By the time Saturday afternoon arrives, fifteen practices, forty meetings, and fourteen days will have passed since the Crusaders reported to training camp. And though another twelve days will still stand between it and the kickoff of the 2013 season, Saturday's Brown and Gold Scrimmage represents a pivotal date on the calendar. Head coach Dale Carlson views the exhibition as a tool in deciding starting assignments for the season opener at North Dakota on August 29th.

"It's an important time because we'll be able to run a lot of our offense, a lot of our defense, and some of the kicking game. So, we'll get to take a look at everything to determine what our depth chart is going to look like," Carlson said Tuesday after morning practice.

In addition to becoming acclimated with a new playbook, several freshmen have found themselves receiving additional reps. Furthermore, the coaching staff has now had a larger sample size with which to differentiate between raw ability and consistent execution of assignments.

"We've definitely had some guys separating themselves (in these first two weeks). We've had some surprises. We've had some kids step up that we didn't know if they would or not, so that's always a good thing," Carlson said.

Kickoff for the Brown and Gold scrimmage is scheduled for 1:30 pm on Saturday at Brown Field. Fans are invited to attend and admission is free.

Valparaiso opens its regular season against the University of North Dakota on August 29th in Grand Forks.