GVSU, Ferris State to open NCAA Division II football playoffs; Alma gets DePauw in DIII
Michigan’s Division II football heavyweights will get yet another round on Saturday as No. 2-seed Grand Valley State will host rival Ferris State at 1 p.m. to open the NCAA football tournament at Lubbers Stadium in Allendale. The winner will face Saturday’s winner between Pittsburg State and Indianapolis on Nov. 25.
The matchup comes just over a month after the Lakers upset the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs, 49-28, in the annual Anchor-Bone Classic in Allendale on Oct. 14. GVSU dominated Ferris in that matchup, jumping out to a 35-0 lead n the second quarter. GVSU quarterback Cade Peterson went 15-for-25 for 151 yards, three touchdowns and an interception and Avery Moore rushed nine times for 126 yards and two TDs and added a 30-yard touchdown pass against the Bulldogs.
Trailing early, Ferris was forced to depart from the run-heavy attack that won it the 2022 Division II national championship. Against the Lakers, Ferris QB Mylik Mitchell went 17-for-29 for 195 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Mitchell rushed 13 times, but for just 58 yards.
There'll be one big change from October's matchup, though: Ferris coach Tony Annese won't be on the sidelines, as he'll be serving the one-game suspension the NCAA handed down in March as a result of his players lighting up cigars in the locker room following their national title win (their second straight) in Texas in December.
ROUND 1: Grand Valley State blows out Ferris State
That October matchup followed a pair of clashes in the 2022 season: Grand Valley State took the regular-season matchup in Big Rapids by one point, then dropped the third-round playoff rematch on Dec. 3 by three points when Eddie Jewett hit an 18-yard field goal with 64 seconds remaining. Ferris went on to beat West Florida, 38-17, in the national semifinal and Colorado School of Mines, 41-14, in the final.
Alma opens at home vs. DePauw
Unbeaten MIAA champion Alma will open the Division III playoffs this weekend against unbeaten DePauw, the North Coast Athletic Conference champs. The Scots’ return to the postseason begins at noon Saturday at Bahlke Field in Alma. The winner will face Saturday’s winner between Mount Union and Alfred State on Nov. 25.
It’s the second meeting all-time between Alma and DePauw, with the first, a DePauw victory, coming in 1965.
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More recently, all 10 of the Scots’ victories this season came by at least 18 points, with the closest coming on Oct. 14 when Alma “edged” Hope, 35-17. Since then, the Scots have outscored their opponents 179-68, including a 50-14 road victory over Albion on Saturday. DePauw, meanwhile, barely stayed unbeaten on Saturday, edging rival Wabash, in the Monon Bell game, by three points in double-overtime. The Tigers also needed overtime to beat Wittenberg, 41-35, on Oct. 21. Alma, meanwhile, topped Wittenberg by 40 points (48-28) on Sept. 23.
The Scots are led by quarterback Carter St. John, who completed 74.6% of his passes for 2,666 yards, 33 touchdowns and four interceptions. St. John also rushed 63 times for 331 yards and six touchdowns. DePauw, meanwhile, features a star QB of its own: Nathan McCahill completed 66.5% of his passes for 2,474 yards, 29 TDs and five interceptions and rushed 34 times for 119 yards and two TDs.
Alma went unbeaten in 2022 and opened the NCAA tournament with a victory over Mt. St. Joseph before losing in the second round to Aurora. DePauw made the tournament last season but lost in the first round to Carnegie Mellon.
This story has been updated to reflect the NCAA suspension of Tony Annese.
Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on X (which used to be Twitter, y’know?) @theford.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: GVSU, Ferris State to open Division II playoffs; DIII Alma gets DePauw
