The No. 2 ranked Ferris State Bulldogs took down the No. 4 ranked reigning national champion Harding Bisons 41-7 to move on to the Division II national semifinals.
The matchup of two Division II powerhouses saw the Bulldogs come out on top. Harding won the national championship in 2023, and Ferris was the winner of the 2021 and 2022 national championship games. The two teams had a combined record of 23-2 this season. The Bulldogs won the last matchup versus the Bisons in 2018, taking them down 21-19.
Coming into the game, the Bisons held the national lead in points scored per game (51.2) and points allowed per game (9.5). However, the Bulldogs held the nation’s leading rushing team to just 130 yards on the ground and only 2.9 yards per carry. They were able to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, leading the rushing battle 287-130.
After forcing a Harding punt on the first offensive possession, the Bulldogs took the early lead with a touchdown run from junior quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
Ferris held Harding to just four first downs compared to the Bulldogs 13 in the first half.
The Ferris defense helped the offense out by forcing two turnovers in the first half. The Bulldogs were able to outgain the Bison 221 yards to just 76 in the first half and that offensive outburst led to a 20-0 Ferris lead going into halftime.
The second half was much of the same for the Bulldogs, outscoring Harding 21-7.
Head coach Tony Annese was excited about how efficiently his offense played on the nation’s top-scoring defense, going for 452 yards.
“They have a phenomenal run-stopping defense so we knew we had to establish the run to open up the passes,” Annese said. “It worked because that’s just how our offense is built it’s nice when you have a quarterback who has been playing as well as Trinidad has been playing.”
Chambliss led the Bulldogs in passing with 145 yards and two touchdowns, completing 66% (18-27) of his passes. Chambliss also added two touchdowns on the ground.
The mobile quarterback wasn’t the only Bulldog to rush into the endzone, as junior runningback Kannon Katzer had the two other rushing touchdowns for Ferris alongside 76 yards on ten carries.
Junior linebacker Sefa Saipaia attributed the great defense to his teams’ ability to buy into their role.
“It’s all about doing your 1-11 and just going in there and doing your job,” Saipaia said. “That is a great team that thrives on running the ball and we all knew we had jobs to do.”
With the win, Ferris is one win away from an appearance in the DII national championship game in McKinney, Texas.
The Bulldogs were reseeded as the second seed in the final four and will play Slippery Rock on Dec. 14 at Top Taggart Field.