The Game: The Ferris State University football team will conclude the home portion of its 1999 regular-season schedule this Saturday (Oct. 23) as the Bulldogs entertain the Michigan Tech University Huskies in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play at Big Rapids, Mich.

Kickoff/Stadium: 1:30 p.m. (EDT)/Top Taggart Field (9,100).

Radio Coverage: This Saturday’s contest versus Michigan Tech can be heard live on WBRN-AM (1460) – Big Rapids. John Smith will provide the play-by-play and Jason Edwards will assist with color commentary. The pregame show starts at 1:10 p.m. (EDT) with opening kickoff at 1:30 p.m.

The Records: Ferris State is 5-2 overall and 5-1 in the GLIAC following a 26-22 home league setback to Ashland last Saturday (Oct. 16) at FSU’s Top Taggart Field in Big Rapids, Mich. Last season, Ferris posted a 5-6 overall record and was 5-5 (sixth-place tie) in the GLIAC. The Bulldogs were 3-7 both overall and in the conference in 1997. Prior to two seasons ago, FSU had won an unprecedented five consecutive GLIAC titles (1992-96).

Michigan Tech stands at 4-2 both overall and in the GLIAC after falling 31-7 to Northern Michigan last Saturday (Oct. 16) in league action at MTU’s Sherman Field in Houghton, Mich. The Huskies, who have a two-game losing streak to date, were 4-6 both overall and in the GLIAC (10th place) last year. MTU is 1-1 on the road this fall after posting a 3-3 road mark last season

The Coaches: Ferris State – Jeff Pierce (Ferris State, 1979), 5th season, 35-18-0 (.660) — (3-1-0 vs. Michigan Tech); Michigan Tech – Bernie Anderson (Northern Michigan, 1978), 13th season, 57-68-0 (.456) — (2-8-0 vs. Ferris State).

Pierce, the 1995 GLIAC Coach-of-the-Year, had served 12 years as a Bulldog assistant coach prior to being named head coach in 1995. He spent seven years as Ferris’ defensive coordinator.

The Series: Michigan Tech has a 24-20-4 lead over Ferris State in a series dating back to the 1947 season. The Bulldogs notched a 2-0 win at MTU in the initial meeting (10/18/47) between the two teams. Ferris has won 10 of the last 12 outings, including last season’s (10/24) 67-46 victory at Houghton. In the last meeting at Big Rapids (10/18/97), FSU dropped a 34-24 decision. The Bulldogs are 10-11-3 at home and 10-13-1 on the road versus the Huskies.

Last Meeting – 1998: Ferris State tailback Mo Harris had a “career” day by rushing for 307 yards and five TD’s in leading the Bulldogs to a 67-46 road victory at Michigan Tech. In the process, both teams combined to set or tie seven Sherman Field records. Ferris claimed a 28-24 halftime lead after quarterback Matt McCarthy connected with flanker Neal Mozdzierz on a seven-yard TD pass with 14 seconds left before the half to offset a MTU TD. The Bulldogs’ initial score occurred in the first quarter when McCarthy went into the end zone from a yard out at the 8:33 mark to knot the game at seven apiece. Trailing 17-6 to begin the second quarter, Harris scored on consecutive TD runs of 12 and one yard as FSU went up 21-16 with 7:56 left in the stanza. The teams exchanged a pair of TD’s in the third quarter as Harris hit paydirt from 17 and 48 yards out to give the Bulldogs a 42-39 advantage following three quarters of play. In the fourth quarter, Ferris blew the game wide open with a 25-point output. A 41-yard field Doc Proctor field goal with 14:54 remaining put the visitors up 45-39. Minutes later, the Bulldogs padded their lead on Harris’ 17-yards TD run and McCarthy’s two-point conversion pass to tight end Josh Heppner. Following a Huskies’ TD run, FSU countered with two unanswered scores as Heppner was on the receiving end of a four-yard McCarthy scoring toss with 4:47 left to play and then tailback Kurt Dubowski scored on a three-yard run at the 1:21 mark. Both teams generated a combined 1,102 yards in total offense as the Bulldogs compiled 619 yards to MTU’s 483-yard total. McCarthy threw for 248 yards and two TD’s on 23-of-36 passing while Mozdzierz had seven catches for 84 yards. Outside linebacker Charles Anderson posted 13 tackles and cornerback Kelly Snell had 12 stops.

