#4 Ferris State Rolls Over Michigan Tech Behind Six-TD Throwing Performance

Postgame Press Conference 
Postgame Highlights 

Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University junior quarterback Trinidad Chambliss threw a school record tying and career-high six touchdown passes and the Bulldog defense held visiting Michigan to less than 300 yards of total offense in a dominating 51-13 triumph on Saturday (Oct. 19) afternoon at FSU's Top Taggart Field.

The nation's fourth-ranked Bulldogs tallied three first quarter scores and rolled up 577 yards of total offense in moving to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play.

Chambliss spearheaded the FSU attack by completing 18-of-30 passes for 383 yards and six scores while running for a squad-high 90 yards on 10 carries. Overall, FSU had 399 yards passing and 178 on the ground in the victory. The six TD's thrown by Chambliss tied the school record of six set by former quarterback Mylik Mitchell in a road win at Northwood in 2021.

"Going into the game, we knew Michigan Tech had a solid defense," said Chambliss. "We just had to play our brand of ball. Our O-line played amazing. They played their butts off. Our receivers were amazing out there too."

After an early defensive stop, the Bulldog offense ignited quickly as Chambliss found senior slot receiver Emari O'Brien on a 68-yard scoring throw on FSU's first offensive play of the day.

Later, with 7:18 to go in the initial period, Chambliss tossed a 28-yard strike to wideout James Gilbert, giving FSU a 14-0 lead midway thru the opening stanza. The TD throw finished a three-play, 86-yard drive for the Bulldogs.

Chambliss threw his third touchdown pass of the first period with 4:24 remaining in the frame when he hooked up for the second time with O'Brien on a 41-yard pass play.

Michigan Tech cut into the Ferris State lead early in the second period as Avery Kucharski connected on a pair of field goals covering 26 and 24 yards to make it a 20-6 game with 9:36 to go in the half.

The Bulldogs, though, answered quickly as Chambliss engineered a three-play, 57-yard march that result in a 23-yard TD throw to wideout Cam Underwood, pushing the FSU lead to 27-6 midway thru quarter number two.

MTU trimmed the Bulldogs lead to 27-13 with 5:11 left in the half when quarterback Alex Fries found Darius Willis on a five-yard scoring throw, which finished a seven-play drive covering 66 yards.

However, the Bulldogs pushed the margin to 17 points at 30-13 on junior kicker Mitch Middleton's 34-yard field goal with only 58 seconds remaining in the half.

Ferris State struck again early in the third period as FSU drove 78 yards in eight plays to take a 37-13 edge on Chambliss' 22-yard throw to Underwood in the end zone. FSU later added a 12-yard touchdown toss from Chambliss to Jeremiah Housey with only four seconds left in the third, capping a six-play, 80-yard scoring jaunt.

The final Bulldog touchdown came with only 3:50 two play on tailback James Coby's three-yard run.

Overall, the Bulldogs finished the game with 23 first downs and 577 yards on 61 plays. FSU was five-of-10 on third down and three-of-three in the red zone.

Along with Chambliss' play, the Bulldogs also got five catches from O'Brien totaling 144 yards. Underwood had four grabs for 57 yards.

"It was a great team victory," said FSU head coach Tony Annese. "We threw for 399 yards, one short of 400. It was a super performance by Trinidad. All in all, great stuff out there today."

Defensively, FSU held MTU to only 91 rushing yards on 24 tries. Jake Rueff led the Huskies on the ground with 42 yards rushing while Fries went 20-of-46 in the air for 158 yards. Willis made 10 grabs for 68 yards.

Senior linebacker Jason Williams paced the defense with five tackles and two tackles for loss. Safety Eric Jackson also added five stops while linebacker Konnor Near tallied four tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack in his return to the lineup.

"I thought we had a lot of fun today," Near said. "We had a good week of practice. Michigan Tech had a couple of short fields early and we held them to field goals. I couldn't be happier with the way we played. Now, we move forward as a team."

The win was FSU's 12th-straight over Michigan Tech and Annese remained unbeaten in his coaching career against Michigan's Upper Peninsula schools with a 23-0 mark.

Ferris State will visit rival Grand Valley State for the Anchor-Bone Classic and a potential top five national showdown next Saturday (Oct. 26) at Lubbers Stadium in Allendale. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. (ET).