Nation's #1 Bulldogs Claim At Least Share Of Third-Straight GLIAC Championship With Road Win

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Big Rapids, Mich. - The nationally top-ranked Ferris State University football team earned at least a share of a third consecutive Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championship as the Bulldogs cruised to a 50-14 leauge road win over the Davenport Panthers on Saturday (Nov. 6) at Meyering Field in Caledonia.

The Bulldogs stayed unbeaten on the year, moving to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in conference play, by beating the Panthers for the second time this campaign. FSU opened up a 20-0 first-quarter lead and led 33-14 at halftime before shutting out DU in the second half for the win.

Ferris State's victory was its 37th consecutive regular-season triumph and 30th-straight GLIAC win. It also marked the Bulldogs' 21st consecutive road victory. With a win in the regular-season finale next Saturday, the Bulldogs would also cap a third-straight unbeaten regular season campaign.

The Bulldogs limited Davenport to only 94 yards of total offense on the day in a dominating victory while scoring in all three phases of the game.

FSU jumped in front early on its first offensive drive of the afternoon, moving 63 yards in only nine plays before senior quarterback Jared Bernhardt capped the drive with his first of three touchdowns on a nine-yard scoring run less than five minutes into the tilt.

Bernhardt pushed the margin to 13-0 with 5:01 to go in the opening stanza on a 33-yard TD run, finishing off a short two-play, 33-yard jaunt.

The lead grew to 20-0 after the first period as tailback Tyler Minor scored on a 12-yard carry only a minute later on the first play following a turnover.

In the second quarter, the Bulldogs' Marcus Taylor returned a punt 85 yards for a score with 13:26 remaining in the half to make it a 27-0 game before DU finally got on the board with 10 minutes left thanks to a diving effort on a 27-yard scoring throw from Jake Jenson to Seth Acda. It came on a free play for the Panthers due to a penalty with two FSU defenders on coverage prior to a diving effort from Acda after it was tipped by the Bulldogs.

However, the Bulldogs responded defensively with only seven minutes to go in the period when Major Dedmond picked off a Davenport pass and raced 65 yards to the endzone for his first collegiate defensive score. That gave FSU a 33-7 lead, but Davenport trimmed the margin to 33-14 at the break when Nick Cain picked up a botched FSU fake punt and returned it 15 yards for a score on a fumble recovery return.

The Bulldogs opened the second half with a lengthy 90-yard touchdown drive, which ended on a 44-yard TD run from Bernhardt with 12:53 remaining in the third. Ferris State later pushed the edge to 47-14 with only 1:12 left in the period on Mylik Mitchell's 11-yard scoring throw to Xavier Wade.

In the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs had the game's only scoring when Sy Barnett connected on a 29-yard field goal with 9:31 remaining in the contest.

Overall, Ferris State compiled 396 yards of total offense, including 236 rushing yards. Bernhardt paced FSU with 120 yards and three scores on the ground while completing nine-of-15 passes for 73 yards. He shared duties on the day with both Mitchell and fellow QB Evan Cummins.

Taylor led all Bulldog receivers with five grabs for 69 yards while CJ Jefferson had six catches for 37 yards.

Defensively, Ian Hall paced the Bulldogs with seven tackles, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry. Senior John Higgins had seven stops, including two tackles for loss and a forced fumble.

The Bulldogs will host Wayne State in their regular-season finale on Saturday, Nov. 13, with kickoff for the Senior Day contest slated for 1 p.m. (ET) at Top Taggart Field in Big Rapids. FSU can win the outright GLIAC Championship for the third year in a row with a victory.