GLIAC -- Ferris State (12-0) will continue its postseason journey on Saturday, Dec. 11 when it hosts Shepherd (13-1) in a semifinal matchup of the NCAA Division II Football at the home of the Bulldogs, Top Taggart Field, in Big Rapids, Mich. Kick off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
At stake is a berth in the DII national championship game, to be held on Saturday, Dec. 18 in McKinney, Texas.
The FSU-Shepherd playoff contest will be broadcast live on ESPN Plus.
The GLIAC champion Bulldogs are making their fifth-ever national semifinal appearance, including their third-straight and fourth in the past five seasons of on the field action.
Tony Annese, the 2021 GLIAC Coach of the Year, will be seeking his 100th career victory at Ferris State on Saturday. He enters Saturday’s game with a 99-16 (.861) mark in his ninth season at Ferris State. Annese currently ranks as NCAA Division II’s winningest active head coach, based on a minimum of four seasons.
This Saturday will represent the Bulldogs’ fifth all-time NCAA Division II National Semifinal appearance, including the program’s third-straight and fourth in five seasons on the field (not counting the 2020 COVID cancelled season). FSU fell at North Alabama in the semis in 1995 and at Northwest Missouri State in 2016. The Bulldogs won their national semifinal on the road at Minnesota State in 2018 before falling to eventual national champion West Florida in the school’s first home semifinal in 2019. FSU is 1-3 all-time in semifinal games and will be seeking its second trip to the national championship game. Saturday marks the second-ever home semifinal played in Big Rapids.
Shepherd holds a 13-1 overall record this year and went 6-1 in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play. The Rams have won each of their three playoff games this season by seven points or less, including a walk-off, final-play quarterfinal win last weekend over conference foe Kutztown.
Should Ferris State advance, it would face the winner of Valdosta State-Colorado School of Mines semifinal in the 2021 championship game.
GAME NOTES: FERRIS STATE | SHEPHERD
Follow the action on Twitter @GLIACsports and use the hashtag #GLIACFB
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