Reigning National Semifinalist Ferris State Football Tabbed As Nation's #2 Team In Preseason Rankings
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Big Rapids, Mich. - The first NCAA Division II preseason football poll is out and reigning NCAA Division II National Semifinalist Ferris State has been tabbed as the nation's #2 team heading into the year, according to the Lindy's Sports College Football National Preview Magazine.
The annual publication, which is billed as the nation's leading football authority, highlighted the top 25 teams in the country based on expert opinions and also featured a preseason All-America team.
This year marks the second time in the past three years the Bulldogs have been tabbed as the country's #2 team in at least one preseason ranking as FSU earned the same distinction from multiple sources in 2015.
Ferris State was picked second behind defending national champion Northwest Missouri State, which defeated FSU in the national semifinals a year ago en route to claiming a second-straight title. FSU is one of three Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) schools found in the top 25 along with #3 Grand Valley State and #20 Ashland.
Along with the preseason national rankings, the publication also featured both a first and second-team preseason All-America squad. The Bulldogs had four total honorees and were the only school in the nation with multiple preseason All-America selections on the first team with three individuals chosen.
FSU's first-team preseseason All-Americans include senior center Jake Daugherty (Big Rapids), junior defensive end Zach Sieler (Pinckney) and senior cornerback Tavierre Thomas (Detroit/Allen). Senior quarterback Reggie Bell (Los Angeles, Calif./Dorsey) was chosen as a second-team Preseason All-America pick.
Last fall, the Bulldogs' Sieler, Daugherty and Thomas all received All-America accolades from multiple sources following FSU's historic campaign while Bell was a candidate for the 2016 Harlon Hill Trophy presented to Division II's top player and was the leading rushing QB in the country.
Finally, Lindy's listed the annual Anchor-Bone Classic between FSU and rival GVSU, which is slated for Oct. 21 in Big Rapids, as one of its "Big Ones" or top five games of the year.
The Bulldogs will begin their 109th season of varsity competition this coming fall with their sights set on making a fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Division II Playoffs.
Ferris State is coming off another historic campaign as the Bulldogs posted a 12-3 overall record in 2016 while advancing to the NCAA Division II National Semifinals for only the second time in school history. In 2016, the Bulldogs also posted a school-record tying 12 victories. Ferris State received the program's third-straight NCAA Football Playoff berth and captured the Super Region Four Championship by beating archrival Grand Valley State during a memorable postseason run. The 15-week campaign, which included three postseason playoff wins, was the school's longest in 108 years of Bulldog Football.
Over the last three seasons at Ferris State, the Bulldogs have compiled a 34-5 overall record and claimed two conference championships, posted two unbeaten regular-seasons, captured a regional title and reached the national semifinals. Ferris State has also accumulated two Harlon Hill National Player of the Year trophies, twice had a student-athlete tabbed as the nation's National Scholar-Athlete of the Year and won four postseason games.
In the five seasons under Annese, the Bulldogs have become a national power on the Division II level. FSU has posted a 49-12 overall mark in the last five years and the Bulldogs have also posted the best winning percentage of all 21 collegiate programs in the state of Michigan along with the GLIAC since his arrival.
Overall, Annese has won 83% of his games as a head coach on the collegiate and prep levels and owns 274 wins to date, which is the most of any current GLIAC member head coach at all levels.
Ferris State will return nearly 60 letterwinners for the 2017 campaign, including nearly 18 starters.