If you are as big of a fan as DII football as I am then you're going to love this article, if not.... whatever. Ferris State University is a school located in Big Rapids Michigan. Somewhere around 14,000 students are enrolled every year in a city with a population of just over 10,000. Very small town rural feel while still being a great college to earn a degree at during the week and party on the weekends and to be honest most week days. But I'm not here to talk about campus life, I'm here to talk Football.
The last 10 years of Bulldog Football have been nothing short of phenomenal. The Bulldogs ended their 2011 season 6-5 barely going over .500 and not looking too impressive. Then came the addition of Head Coach Tony Annese in 2012 whose dynamic coaching and recruiting abilities has lead Ferris to currently be a Division II powerhouse. His first season with the Bulldogs resulted in a 7-4 record and a ranking of one of the top offenses in the country. The years following resulted in domination over the GLIAC (Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) with four conference championships between 2014 and 2019. Although each year the Bulldogs did fall short of a deep playoff run, until the 2018 season. In 2018 the Bulldogs made a run all the way into the Nation Championship where they unfortunately fell short to Valdosta State by a score of 49-47 and a final record of 15-1.
Notable former players currently in the NFL include: Tavierre Thomas-CB Cleveland Browns, Zach Sieler-DT Miami Dolphins, Malik Taylor-WR Green Bay Packers, and Justin Zimmer-DT Buffalo Bills. The Harlon Hill Trophy is given each year to the MVP in Division II football, pretty much the DII equivalent to the Heisman. If you want solid proof of its prestige, former NFL great Danny Woodhead won the award in 2006 and 2007. The bulldogs have had two Harlon Hill Trophy winners in the last seven years: Jason Vander laan (won in 2014 and 2015 as QB), and Jayru Campbell (won in 2018 as QB).
After taking a year off for COVID-19 reasons, the Bulldogs are back and just as good as ever. Currently lead by former Maryland Lacrosse great turned QB, Jared Bernhardt. Some say he is the best college athlete in the country, I say he's got some big shoes to fill to be regarded as a great BULLDOG QB. #2 Ranked Ferris State will be going into their Homecoming game this Saturday currently (3-0) to take on the Davenport University Panthers (1-2).
Prediction: Ferris 48 - Davenport 6
GO DAWGS!
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