With our Bulldogs back in classes and the school year underway, the athletic season is ramping up for another great season of Bulldogs sports. This upcoming fall season will feature many great matchups across many different sports. Here are some matchups to watch for these next few months.
Ferris State Bulldogs at Pittsburg State Gorillas, August 31
For the season opener for Bulldogs football, we see the Bulldogs travel to Pittsburgh, Kansas to play the Gorillas in what will be a faceoff against the no. 4 nationally ranked Bulldogs against the no. 3 ranked Gorillas. The last time the Bulldogs faced off against the Gorillas was in round two of the 2022 playoffs in which the Bulldogs won a close game by a score of 17-14 en route to the Bulldog’s second consecutive national championship. Last season, the Gorillas made it to round two playoffs, in which they fell to Grand Valley by a score of 24-21. This game will give the Bulldogs a tough matchup in the season opener and give them a shot to hit the ground running for this season.
Ferris State Bulldogs at Grand Valley State Lakers, October 26
Once again, the Bulldogs will face off against the Lakers in Allendale for the Anchor-Bone Trophy, the Bulldogs as of now sit atop the GLIAC preseason rankings by a vote of the league’s coaches. The Lakers sit at no. 7 in the preseason national rankings and defeated the Bulldogs twice last season. Once in the regular season by a score of 49-28, and once again in the first round playoffs by a score of 21-14. This matchup could be the best game of the season, two high-ranking explosive teams facing off in what could determine who takes the lead in the GLIAC.
Ferris State Bulldogs at Wisconsin Badgers, December 28
The Bulldog hockey team will head to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to face off against the Wisconsin Badgers for the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off Tournament on December 28. The Badgers are coming off an excellent season where they went 26-12-2, made the playoffs, and placed no. 11 in the end-of-season rankings, but fell to Quinnipiac in the first round playoffs.
The Bulldogs hope to rebound from last season’s record of 10-24-2 and a first-round loss in the CCHA Playoffs to Bemidji State. They’ll have to face off against the Badgers in their first season without forward Antonio Venuto and goalie Logan Stein, who both transferred away this offseason.
Ferris State Bulldogs at Grand Valley State Lakers, September 20
The Bulldogs volleyball team heads to Allendale to face off against the Lakers for a heated rivalry matchup on September 20. The Bulldogs are coming off an excellent season in which they had a 27-8 record and a 15-3 record in conference with a GLIAC championship win. The team also made it to the NCAA Midwest Regional Final, in which they fell to Missouri-St Louis by a score of 3-1. The Lakers are coming off a season in which they placed second in the GLIAC with a 27-5 record going 16-2 in conference play. The Lakers made it to the NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinals but ended up losing to Missouri-St Louis as well by a score of 3-1. This matchup will be a faceoff against two GLIAC powerhouses, as the Bulldogs were voted by GLIAC coaches to win the GLIAC by 7 votes, and the Lakers placed second in first-place votes.
Ferris State Bulldogs at Northern Michigan Wildcats, October 4
The Bulldogs women’s soccer team will face off against the Northern Michigan Wildcats in Marquette, Michigan for a game against a Wildcats team that won the GLIAC last season as well as going 16-2-4 but lost to Maryville University in the NCAA Regional Quarterfinal by a score of 2-1. The Bulldogs are coming off a season that saw them go 7-9-4, making it to the GLIAC Tournament Semifinals but fell to the Wildcats. The Bulldogs have a tough game this season against the Wildcats, in which last season they lost all three games against the Wildcats but hope to rebound and beat them at home which the Bulldogs have not done since 2021 when they defeated the Wildcats 3-2.