The GLIAC season comes down to the next two weeks.

All of Grand Valley State, Davenport, and Ferris State remain alive for the league’s regular season title, while also jockeying for position in the Super Regional Rankings as the postseason looms.

The key game this week and not just in the GLIAC, sees Ferris State and Davenport square off in a showdown of Top-10 teams, with pretty simple stakes on the line for both teams.

No. 7 Ferris State (6-2, 3-1) at No. 9 Davenport (8-0, 4-0)

The stakes in this one are relatively straightforward: A win by Ferris State keeps them just a game back of Grand Valley State for the GLIAC title and would turn the Bulldogs into Davenport fans next week when the Panthers meet the Lakers. A win from Davenport would set up a winner-take-all showdown next week between the Panthers and GVSU.

As if that wasn’t enough to make this a huge game, the regional impact it could have on the playoffs is massive, with Davenport currently at No. 6 in Super Region Three, while Ferris State is currently at No. 8. Reminder, only the Top-7 teams in each region get in, and this game would be a massive feather in the cap for either team.

The host Panthers come in at 8-0 for the second straight season, but come in on a little bit of a lull despite the undefeated mark. Two weeks ago they held off a charge from one-win UMary to win by 10, and last week needed a fourth-quarter rally to get past 4-5 Saginaw Valley State, a team that Ferris and GVSU both handled by three-plus scores earlier in the season.

The game is a big measuring stick to see how far Davenport has come in a year. They were 8-0 last season, but lost handily in their final three games, twice to Ferris State and once to GVSU. Have the Panthers added enough on defense and offense to hang with the defending champions?

Trailing 21-9 nearly halfway into the fourth quarter, the Panthers kept their undefeated season alive with a touchdown pass that capped a 17-yard drive off an SVSU turnover, then put on what might have been the drive of the season in college football. The Panthers went 92 yards in just 1:28, scoring with 11 seconds left on the clock to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

PANTHER PERFECTION 😤

Davenport completes a wild game-winning comeback in the final minutes to take down SVSU and move to 8-0 on the season. #FloFootballDriveOfTheWeek@DU_Football | @GLIACsports pic.twitter.com/hCjmdsBGxS

— FloFootball (@FloFootball) October 28, 2023

Ferris State meanwhile, got its final non-league tuneup in a 56-0 thumping of American International, seeing the Bulldogs pick off three passes, and force five fumbles while recovering three, getting two defensive touchdowns and a special teams score. It was exactly what you expect the Bulldogs to do against a lesser opponent.

The big key in this one is the ability for both teams to try and limit the running game. Davenport leans heavily on the legs of Myren Harris, who was bottled up by SVSU last week, but still leads the GLIAC in rushing at 113.9 yards per game, over 45 yards more than Carson Gulker of Ferris State.

Bulldogs apply the pressure and get the TD 🐶 @FerrisFootball | @GLIACSports pic.twitter.com/U9thMUR5jf

— FloFootball (@FloFootball) October 28, 2023

While the Panthers lean heavily on Harris, who has accounted for more than two-thirds of their 1,469 rushing yards this season, Ferris State is a running game by committee team, one that has seen them rack up 1,833 yards on the ground despite their leading rusher averaging less than 70 yards per game.

While these are two of the more prolific offenses in the GLIAC, they’re also the two best defenses in the league, with Davenport giving up the fewest points and yards so far, and Ferris State close behind in both categories. If there’s maybe an edge to be had on the defensive side, it lies with the Davenport pass rush, which has racked up 23 sacks on the season, compared to just 12 for Ferris State.

The settings and stakes are nearly identical to a season ago when these two teams met. Ferris State put the clamps on the Panthers in the regular season with a convincing 28-7 win where the Panthers were held to just 183 total yards. Then if there were any doubts about that outcome, the two teams met two weeks later in the opening round of the playoffs, where the Bulldogs flexed in a 41-7 romp, where Davenport mustered just 131 yards in a season-ending loss. Both of last season’s games were played at Ferris State.

GLIAC Week 10 Games At A Glance

*All games scheduled for Saturday

Northern Michigan (0-8, 0-5) at Saginaw Valley State (4-5, 1-3)

Northern Michigan closes out its portion of the GLIAC schedule with a road trip down near the thumb of the Lower Penninsula, looking for anything to go right after getting roughed up at home by Wayne State last week, 41-17. The Wildcats at one point had a 10-2 lead in that game, but Wayne State rattled off 39 unanswered points to pull away.

SVSU must feel like it let one get away last week, coughing up an 11-point fourth-quarter lead to Davenport in a game that could have dealt a serious blow to the Panthers’ playoff hopes. The Cardinals, who held Davenport to just 74 rushing yards last week, will need to lean on that rush defense again against a Wayne State team that tries to establish the run early.

Minot State (1-8) at Michigan Tech (4-4, 1-4)

Tech plays its final non-league game of the season and looks to climb above .500 on the season despite a 1-4 mark in league games when they get set to host the one-win Beavers. The Huskies went on the road last week to No. 3 GVSU and were handled in a 31-point loss, posting -4 rushing yards including sacks.

Minot State picked up its first win back in mid-October, but of its eight losses, five have been by more than two scores. The Beavers have struggled to find the end zone, not scoring more than 25 points in a game this year.

No. 3 Grand Valley State (7-1, 4-0) at Wayne State (3-6, 2-2)

GVSU will be keeping an eye on the Ferris State-Davenport game because a GVSU win coupled with a Ferris State win would assure the Lakers of no worse than a share of the GLIAC crown heading into next week’s game with Davenport. The Lakers kept things rolling last week with a dominant 31-point win over Michigan Tech, forcing the Huskies to negative rushing yards counting sacks.

Wayne State evened its GLIAC mark last week with a convincing win over Northern Michigan, rushing for 188 yards in the win, and picking off a pair of Northern passes. The Warriors also found something in the passing game, hitting on seven passes, but making them count, averaging over 20 yards per completion in the win. The Lakers rolled in last season’s two matchups, winning 48-9 and 42-14.