FSU Football At A Glance: The Ferris State University football team hopes to continue its winning ways and remain undefeated in 2006 as the Bulldogs venture to Hillsdale, Mich., this Saturday (Sept. 23) evening for a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) matchup against the Hillsdale College Chargers. Opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (EDT) at HC's Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium.

The Records: Ferris State improved to 3-0-0 overall and 2-0-0 in the GLIAC with a 26-23 upset conference victory over nationally fifth-ranked Saginaw Valley State last Saturday (Sept. 16) evening in the Bulldogs' 2006 home opener at Top Taggart Field in Big Rapids, Mich. Ferris registered a 3-8-0 overall record in 2005, which included an eighth-place tying 3-7-0 GLIAC mark. The Bulldogs were 2-3 at home and 1-5 on the road a season ago.

Hillsdale, will bring both a 1-2-0 overall and GLIAC record into the contest after suffering its second straight loss, 30-24, to Ashland last Saturday (Sept. 16) at AU's Community Stadium in Ashland, Ohio. The Chargers were 5-6-0 overall with a seventh-place 4-6-0 GLIAC ledger a season ago. HC registered a 2-3 mark at home and was 3-3 on the road last fall.

The Series: Hillsdale holds a 20-16-1 in the all-time series which originated in the 1946 season. Ferris State is 7-10-1 in games played at Hillsdale and 9-10-0 in home contests.

* Hillsdale claimed a 34-14 home victory over Ferris in last season's meeting (Sept. 10) as the Chargers gave their Homecoming crowd plenty to cheer about. HC jumped out to a 17-0 lead and proceeded to take a 17-7 halftime lead. The Bulldogs would close to within 24-14 late in the third quarter, but the Chargers tacked on 10 more points in the fourth quarter to win their home opener.

* Hillsdale won seven of the initial eight meetings between the two schools.

* Ferris has prevailed in nine of the last 12 contests, which includes winning four of the last five outings.

* Seven of the last 12 meetings have been determined by 12 points or less and the Bulldogs are 5-2-0 in such encounters.

* FSU is averaging 24.2 points a game (145 total) in the last six games while Hillsdale has averaged 21.0 points (126 total) for a +3.2 margin.

* Ferris State is 9-8-1 in contests decided by 10 points or less (5-5-1 away and 4-3-0 at home) and 7-12-0 in games decided between 11 and 30 points (2-5-0 away and 5-7-0 at home).

* In the last six meetings at Hillsdale, Ferris is averaging 27.7 points per game (166 total) to Hillsdale’s 24.3 points (146 total) for a +3.4 points differential during that period.

The Coaches: Ferris State – Jeff Pierce (Ferris State, 1979), 12th season, 72-52-0 (.581) – (8-3-0 vs. Hillsdale). Pierce is 35-30-0 (.538) on the road, 28-19-0 (.596) in September, and 67-44-0 (.604) in GLIAC contests. Pierce, who played at Ferris (defensive back) from 1974-77, is the 12th head coach in Ferris State’s history.

Hillsdale – Keith Otterbein (Hillsdale, 1979), 5th season, 18-29-0 (.383); Career: 14th season, 78-68-3 (.534) – (1-3-0 vs. Ferris State). Otterbein served as head coach at Ferris State for nine seasons (1986-94) and then spent seven years (1995-01) as the recruiting coordinator and running backs coach at NCAA Division I Ball State..

Nationally Ranked: Ferris State is nationally ranked this week (9/18) for the first time this season as Don Hansen’s National Weekly Football Gazette has the Bulldogs listed 14th in its national poll behind Pittsburg State (Kan.). Grand Valley State, which is among five GLIAC teams ranked in the publication’s top 40 poll, is the number-one ranked team and Northwood is 11th.

GLIAC Preseason Poll: FSU was picked to finish tied for sixth place in the 2006 GLIAC Football Coaches Preseason Poll, which was released Aug. 7 by the league office at the annual GLIAC Football Media Day event in Bay City, Mich. The Bulldogs totaled 81 points in the balloting, which was conducted by the conference’s 13 head coaches. A year ago, Ferris compiled a fifth-place 95 points total in the preseason poll. Defending NCAA Division II National Champion Grand Valley State was the favorite to repeat as conference champions as the Lakers accumulated 143 points along with 11 first-place votes. Saginaw Valley State had 131 points to garner second place and Ashland was third with 119 points, which also included two first-place votes. Mercyhurst was ranked 13th with 23 points.