Michigan Tech Football – 1999: The Huskies, who are ranked 29th in this week’s USA Football Top 30 Poll, are averaging 174.8 yards rushing (fourth in the GLIAC) while scoring at a 23.0 points per game clip (ninth). Defensively, MTU is fifth in rushing defense (112.0 ypg.) and seventh in total defense (341.5 ypg.) among the conference leaders. Junior quarterback Alex Kowalski (53-110, 823 yds., 4 TD’s) is at the controls of the Wing-T offense, which also features junior fullback Bryan Wedan (64-315 yds, 5 TD’s), the team’s leading ground gainer, and sophomore halfback Jeff Dettwiler (81-251 yds, 5 TD’s). Senior inside linebacker Nick Sturm’s has posted a team-high 65 tackles and is 23 away from becoming MTU's career leader. Junior free safety Chris Wolf has 43 stops this season.

FSU’s Last Game: Ferris State had its 73rd Homecoming spoiled last Saturday (Oct. 16) as Ashland recorded a 26-22 victory over the Bulldogs before 3,295 fans at Top Taggart Field. FSU, which trailed 26-7 with 14:56 remaining in the contest, tallied 15 unanswered fourth-quarter points on a 55-yard TD pass from senior quarterback Matt McCarthy (Alma) to sophomore split end Clarence Coleman (Miami, Fla./Miramar) at the 13:11 mark. Ferris narrowed the deficit to 26-20 with 5:34 left in the game on McCarthy’s one-yard TD run and then registered a two-point safety with 1:23 remaining after AU’s punter ran out-of-bounds in the end zone. The Bulldogs marched down the field on the ensuing Eagles’ kickoff and were on the opponent’s four-yard line with less than a minute left in the contest. Unfortunately, FSU wasn’t able to score in three opportunities as AU strong safety Scott Parks intercepted McCarthy’s pass in the endzone for squelch the comeback. The Eagles had taken a 10-7 lead after the opening quarter on a 30-yard field goal and a 68-yard fumble recovery for a TD with just :24 left in the quarter which put the visitors ahead to stay. Ferris’ score came on McCarthy TD pass to Coleman with 5:36 showing on the scoreboard clock in the first quarter. AU then accounted for the lone scores in both the second and third quarters on a 42-yard TD pass play and a one-yard TD run as the Eagles held a 23-7 advantage after three quarters. Senior tailback Mo Harris (Tampa, Fla./Hillsborough) rushed for a game-high 201 yards on 24 carries as the Bulldogs totaled 505 yards in total offense to the Eagles’ 376-yard total. McCarthy threw for 293 yards and two TD’s on 28-of-53 passing, but was intercepted three times. In receiving, Coleman’s nine receptions for 121 yards and two TD’s led the way while freshman flanker Doug Searles (Marshall) had six catches for 81 yards. Senior middle linebacker Steve Dillon (Traverse City) spearheaded the defense with 14 tackles (11 solos) and sophomore free safety Alvin Grier (Benton Harbor) notched 10 stops along with an interception. Sophomore cornerback Devin Hutchings (Inkster/Dearborn Robichaud) garnered nine tackles.

1999 GLIAC Standings

 Ashland 	 5-1(5-1)
 Ferris State	 5-1(5-2)
 Hillsdale 	 4-1(6-1)
 Northwood     	 4-1(5-1)
 Michigan Tech 	 4-2(4-2)
 Grand Valley 	 3-2(3-3)
 Northern Mich.  3-2(3-3)
 Indianapolis  	 3-3(4-3)
 Mercyhurst 	 3-3(4-3)
 Findlay 	 2-4(2-4)
 Saginaw Valley  2-4(2-5)
 Wayne State 	 0-7(0-7)
 Westminster 	 0-7(0-7)
 

Last Week’s GLIAC Results
Ashland 26, at Ferris State 22*
at Northwood 49, Gannon (Pa.) 0
Indianapolis 26, at Wayne State 19* 1 OT
Northern Michigan 31, at Michigan Tech 7*
at Grand Valley State 31, Saginaw Valley State 7*
at Mercyhurst 17, Westminster 7*
Hillsdale 17, at Findlay 14*

This Week’s GLIAC Games
Michigan Tech at Ferris State*, 1:30 p.m.
Northwood at Saginaw Valley State*, 12 p.m.
Findlay at Westminster*, 1 p.m.
Grand Valley State at Northern Michigan*, 1 p.m.
Mercyhurst at Ashland*, 1:30 p.m.
Wayne State at Hillsdale*, 2 p.m.
New Haven (Conn.) at Indianapolis, 2 p.m.

