October 29th, 2026 9:00am
By Chuck Bitner, D2Football.com
No. 1 Ferris State will face a Top 15 opponent for the third week in a row as No. 12 Davenport comes to town. Both teams enter the contest undefeated at 8-0 overall and 4-0 in the GLIAC standings. A top 15 matchup sells itself, but for some perspective on what this means around the national landscape, here are some thoughts from my Inside D2Football co-host Matt Witwicki, from this week’s episode of GLIAC Weekly.
I don't know if people understand that this should be a close game. This could be the best version of Davenport that we've seen. These are two top five defenses nationally and two of the best rushing offenses around.
Davenport is seeking the program’s first win over Ferris State. The Panthers are 0-10 all time against the Bulldogs. A common thread across those ten contests has been Davenport’s inability to muster much of an offense against the Ferris State defense. The Panthers have averaged just 9.1 points per game in their decade of battling the Bulldogs and in half of those contests, have been limited to seven points or less.
On a positive note, last year’s 23-point showing was their best ever against Ferris State and its also worth pointing out the Panthers have had more success defensively than most Bulldog opponents. Davenport has yielded an average of 32 points per game over the last three meetings and when you’re facing Ferris State, 32 isn’t a bad number. It’s good enough to give your offense a fighting chance. If the Panthers’ defense can hit that mark this year, they may have the offensive weapons for a breakthrough win.
That will certainly be hard to do, but the Panthers have played great defense all year. They allow just 12.63 points per game (fifth in the nation) and 256 yards of total offense (ninth). Defending Ferris State is unlike defending anyone else, but it is encouraging that this Panthers defense has allowed just two rushing touchdowns all year. What else may we be looking for when the Davenport defense matches up with the ultra explosive Ferris State offense? Here are some insights from our GLIAC insider Tony Nicolette from this week’s episode of GLIAC Weekly.
If Ferris starts pushing things to the edge or starts really trying to push the ball downfield, I don't know if Davenport's played anybody that has the ability to do that…really push the ball down the field. I think the fact that Ferris has the ability to do so many things and do them all so well, whether it's option, or getting the ball to the outside or taking deep shots. We’ve seen a few of those in these last couple of weeks. I wonder if we don't see a little bit more of that in this game. Put the pressure on the Davenport secondary to say, can you stay with our guys this long? Or, if you do drop into zone and we get any of our guys to find the weak spots and you don't get them on the ground immediately, then what happens? And did we get behind you doing that kind of stuff? I just think that Ferris's ability to throw the ball deep when they want to is superior to what Davenport brings into this game. I think that's going to be the difference.
The Bulldogs use so many weapons offensively that its hard to single them out. Nine different players have scored at least one rushing touchdown and nine different players have scored at least one receiving touchdown. While names may not jump of the stat sheet, all you have to do is turn on a series or two of game film to see the explosiveness. Naturally, the quarterback run game is a big part of it. Wyatt Bower leads the team in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. Bower may have been a but banged up last week and saw limited action but Chase Carter erupted for 141 rushing yards, while also passing for two touchdowns. That's how it goes with this unit. It may look like there is an opportunity with QB1 on the sidelines, but with the Bulldogs, there will always be depth to draw from.
Looking at things offensively for Davenport, success must come from the running game. The Panthers produce 333 rushing yards per game, third best in all of Division II and the only team in the top five that is not an option-based scheme. Cephus Harris is the focal point. He should be one of the top contenders for the Harlon Hill Award by season’s end. He currently leads all division II players in rushing yards (1587), rushing yards per game (198.4) and rushing touchdowns (21).
Harris is a weapon, but on the downside, he is nearly half of Davenport’s offensive production each week. If Ferris State can limit his impact, there isn’t a ton of diversity in the Panthers’ offense. They will use Jonathan Palmer in the quarterback run game quite a bit. He is good for 60 yards per game, but in the red zone, it will be Harris getting the touches. If the Panthers have to throw the ball to loosen up the Ferris State defense, or play catch up, it will become an uphill battle. Davenport can throw the ball as a compliment to the run game, but if they struggle to move the ball on the ground, it will be a long day.
For a more in-depth look at this matchup, check out this week’s episode of GLIAC Weekly. Witt and Tony break down the contest in the week nine preview. Check the chapters in the video to skip to the preview.