The wait is over, for GLIAC football fans, and college football fans in general, it’s one of the most anticipated weekends of the year in Division II, with two of the GLIAC’s signature rivalries headlining the card, including the hotly contested Anchor-Bone Classic, which could well determine who ends up taking the conference title.

Not to be outdone, the battle for bragging rights in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan will cap Saturday’s action, as longtime rivals Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan collide.

No. 1 Ferris State (4-1, 2-0) at No. 7 Grand Valley State (4-1, 1-0)

• Where: Lubbers Stadium; Allendale, Michigan
• When: 3 p.m.
• Last Week: Ferris State defeated Saginaw Valley State, 38-17; Grand Valley State defeated Kentucky State, 65-7
• Series History: Grand Valley State Leads 12-11 
• Last Season: Grand Valley State defeated Ferris State 22-21 in the regular season. Ferris State defeated Grand Valley State 24-21 in the NCAA Playoffs.

Here. We Go.

In what might be the most anticipated regular season game of the season, Top-10 ranked rivals Ferris State and Grand Valley State collide in the annual Anchor-Bone Classic, where bragging rights, a potential league championship, and possibly home-field throughout the regional portion of the Division II Playoffs awaits the winner.

It’s two teams that come in nearly identical in every way, with Ferris State having won its last two games by a combined 116-20, while GVSU’s last two wins were by a 120-21 combined margin.

The two teams are nearly identical on offense, with Ferris at a tick under 508 yards per game, good for fourth in the nation, while GVSU sits at 492.2 yards per game, fifth in the nation. In terms of scoring, it’s GVSU who holds the narrow edge, coming in at 49.6 points per game, third best in Division II, while Ferris State is 12th at 43.6 points per game.

@FerrisFootball are cooking! 👨‍🍳

Xavier Wade reels it in to extend the bulldogs lead!

Ferris state up 31-17 @GLIACsports pic.twitter.com/LOLD9ju51c

— FloFootball (@FloFootball) October 7, 2023

As if the similarities in yards and points weren’t close enough, how they’ve done it has been remarkably similar as well. The host Lakers sit at 247.8 rushing yards per game and 246.6 passing yards per game, while the Bulldogs average 276 rushing yards, and 232 passing yards. It’s two teams who can beat either way, just depending on what is working that day, or what the defense gives them.

While GVSU is a little more traditional in how they get things done, using just a single QB aside from mop-up time in Cade Peterson, who relies on a bevy of rushers and receivers to help the Lakers move the ball. Nine different Lakers have rushing scores already, while another eight players have caught touchdown passes. It’s an embarrassment of weapons at the skills positions for GVSU. 

While GVSU might be more traditional in their QB setup, Ferris State comes at you with three different quarterbacks who present different skills. Mylik Mitchell is the best passer, averaging over 120 yards a game through the air and with eight touchdowns to just one interception. Backups, if you can call them that, Carson Gulker and Trinidad Chambliss are the runners, teaming up for over 610 rushing yards between them, along with eight rushing scores. Both are also completing over 50 percent of their passes and have a combined seven touchdowns and no interceptions, making it nearly impossible to gameplan for just a single QB.

If there is a possible edge to be had in this game, it may come down to defense. As if these teams were talented enough, typically they boast two of the best defenses in the country, and in past games the winning score has typically been around 24 to 30 points, not the nearly 50 these teams average on the season.

Thus far in 2023, the defensive edge has gone to Ferris State, who sits second in the GLIAC allowing just 15.4 points per game, while GVSU is fourth, but allowing nearly 10 more points per contest at 25.3. Yards is the same story, where the Bulldogs clamp opposing offenses to a GLIAC-best 241.6 yards per game. GVSU isn’t far behind with a strong 278 allowed per game.

The biggest difference has come in the pass defense, where Ferris State’s group gives up just over 170 yards each week, compared to nearly 230 per game allowed by GVSU.

GVSU leads 30-0.
O-lineman Jordan Davis scored a TD.
We asked Chat GPT to write a poem about it:
Jordan Davis, a wall in the fray,
Bulldozed to glory, paved the way.
Offensive might, a touchdown's grace,
Grand Valley State's triumphant embrace.@gvsufootball | @GLIACsports pic.twitter.com/8tFWymit27

— FloFootball (@FloFootball) October 7, 2023

Again, it’s a rivalry between two programs that are nearly mirror images of each other, and are within two of each on defense in sacks and turnovers forced. 

In case you’re wondering just how even these teams are and have been over the years, the series sees GVSU holding a narrow 12-11 edge, but Ferris has controlled play of late, winning six of seven. The winning margin in six of the last eight years has been within a single score, so there’s every bit of a real chance that this game comes down to the wire.

One final stat worth noting: In games played at GVSU, the series is tied 6-6, with each team winning on the road in the two games last season, lest you think having a home-field advantage might give GVSU an edge.

Saginaw Valley State (2-4, 0-2) at St. Xavier (4-2), 1 PM ET 

One of two non-league games of the week sees Cardinals hit the road for the second straight week, looking to snap a four-game skid, one that has come as a result of facing four-straight ranked teams, including GLIAC powers Grand Valley State and Ferris State that last two weeks. SVSU hung tough with top-ranked Ferris State in the first half but was outscored 24-3 after tying the game 14-14 late in the second quarter.

St. Xavier, based in Illinois and playing at the NAIA level, has rattled off three straight wins, two of them in blowout fashion. Their two losses this season have come to teams ranked in the Top-6 of the NAIA polls.

Davenport (5-0, 2-0) at Wayne State (2-4, 1-0) 6 PM ET

Davenport also hits the road in a non-league contest comes in clicking on all cylinders, and is the last undefeated team in the GLIAC. The Panthers topped Northern Michigan last week by a 28-12 final, with the defense swarming and allowing just 247 yards in the win. The game ended up closer than the stats would show due to three Davenport turnovers, including a pair of fumbles by a rushing attack that posted 243 yards.

Wayne State pulled off the upset at home last week, taking down a Michigan Tech team that had come in 3-1. The Warriors rallied from a 14-10 deficit in the third quarter, with a pair of fourth-quarter field goals being the difference. 

Michigan Tech (3-2, 0-2) at Northern Michigan (0-6, 0-2), 7 PM ET

After a hot start to open the year that saw them average 33 points per game, the Huskies look to rebound as they cross the UP to take on a winless Northern Michigan team in the Miner’s Cup.

Tech was stunned on the road last week by Wayne State despite winning the total yards battled by nearly 140 yards but were hampered by 10 penalties and went 0-for-3 on field goal tries.

Northern were stopped on the road by Davenport last week, but they were able to force three turnovers on defense to keep the game close.

Michigan Tech took last season’s game by a 21-7 margin.