All times are Eastern *GLIAC Game

FSU in This Week’s GLIAC Team Statistical Rankings
Scoring Offense: 1st 46.0 ppg.
Scoring Defense: 11th 27.4 ppg.
Pass Offense: 2nd 313.4 ypg.
Pass Defense: 4th 198.9 ypg
Kickoff Returns: 5th 19.7 ypr.
Punting: 12th 30.0 ypp.
Turnover Margin: 10thT -0.29 tpg.
Rushing Offense: 2nd 238.1 ypg.
Rushing Defense: 8th 238.3 ypg.
Total Offense: 1st 551.6 ypg.
Total Defense: 9th 363.1 ypg.
Punt Returns: 1st 14.5 ypr.
Pass Efficiency: 2nd 144.7 rating pts.
Pass Efficiency Defense: 9th 129.9 rating pts.
Field Goals: 3rd .571 (4-7)
Time of Possession: 8th 28:57 (202:43)

FSU in This Week’s GLIAC Individual Statistical Rankings
Rushing: 1st Mo Harris, 163.4 ypg.
    9th Mike Collins, 61.0 ypg.
Passing Yards: 2nd Matt McCarthy, 269.4 ypg.
Total Offense: 2nd Matt McCarthy, 265.7 ypg.
    10th Mo Harris, 163.4 ypg.
Receptions: 2nd Neal Mozdzierz, 7.57 rpg.
    3rd Clarence Coleman, 7.29 rpg.
Receiving Yards: 1st Clarence Coleman, 123.6 ypg.
    3rd Neal Mozdzierz, 98.9 ypg.
All-Purpose Running: 1st Clarence Coleman, 196.4 ypg.
    3rd Mo Harris, 186.6 ypg.
    6th Neal Mozdzierz, 126.3 ypg.
Passing Efficiency: 5th Matt McCarthy, 144.5 rating pts.
Punt Returns: 1st Clarence Coleman, 14.3 ypr.
Scoring: 3rd Clarence Coleman, 8.6 ppg.
    4thT Neal Mozdzierz, 8.3 ppg.
    6th Mike Collins, 7.7 ppg.
    7th Doc Proctor, 7.4 ppg.
    10th Mo Harris, 6.0 ppg.
Field Goals: 6th Doc Proctor, 0.57 fgpg. (4-7)
Tackles: 7th Rob Ridling, 9.3 avg.
    12th Charlie Pierson, 8.6 avg.
    14th Steve Dillon, 8.3 avg.
    18thT Alvin Grier, 7.3 avg.
    25th Ryan Morris, 7.1 avg.
    26thT Devin Hutchings, 7.0 avg.
    49th Dave Zuiderveen, 5.9 avg.
Quarterback Sacks: 2nd Dave Zuiderveen, 10 total (-64 yds.)
    8th Jeff Puffer, six total (-34 yds.)
Tackle For Loss: 2nd Dave Zuiderveen, 15 total (-74 yds.)
    9thT Jeff Puffer, 10 total (-41 yds.)

Bulldog Bites: Senior tailback Mo Harris became the FSU’s all-time leading rusher in last Saturday’s Ashland game with his game-high 201-yard rushing effort. Harris has accumulated 3,683 career yards to date and surpassed Chuck Evans’ (1974-77) 3,546-yard total . . . Senior middle linebacker Steve Dillon has posted double-figure tackles in three of the Bulldogs’ last four contests and is averaging 11.0 stops per game in that period. His 14 tackles against Ashland eclipsed his previous career high of 11 versus Northwood (9/25) . . . The Bulldogs are ranked 25th this week by Don Hansen’s National Weekly Football Gazette Top 40 Poll . . .Sophomore split end Clarence Coleman is averaging 19.6 yards per reception in his last four outings and 147.0 yards per game (30-588 yards) . . . Senior kicker Doc Proctor (Big Rapids) has converted all 40 of his extra-point conversion attempts this season and is 137-of-143 (95.8%) for his career . . . FSU continues to lead the nation in total offense (551.6 ypg.) and is tops in scoring offense (46.0 ppg.) this week.

FSU On The Internet: Ferris State University Athletics’ web home page can be accessed through the university’s home page address at http://www.ferris.edu. The football section features a wide variety of Bulldog gridiron information, including video clips of selected FSU contests. The video highlights can be viewed at http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/sports/football/videoclips/homepage.htm. The GLIAC has its own web site at http://www.gliac.org.

Up Next: Ferris State is on the road for its final two regular-season GLIAC contests. The Bulldogs go up against the Hillsdale College Chargers Saturday, Oct. 30. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. (EDT) at HC’s Frank D. “Muddy” Waters Stadium in Hillsdale, Mich. Following that encounter, FSU is idle the next weekend before taking on the Grand Valley State University Lakers Saturday, Nov. 13, in Allendale, Mich. Starting time is slated for 1 p.m. (EST).

Bulldogs of the Week: Following each game, individual players will be recognized by the FSU coaching staff for their outstanding performance. Individual(s) will be selected on offense, defense, specialty teams, and for extraordinary effort (every player, every play).