October 3rd, 2026 4:30pm
Big Rapids, Mich. - Nationally top-ranked Ferris State University pitched a shutout in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) opener on Saturday (Oct. 3), beating Northern Michigan 42-0 inside the Superior Dome in Marquette.
The Bulldogs scored three times in the first period and built a 35-0 halftime lead en route to their 35th consecutive win overall. FSU's defense was also outstanding and allowed less than 50 total yards until the fourth period. Ferris State surrendered only a single first down and 20 yards in the opening half to the Wildcats.
"Northern Michigan played hard. For us, obviously, to have a shutout, give kudos to our defense," said FSU head coach Tony Annese. "That's big. And we played a lot of guys — probably all 70 of them that we could dress per GLIAC rules. We played them, so pretty cool to be able to do that."
Ferris State jumped on the board first with 5:09 to go in the opening period as junior quarterback Chase Carter capped a two-play, 40-yard jaunt with a one-yard touchdown run.
The Bulldogs pushed the lead to 14-0 four minutes later when quarterback Wyatt Bower scored on a 14-yard carry to finish a 10-play, 52-yard scoring drive with 58 seconds to go in the frame.
FSU got the ball back and scored again on the final play of the opening period when Carter found Tarick Bower on a 54-yard pass completion in his first game of the season, making it 21-0 at the end of the first.
The Bulldogs added on two more second-period touchdowns to grab a 35-0 lead at halftime with the first coming with 9:53 to go in the half on Wyatt Bower's 19-yard scoring throw to wideout Jaylin Townsend, which finished a 54-yard drive in five plays.
Ferris State's final first-half score came with 5:50 to play as tailback Jake Price found pay dirt from two-yards out to finish a six-play, 55-yard march.
The Bulldogs added one more score in the second half as Key'Vell Cooper found the end zone from eight yards away with 12:15 left in the third period. His run capped off a five-play, 52-yard scoring drive.
"We were up 35-0, I think, at halftime, and they just never quit," said Annese. "That's a sign of really — or it's an indication, at least — that they believe in their coach, and that's really important."
Ferris State had a balanced offensive attack that rolled up 508 total yards and 29 first-downs. FSU also went five-of-six in the red zone.
Cooper led the Bulldog backfield with 43 yards rushing while Bower added 37 yards and freshman Marcel Jones finished with 30 yards. Carter went six-of-six passing for 128 yards and a score while Wyatt Bower finished nine-of-20 for 126 yards and a touchdown. Kevin Simes led the FSU receivers with 61 yards on five catches. Both Townsend and LeeShaun Mumpfield hauled in three catches apiece.
Defensively, the Bulldogs limited NMU to 176 total yards with 113 coming on the ground, including 109 from tailback Noah Dobert. Northern Michigan, though, was only one-of-13 on third down.
Safety Nick Flegler led the Bulldog defense with six tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
The win was FSU's 15th in a row over Northern Michigan dating back to 2010.