On The Radio: All of Ferris State's 2006 football contests can be heard live on WYBR Radio (102.3 FM) with Jason DaDay calling the action.

On The Internet: Ferris State University Athletics’ official web site can be found at www.ferris.edu/sports. The site features information on all of FSU’s varsity athletics programs including rosters, statistics, yearbooks and more. The 2006 Ferris State Football Yearbook can also be accessed at the site.

Live Stats: “Live Stats” of all 2006 Ferris State home contests will be provided in progress via the internet. Visit www.ferris.edu/sports and click on the “Live Stats” icon to access the “Live Stats” feature.

Impressive Start: Ferris State’s current 3-0 overall this season represents its best start since 1996 when the Bulldogs prevailed in their first three games en route to a 10-2-0 overall record and a first-place 9-1-0 mark in the Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference (MIFC).

Van Wieren Reaches 500-Yard Mark: Junior quarterback C.J. Van Wieren (Holland/West Ottawa) eclipsed the 500-yard career rushing plateau in last Saturday’s (Sept. 16) contest versus Saginaw Valley State by running for a team-high tying 56 yards on 16 attempts. Van Wieren, who had a team-best 363 rushing yards on 83 carries last season, has presently accumulated 508 yards (4.5 ypc.) and seven TD’s on 122 carries in 19 games. He’s now 343 rushing yards shy of tying Bill Costner’s (1978-80) school-record 851 yards by a Bulldog quarterback..

Defensive Stalwarts: The Bulldogs are holding their opponents to 63.0 rushing yards per game to date this season. The opposition is averaging 1.9 yards per rush with 189 total rushing yards on 101 attempts during the three-game span. Last season, Ferris was allowing 228.7 rushing yards per outing (686 total yds.) in its first three encounters..

Preseason All-Americans: Mike Klobucher has been tabbed a 2006 preseason All-American by both Don Hansen’s Football Gazette and Consensus Draft Services. Klobucher, a two-time (2004-05) All-GLIAC Honorable Mention pick, paced Ferris in tackles last year for the second straight season with 109 stops in 10 games. The Bulldogs’ 2005 Most Valuable Player presently ranks 18th among FSU’s all-time tackles leaders with 297 career stops. Sophomore defensive tackle Jake Visser (Coopersville) also earned Hansen’s Football Gazette preseason All-America honors. Visser attained honorable mention all-league and FSU Most Valuable Defensive Lineman recognition in 2005 after recording a team second-place 98 tackles.

Big Jake Makes Big Play: Sophomore defensive tackle Jake Visser (Coopersville), a 2006 Don Hansen’s Football Gazette preseason All-American, recovered a Saginaw Valley State fumble at FSU’s two-yard line with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game to preserve the Bulldogs’ upset victory over the nationally-ranked Cardinals. Visser, a 2005 All-GLIAC Honorable Mention honoree, notched eight tackles (four solo) in the contest.

Catching On: Junior split end Mike Guevara (Oakland, Calif./Oxnard) turned in his most productive Ferris State game in last Saturday’s victory over Saginaw Valley State with a game-high and season-best 116 receiving yards on four catches. Guevara, who played the past two seasons at Los Angeles (Calif.) Pierce Junior College, totaled a combined six receptions for 111 yards in his combined previous first two appearances this campaign. He accounted for all of the Bulldogs’ receiving production in the contest.

Scoring Machine: Ferris is presently averaging 28.3 points per game (85 total pts.) to the opposition’s 14.3 average an outing (43 total pts.) this campaign. The Bulldogs have allowed an average of 29.3 points a contest (88 total pts.) in their three outings this fall while scoring at a 15.0 points per game clip (45 total pts.).

Tackles Leaders: Sophomore outside linebacker Jeff Hollandsworth (Livonia/Stevenson) and Jake Visser, the Bulldogs’ top two leading tacklers this year, have combined for 25.6% (55-215) of the squad’s total tackles output. Hollandsworth’s 29 stops (11 solos) leads Ferris while Visser has compiled 26 tackles (14 solos).

In The Trenches: FSU’s offensive line has played a key role in helping the Bulldogs average 180.7 yards on the ground (542 net yds.) this season compared to 80.7 yards per game (242 net yds.) a season ago.