Before the curtain came down on Week 11 of the 2024 college football season in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, there was some drama, some excitement and a near-upset, but things ultimately turned out how most would’ve expected from a win-loss perspective.

Ferris State pulled out a title-clinching ninth consecutive win, Grand Valley State kept itself in the race for a potential share of the conference title, Wayne State notched its first victory and Saginaw Valley State proved it’s here to play.

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With only a week remaining in the GLIAC regular season, there is still a lot at stake.

A Davenport win over Ferris State would be a huge statement for the Panthers and give GVSU a chance to share the conference crown with the Bulldogs, assuming the Lakers can handle a one-win Roosevelt. If all that somehow happened, it would mean a GLIAC three-peat for Grand Valley State.

At the other end of the standings, Northern Michigan has one last chance to avoid a second straight winless campaign. Unfortunately, Wayne State has proven to be far stronger than its 1-9 record, so the chances of NMU starting the 2025 season with a 22-game losing streak have increased in recent weeks. 

Does Davenport have what it takes to shock the GLIAC and Division II? Can Northern Michigan somehow rally to end all the chatter and finish the year on a positive note?

We tackle these questions and share some of the GLIAC takeaways heading into Week 12 of the 2024 college football season, which also is the final week of regular-season activity for the GLIAC:

Congrats, Wayne State!

There are many variations of the mindset that if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. Sometimes, just taking them on and standing tall is a victory in itself. Wayne State parlayed that into an actual win, a 38-14 triumph over Roosevelt.

Over the last month, the Wayne State football team battled against the four best teams in the mighty GLIAC, and while the Warriors didn’t come away with a win, they fought hard, scored points and likely turned some heads.

Ultimately, Wayne State’s biggest enemy in those games probably was Wayne State, as the Warriors were putting together great halves, but couldn’t maintain the momentum for four quarters. But they clearly learned and gained confidence.

WSU gave top-ranked Ferris State a scare on Oct. 12 (and Oct. 13, due to weather), coming as close to beating the Bulldogs (at the time) as anyone had since Pittsburg State stunned FSU to open the season.

The Warriors had control over Davenport on Oct. 19 but left their mojo in the locker room at halftime. The Panthers rallied with 31 points in the second half and won the game 43-26.

Vibes are high 📈#REPthe313 pic.twitter.com/i31YfjfN8L

— Wayne State Football (@WSUWarriorFB) November 9, 2024

On Oct. 26, Wayne State simply was outplayed by an up-and-coming Saginaw Valley State team that scored in every quarter on the way to a 37-10 victory.

Against Grand Valley State on Nov. 2, the Warriors were getting crushed at halftime by the two-time defending GLIAC champion and previous No. 1 team in the nation 37-0, but they stampeded out of the locker room this time and rallied for 28 second-half points.

Though Wayne State lost to GVSU 51-28, the Warriors came off the back end of the four-game stand as an improved, battle-tested team that had become much better than its 0-9 record.

That said, finishing the season against one-win Roosevelt and winless Northern Michigan would be the Warriors’ opportunity to showcase everything they’d learned and prove that despite the losses along the way, they were better for it.

And that’s what happened. 

Wayne State got its complete game, scoring in all four quarters on the way to the win over GLIAC newcomer Roosevelt on Saturday. 

In the contest, senior kicker Griffin Milovanski broke two WSU records – his fifth extra point of the game gave him a record 66 in a row, and his 48-yard field goal shortly after gave him the program record for a career with 40. The performance earned him GLIAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors.

It’s progress, and it allowed Wayne State to enjoy the feeling of victory for the first time in over a year. The team's last win came against Northern Michigan on Oct. 28, 2023, before finishing the season with blowout losses to playoff-bound GVSU and Ferris State.

Heading into the final week of the regular season, NMU sits at the bottom of the GLIAC standings at 0-6 (0-10 overall), while WSU and Roosevelt are one spot higher at 1-5.

Does Wayne State stay strong and climb another rung in Week 12, or does Northern Michigan win a game for the first time since 2022?

Saginaw Valley State Is On The Cusp

If the 2024 college football season had a couple more months left in it, Saginaw Valley State very well could take control of the GLIAC.

The Cardinals entered the year as the No. 4 team in the conference, and rightfully so, as Ferris State and Grand Valley have dominated the GLIAC in recent years, and Davenport’s two-season run would’ve been monumental if it weren’t for those two goliaths. 

Over the course of the 2024 campaign, however, led by 14 seniors and a large junior class, SVSU has emerged as a true contender in the GLIAC and a solid No. 3. The Cardinals also are on the verge of their first playoff appearance in more than a decade.

Since making the Division II Playoffs in 2013, SVSU has had a tough run, including having to vacate 20 football wins from six seasons (2013-2018) as part of NCAA penalties for violations that ultimately affected eight sports.

The years under head coach Ryan Brady (since 2019) have been a bit of a rebrand and rebuild, and the hard work has paid off with four consecutive winning seasons.

SVSU nearly accomplished a power-shifting double in conference play this year, coming within a play of potentially upsetting both GVSU and Ferris State, still top-5 teams in the rankings and the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the latest Division II regional rankings (Super Region Three).

Against Grand Valley State in October, the SVSU defense shined against the powerful Lakers offense, and the Cardinals had a chance to take the lead on their final drive. Instead, an incomplete pass on fourth and 9 at the GVSU 21-yard line gave the ball back to the Lakers, who ran out the clock and won the contest 16-9.

