defense, earned us this win."

They will need that again this week, but winning on the road, as we said, is a tough proposition for anyone in the Mid-South. Lindenwood going to Marietta has rarely been an easy time—since 2014 Life has won 15 times in a row—and it won't be this year, either.