Dominating Performance Lifts #2 Ferris State Over Davenport In Battle Of Unbeaten Squads

Postgame Interview
Game Highlights 

Big Rapids, Mich. - Nationally second-ranked Ferris State University put together a dominating performance as the Bulldogs beat Davenport 35-7 in a battle of unbeaten squads on Saturday (Oct. 5) afternoon at the Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex in Caledonia.

The Bulldogs allowed only 62 total yards to the Panthers on 52 plays and ran for 317 total yards of their own as they controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. With the win, FSU improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).

In addition to giving up only 62 yards, the Bulldogs held DU to -9 yards rushing on 28 attempts, thanks in part to six quarterback sacks. The Bulldogs also forced two turnovers.

Ferris State took control early as the Bulldogs drove 65 yards in four plays on their initial offensive possession to reach the endzone for the first time. Sophomore quarterback Evan Cummins scored from a yard out, which was the first of his four TD's on the afternoon. He split time with senior QB Travis Russell, who found senior slot receiver Dion Earls on a 68-yard completion to the one-yard line to setup the first score with 12:10 left in the opening stanza.

The score stood until 6:29 remained in the second when the Bulldogs marched 81 yards in 13 plays and chewed up more than six minutes to build a 14-0 lead on a nine-yard TD run from Cummins.

The Bulldogs came out of the locker room at halftime in a big way as they scored three times in the period to put the game away. The first took place less than two minutes into the second half when tailback Marvin Campbell raced to the endzone on a 34-yard run to finish a four-play, 68-yard jaunt to begin the half.

FSU then increased the lead to 28-0 with 6:55 remaining in the third when Cummins scored for the third time on a one-yard plunge to finish a drive that covered 57 yards in 11 plays.

Soon after, the Bulldogs took advantage of a Davenport miscue as they forced the Panthers to punt and a bad snap ended up giving FSU the ball at DU's eight-yard line. Four plays later, Cummins again rambled in from a yard away to put FSU up 35-0 with 4:27 to go in the third.

Davenport scored its only points of the afternoon in the fourth quarter to account for the final total when quarterback Deondre Ford found wideout Nate Couturier on a six-yard scoring throw with 13:09 left in the game.

For the afternoon, the Bulldogs totaled 423 yards of offense with 106 coming thru the air in addition to the 317 on the ground. Cummins ran for a team-high 77 yards on 16 carries with Campbell totaling 70 yards on 10 tries. In the passing game, Russell completed three-of-six throws for 74 yards. Senior slot receiver Jevon Shaw hauled in two catches for 32 yards.

The Pantehrs were paced by Ford, who completed 10-of-24 throws for 71 yards and a score, but was intercepted twice and sacked six times by the Bulldogs' defensive pressure. Couturier had five grabs for 28 yards and Michael Catching ran for 22 yards on four attempts.

The Bulldog defense was led by senior linebacker Avonte Bell, who had five total stops, including three sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. Senior cornerback James Caesar had both interceptions while defensive tackle Austin Simpson made a team-high six stops.

Ferris State will visit Wayne State for the first time since 2012 next Saturday, Oct. 12, for a 6 p.m. (ET) league tilt against the Warriors in Detroit.