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WESTERVILLE, Ohio—The Otterbein University football Cardinals take on the Marietta College Pioneers in their Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) and home opener Saturday in Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.

It will be Homecoming on the Westerville campus, and the Cardinals will be playing their first game on the new turf field. Memorial Stadium received a $2.1 million upgrade over the summer, which included replacing the natural grass field with Crossflex HP turf. A formal dedication ceremony will be held prior to the game, beginning at noon at the south end of the stadium.

"There's going to be a huge crowd, it's Homecoming, we're dedicating the track and turf, but I told the team that this is a huge game and you've got to put all those distractions aside," said Otterbein head coach Tim Doup. "It's the first conference game and you've got to start 1-0 in the OAC."

In addition, University officials have scheduled a special announcement about the future of Otterbein University 15 minutes prior to kickoff.

Otterbein opened the 2014 season with a 36-14 loss at eighth-ranked St. John Fisher College in a nonconference matchup held Sept. 6 in Rochester, N.Y. Otterbein trailed by just seven at the half, and tied the game at 14 early in the second half before Fisher closed the game with 22 unanswered points.

"We had about an 8 to 10 minute stretch where we just forgot what we were doing and things just went array," Doup said about the game. "That can't happen against a good team like St. John Fisher."

Marietta, under second-year head coach Andy Waddle, scored 29 unanswered points in the second half to defeat Kenyon College, 29-11, Sept. 6 in a nonconference game held in Gambier. The Pioneers rolled up 396 yards of total offense while limiting Kenyon to just 172 yards. Defensive end Nick Thompson made three quarterback sacks in the game and was named OAC defensive player of the week.

"Marietta always plays us tough, and they're ready to go," Doup said.

Last season, Otterbein held off Marietta for a 29-21 victory in Westerville. Otterbein running back Drew Ervin rushed for 95 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.

"Play penalty free, no turnovers, and score in the red zone," said Doup about what he would like his team to be able to do against Marietta.

Following the Pioneers, Otterbein is scheduled to travel to Wilmington College Sept. 27 for a 7 p.m. kickoff.