Ferris State, the two-time defending NCAA Division II national champion and the No. 1 team in the latest AFCA Top 25 Poll, will make the 71-mile trip south to Allendale, Michigan, for a Week 7 conference showdown against No. 7-ranked Grand Valley State. 

The meeting will take place at Grand Valley’s Lubbers Stadium, which regularly is among Division II leaders for average attendance. The venue is designed to seat more than 10,400 fans, but the Lakers saw more than 11,600 fans turn up each week during their run to the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title in 2022. 

The stadium’s single-game attendance record was set against Ferris State in 2021, when 17,007 fans were there for the annual Anchor-Bone Classic, and the 2023 edition of the rivalry will be witnessed by a sellout crowd once again.

Both teams are coming off victories and again will be fighting for control of the GLIAC standings.

Last week, Ferris State (4-1, 2-0) topped Saginaw Valley State 38-17 to remain unbeaten in conference play. The Bulldogs share the top spot in the GLIAC standings with Davenport at 2-0.

• Subscribe To FloFootball To Watch All The GLIAC Football Action In 2023
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• Grand Valley State Football In 2023: What To Know About The Lakers

Grand Valley State (4-1, 1-0) also is undefeated in GLIAC action, tied with Wayne State. The Lakers are fresh off a 65-7 nonconference win over Kentucky State. GVSU has scored 55 or more points in three of its last five games this season, while outscoring its opponents 248-108.

Ferris State’s lone loss this year came to FCS No. 10 Montana on Sept. 16 (17-10), while GVSU opened the season with a loss to 2022 Division II national runner-up Colorado School of Mines (31-28)

Ferris State and GVSU have been dominant in the GLIAC and in the Division II ranks in recent years, and their meeting Saturday again could have major implications. 

In 2022, Grand Valley State held Ferris State scoreless in the final quarter to escape with a 22-21 win, and that ended up being the deciding factor for the GLIAC title. The Lakers took the crown with a 6-0 conference record, while the Bulldogs settled for second place at 5-1. 

Ferris State got revenge in the playoffs, however, defeating GVSU in the quarterfinals (24-21) on the way to a second consecutive national championship. 

In the record-setting 2021 edition of the game, Ferris State escaped with a 35-28 victory. The Bulldogs got the best of the Lakers again in the 2021 playoffs, winning 54-20 in the second round.

When the teams face off this week, it will be the 16th time in the series’ history that both teams have been ranked in Division II polls. GVSU holds a 30-23-1 advantage in the series, which includes four playoff games since 2015.

Ferris State has won seven of the last eight meetings.

Since 2002, the winner of the Anchor-Bone Classic also takes home the Anchor Bone Trophy. Grand Valley State won the first nine meetings with the trophy on the line, before Ferris State took control of things.

When Is Ferris State Vs. Grand Valley State?

Ferris State will take on the Grand Valley State at Arend D. Lubbers Stadium in Allendale, Michigan, on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 3 p.m. ET.

How To Watch The Ferris State Football Vs. GVSU Game

Football action is streaming live on FloFootball and the FloSports app, including the Ferris State and Grand Valley State football game during Week 7.

Replays and postgame highlights also will be available on both platforms. 

What To Know About Ferris State Football

Ferris State is looking to become the first school since North Alabama in 1995 to win three consecutive Division II national championships, and realizing that dream would almost certainly include a win over Grand Valley State—maybe now, maybe later. 

While Ferris State and Grand Valley State have been the GLIAC’s premier programs in recent years, Davenport is now a program on the rise. The Panthers were third in the conference a year ago, having lost to both the Bulldogs and Lakers in the 2022 regular season.

In 2023, Davenport is setting the pace in the GLIAC and could pull away from Ferris State this week with a win over Wayne State, combined with a Bulldog stumble. 

The Panthers again will end their regular season against Ferris State and Grand Valley State, respectively, so what happens this weekend in Allendale could make those late-season games that much more important. 

Through five games this year, Ferris State is averaging 43.6 points per game overall and 58 in its conference wins over Northern Michigan (78-3) and SVSU (38-17).

The Ferris State offensive attack has been balanced in 2023, including 276 yards per game on the ground and 232 passing yards per game. The Bulldogs are fourth in Division II in total offense (508 yards), and they’ll be going against the No. 26 defense in Division II football this year.

Ferris State’s senior quarterback Mylik Mitchell helped show the depth the Bulldogs have at the QB position, as he became the third Ferris State signal caller this season to earn GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

In the Bulldogs’ win over Saginaw Valley State last week, Mitchell completed 12-of-14 passes for 262 yards and five touchdowns, while helping his squad to more than 500 total yards on the day. 

Though Mitchell shares the quarterback role with sophomores Carson Gulker and Trinidad Chambliss, he has taken the majority of the snaps this season, completing 44-of-66 passes for 736 yards, eight touchdowns and one interception. 

Gulker and Chambliss have made their impact on the ground and are the team’s leading rushers with 408 and 205 yards, respectively, in five and four games played. Mitchell has scrambled for 96 yards. 

What To Know About GVSU Football

It’s still early in the 2023 GLIAC slate, but success this week against Ferris State is crucial for GVSU’s big picture in the same way it’s important for the Bulldogs. 

With three of the conference’s seven teams already 0-2, it’s quickly shaping up to be a four-team race. Now is not the time to fall behind.

Since a Week 1 loss to the No. 2 team in the country and a Week 2 nail-biting, two-overtime win, the Lakers have been dominant. Even with the loss and close call, they’re averaging 49.6 points per game, while posting nearly identical 247.8 yards per game on the ground and 246.6 through the air.

Senior Cade Peterson is the primary passer for GVSU, and he’s 56-of-94 on the year for 975 yards, with eight touchdowns and three interceptions. The main target for the Lakers has been junior Cody Tierney, who has 19 receptions for 347 yards and two scores.

Peterson also has some wheels, and he’s second on the team in rushing with 206 yards. Senior running back Tariq Reid has a team-leading 258 yards and six touchdowns on 56 attempts. 

Senior Christian McCarroll, the 2022 GLIAC Defensive Lineman of the Year, has been strong again in 2023. He leads the Lakers in total tackles with 30, and he’s fourth at the Division II level with six sacks. He has at least one sack in each game this year.

In GVSU’s win against Kentucky State last week, McCarroll had four tackles, including two for a loss, and a sack—across 15 snaps. The performance earned him GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this year.

What’s The Weather Forecast?

When you think of October weather in Michigan, it's probably similar to what Ferris State and Grand Valley State will see during their game Saturday – a chill in the air (52 degrees during the day and temps in the 40s at night), rain (89 percent chance during the day and close to a half-inch expected) and winds around 10-20 mph. 

Archived Footage On FloFootball

Video footage from the event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloFootball subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscription.

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