The Cardinals then gave Ferris State a scare on Saturday, where an upset really would’ve complicated the race for the conference trophy. Instead, a missed field goal with less than five minutes to play in the game, and a pass interference call on Ferris State’s next drive, allowed the Bulldogs to maintain their 27-24 advantage as the clock wound down.

Two plays could’ve changed SVSU’s trajectory. Instead, the road got a little tougher.

A share of the conference championship is out of the question now for SVSU, as that will go to Ferris State (6-0 so far), and potentially GVSU (5-1 right now), depending on what happens in Week 12.

The Cardinals must focus on continuing their positive momentum against Michigan Tech, and then hope to remain among the 10 teams from Super Region Three up for playoff consideration. Right now, they’re clutching onto the No. 10 spot.

Looking ahead to 2025, SVSU seems to have a solid group of leaders and a culture that is encouraging younger players to work hard to keep things moving forward.

Davenport Quietly Had A Solid Week

While most eyes in the GLIAC, and possibly much of Division II, were on the Saginaw Valley State-Ferris State nailbiter Saturday, Davenport was putting the finishing touches on a 52-31 win over Northern Michigan and claiming a third consecutive season with at least seven wins.

(If you missed the outcome of the SVSU-FSU game, Ferris State held on to win 27-24).

Sure, Davenport’s high-scoring victory came against the winless Wildcats, but it gave the Panthers a chance to have a fun Senior Day and gain some confidence and momentum before closing the year against the No. 2 team in the newest AFCA Division II Coaches Poll, Ferris State.

The Panthers offense was led by redshirt freshman quarterback Mac VandenHout, who made his first career start. He completed 6 of 11 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns and added 113 yards and two scores on 12 rushing attempts. The performance earned him GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

VandenHout wasn’t the only Davenport player to shine against NMU.

Redshirt senior running back Myren Harris had 115 yards and two touchdowns, marking the first time in the program’s short history that two players ran for more than 100 yards in the same game. The inaugural year for Davenport football was 2016.

Defensively, graduate defensive back Cameren Grodhaus had a school-record 25 tackles in the win and now is within 10 of becoming the second Davenport player in history with 100 in a season. 

The record day earned Grodhaus GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week recognition. It was the second time this season (Ferris State two weeks ago) that the offensive and defensive POW honorees were from the same team.  

Up next, Davenport will head to Big Rapids, Michigan, with one goal in mind – beat Ferris State for the first time. 

Though there’s not much more than pride on the line for Davenport (or maybe a very outside chance at the playoffs), finally beating the Bulldogs would be a huge accomplishment for the Panthers, and it also could help GVSU get a share of the conference title for a backdoor three-peat.

Davenport is 0-8 against Ferris State, and the Bulldogs’ existence has defined the last two seasons for the Panthers.

In 2022, an 8-3 campaign for Davenport, the roadblocks after an 8-0 start were Ferris State (twice) and Grand Valley State in between. 

In 2023, another 8-0 start fizzled into an 8-2 finish and no playoff appearance, after consecutive losses to Ferris State and GVSU, respectively.

Did Saginaw Valley State stun the Bulldogs last week, and now it’s up to Davenport to deliver a knockout punch on behalf of the rest of the GLIAC?

How Did The GLIAC Football Teams Perform In Week 11?

All eight GLIAC teams saw conference action on Nov. 9.

• Davenport def. Northern Michigan, 52-31
• Grand Valley State def. Michigan Tech, 20-0
• Wayne State def. Roosevelt, 38-14
• Ferris State def. Saginaw Valley State, 27-24

GLIAC Football Schedule For Week 12

Saturday, Nov. 16

All Times Eastern

• Michigan Tech at Saginaw Valley State, 1 p.m.
• Davenport at Ferris State, 1 p.m.
• Northern Michigan at Wayne State, 1 p.m.
• Grand Valley State at Roosevelt, 2 p.m.

AFCA Division II Football Rankings For Week 12

1. Valdosta St. (Ga.) (25) 9-0
2. Ferris St. (Mich.) (5) 9-1
3. Kutztown (Pa.) 10-0
4. Harding (Ark.) 9-1
5. Grand Valley St. (Mich.) 9-1
6. Charleston (W.Va.) 10-0
7. Colorado St.-Pueblo 9-1
8. Central Oklahoma 9-1
9. Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) 9-1
10. Western Colorado 9-1
11. Slippery Rock (Pa.) 8-1
12. West Alabama 8-1
13. Pittsburg St. (Kan.) 7-2
14. Indianapolis (Ind.) 9-1
15. Augustana (S.D.) 8-2
16. West Florida 7-2
17. California (Pa.) 8-1
18. Minnesota St. 8-2
19. Carson-Newman (Tenn.) 9-1
20. Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) 8-2
21. Angelo St. (Tex.) 8-2
22. Findlay (Ohio) 9-1
23. Wingate (N.C.) 8-1
24. Colorado School of Mines 7-3
25. Central Washington 7-3

Dropped Out: Emporia St. (Kan.) (20)

Others Receiving Votes: Central Missouri, 25; Fort Hays St. (Kan.), 18; Southern Arkansas, 14; Emporia St. (Kan.), 9; New Haven (Conn.), 9; Miles (Ala.), 4; Saginaw Valley St. (Mich.), 4; Virginia Union, 2; Davenport (Mich.), 1; East Stroudsburg (Pa.), 1; Sioux Falls (S.D.), 1; Virginia St., 1.

To see the D2Football.com Top 25 Poll, click here.

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