After yet another commanding victory over the Roosevelt Lakers, the Bulldogs return to Top Taggart Field to take on the Wayne State Warriors.
Ferris State (5-0, 1-0 in GLIAC) won its first division matchup of the season and now faces off in its second GLIAC matchup against the Warriors (0-5, 0-1 in GLIAC).
The Bulldogs won handily against Roosevelt on Saturday, Oct. 4, taking the Lakers down by a score of 66-0. The Bulldogs have had back-to-back shutout victories, which is something they did not accomplish last season.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Wyatt Bower had his best performance of his career, going 20-28 with 371 yards and five touchdowns, while adding two rushes for 18 yards and one touchdown. Three of those touchdowns went to senior wide receiver Cam Underwood, who had three receptions for 141 yards and three touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, Ferris had a total of four interceptions on the day, one coming from senior defensive back Daviere Jones and another from senior linebacker Isaiah Byars.
With the team performing as well as it has, junior slot receiver Taariik Brett believes this team is off to an incredible start.
“The team play has been excellent to start this season,” Brett said. “We are 5-0, which is a great start to the season, our offense, defense, and special teams are growing each and every week, and we are going to continue to grow as the season continues.”
This season’s performance has been nothing short of dominant for Tony Annese’s squad. In their five games this season, the Bulldogs have a 44.6 per game point differential, while having a total point differential of 223 for the entire season.
In comparison to the first five games of each of their championship seasons, 2024 had a 196-point differential, 2022 had a 140-point differential, and 2021 had a 148-point differential. This season’s Bulldogs look to be just as good, if not better, than prior years, even with all of their transfer portal departures in the offseason.
Senior slot receiver Brady Rose spoke about how excellent the offense has been playing to start the season.
“The offense has been clicking, everyone is on the same page for us,” Rose said. “Our defense has been balling, we wouldn’t be able to score as many points if our defense hadn’t been as dominant as it has been. The offense is going to keep scoring while the defense is going to keep getting turnovers.”
The Bulldogs have also tied the school’s all-time winning streak of 19 games, which was set between the 2021 season, where they went 14-0, and the first five games of the 2022 season, when they started 5-0, but lost to rival Grand Valley 22-21.
Junior quarterback Carson Gulker believes this team is only getting better every single day.
“The team has been playing incredibly well so far this season,” Gulker said. “I think this has been largely due to how focused we have been in practice, and simply getting better every day. We are worried about ourselves and growing as a team and just getting better. I think if we keep that mindset up, we will keep playing well.”
This season has been yet another disappointing season for the Warriors, who have not had a winning season since 2019, when the team went 8-3. Wayne State is led by junior quarterback Champion Edwards, who has 569 yards and three touchdowns and five interceptions, while adding 118 yards on the ground.
The Bulldogs look to continue their winning streak against the Warriors, as Wayne State has not beaten Ferris since 2009, when they defeated the Bulldogs in Detroit 45-7.
Although Ferris holds the record against the Warriors, holding a 13-3 record since the two first faced off in 2002.
Ferris State returns home to Top Taggart Field to take on the Wayne State Warriors on Saturday, Oct. 11, at 1 p.m.