BLOG 65: Painful loss is not the end of the road for football team

By Sandy Gholston

Ferris State’s Paris Holloman bursts through a hole carrying the football during last week’s home game against Wayne State. (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

BIG RAPIDS – Prior to Saturday’s game against Wayne State, Ferris had a decent shot at the playoffs if it could win out.

Now, with three losses following a 19-0 shutout loss at home to Wayne last Saturday, the Bulldogs (now no longer ranked in the region or nation) appear to be playing for the very slimmest of playoff hopes (to earn their first playoff bid since 1996) in addition to pride in their final three games of the regular season.

But, the team has to focus on finishing strong with games at home against Northwood, on the road at Hillsdale and at home against Saginaw Valley State. Playoffs or not, Ferris needs a strong finish to a season that started with a lot of hope.

Consistency has been the Achilles’ heel of the Bulldogs. They have played at a high level against Ashland, Grand Valley and Indianapolis, but struggled in some games against Northern Michigan, Findlay, Tiffin, Michigan Tech and Wayne State.

Ferris needs to show in these last three games that it can play at a high, consistent level. It will certainly not take away the sting of the Wayne loss, but each victory keeps alive those very slim post-season hopes and adds building blocks for 2009.

If you have any questions, ideas or comments feel free to contact Sandy Gholston at sgholston2@netzero.com