BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — The Ferris State University Bulldogs secured a hard-fought 48-38 national semifinal win over Slippery Rock to advance to the NCAA Division II National Championship Game for the fourth time in program history on Saturday (Dec. 14) evening at Top Taggart Field.
The Bulldogs fell behind 38-27 at halftime, but responded with a second-half shutout to come away with the triumph.
With the win, Ferris State will advance to the title game next Saturday, Dec. 21, in McKinney, Texas, to face the Valdosta State Blazers, which topped Minnesota State in the other national semifinal contest.
Slippery Rock got off to a fast start and built a two-score lead after the opening period behind the play of quarterback Brayden Long, who completed 27-of-48 throws for 398 yards and three scores.
However, the Bulldogs battled back time and time again before eventually taking the lead on a 69-yard touchdown from tailback Kannon Katzer early in the fourth period.
Overall, the Bulldogs finished the night with 513 yards of total offense and the FSU defense forced four turnovers in improving to 13-1 overall this year.
"First off, give Slippery Rock a ton of credit and they were a super ball club," said FSU head coach Tony Annese. "I said at halftime, let's just think about it as a 0-0 game and get a grasp of what we need to do to perform at the level we can perform at overall.
"I'm happy to come away with the win and have an opportunity to go back to McKinney and play for a national championship," he added.
The Rock struck first on its opening offensive series, driving 80 yards in four plays before Long found Logan Ramper on a 60-yard scoring throw.
The Bulldogs tied the game up midway thru the first stanza when junior safety Justin Payoute intercepted a pass and raced 27 yards to the endzone on a pick six to knot the contest.
SRU tallied the next two scores with Idris Lawrence first capping a four-play, 50-yard drive with a five-yard TD run. That was followed by a short one-yard scoring run from Chris D'Or, making it 21-7 in favor of the Rock.
Ferris State cut the margin to 21-14 on Trinidad Chambliss' 13-yard touchdown throw to Emari O'Brien early in the second frame, but Long answered with a 29-yard TD throw to Ramper, finishing a lengthy 16-play, 75-yard jaunt to make it 28-14 midway thru the second period.
Again, though, FSU responded as junior Taariik Brett ran the ensuing kickoff back 87 yards for a score to cut the deficit to 28-21 with 7:52 to go in the half. Soon after, Slippery Rock again found the endzone as Long hooked up with Ramper on a 19-yard scoring connection to make it a 35-21 game.
The Bulldogs managed to cut the lead to 35-27 when Chambliss scored on a 10-yard keeper to finish off a eight-play, 56-yard drive with a minute to go in the second. Later, after FSU got the ball back, Slippery Rock capitalized on an interception and connected on a short 22-yard field goal to give The Rock a 38-27 lead on the final play of the half.
A turning point came midway thru the third period as Slippery Rock chewed up nearly the first seven minutes of the second half and added three points on a field goal before the points were wiped off the board due to a FSU penalty. The Rock tried to score on a throw to the endzone, but Long was picked off by FSU's Gyasi Mattison, keeping the margin at 11 points.
From there, the Bulldogs stole the momentum. Chambliss engineered a nine-play, 93-yard scoring drive and completed the drive with a 22-yard scamper to pull FSU back within 38-34 at the end of the third.
The Bulldogs then got the ball back and marched 80 yards in five plays with Katzer's 69-yard scoring run giving FSU the go-ahead score with 12:26 to go. FSU later added a nine-yard touchdown run from Chambliss to finish a nine-play, 57-yard drive with eight minutes to play.
From there, the Bulldogs got the needed defensive stop and chewed up the clock to come away with the win.
Ferris State ran for 292 yards on 32 carries, including 165 yards and a score from Katzer along with 124 yards and three scores by Chambliss. He also completed 19-of-26 passes for 221 yards and a score. James Gilbert led FSU in the receiving game with six catches for 65 yards while O'Brien hauled in six grabs for 44 yards. FSU had 513 total yards overall and went six-of-nine on third down.
Slippery Rock finished with 453 offensive yards, but had only 55 yards rushing on 32 carries. Lawrence led SRU on the ground with 71 yards while Ramper had eight catches for 171 yards and three scores. Mike Solomon also had a big night with eight catches for 130 yards.
Defensively, junior linebacker Sefa Saipaia led the FSU defense with 11 total tackles and Konnor Near had eight stops. FSU picked off Long four times in the game.
Ferris State and Valdosta State will meet for the third time in the national championship game next Saturday with kickoff set for 2 p.m. (ET) at the McKinney ISD Stadium. The Bulldogs are seeking their third national title in the last four years after back-to-back championships in 2021 and 2022.
Stay tuned to FerrisStateBulldogs.com for additional information on the title game and trip to Texas coming soon!
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