October 27, 2025
Top-ranked Ferris State football team tops ‘relentless’ GVSU in hard-fought rivalry game, extends win streak to 22 games
The top-ranked Ferris State University football team topped “relentless” arch-rival Grand Valley State University 38-31, extending a school-record winning streak.
GVSU was tied for the lead at one point, and was never ahead. But the Lakers were always within reach in a tense Anchor Bone Classic before a sellout crowd of 10,000 at Top Taggart Field.
“What a war, huh?” Ferris State head coach Tony Annese said after the game. “Grand Valley came here and played. They were just relentless. They played so hard. Our guys played hard. It was just a hard-fought game.”
The win improves Ferris State’s record to 8-0 and drops GVSU to 4-3. The Bulldogs, ranked No. 1 since the first preseason poll, haven’t lost a game since dropping the 2024 season opener.
Ferris State capitalized on a strong start, scoring 28 points in the first half, and the Bulldogs got four touchdowns from speedy slot receiver Taariik Brett in the win.
Ferris State scored on its first offensive drive. Wyatt Bower connected with Carson Gulker for a 25-yard completion and later found Brett for a 28-yard score to finish a six-play, 65-yard drive.
Soon after, FSU defensive end Tim Allen came up with a fumble recovery to halt a Grand Valley State drive, allowing Ferris State to capitalize with a second touchdown as the team drove 63 yards in five plays. Bower capped the drive with a five-yard scoring throw to Brett to make it 14-0 in favor of the Bulldogs.
GVSU, though, responded with a 49-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Schuster to Evan Furtney in the final minute of the stanza as the Lakers moved 74 yards in six plays to pull back within a score.
Ferris State extended its lead early in the second quarter with a 41-yard touchdown run by Brett, pushing the score to 21-7.
The Lakers again battled back as Schuster tossed a pair of second-quarter scores covering seven yards to Kellen Reed and 27 yards to Sean Byrd, tying the game at 21 points apiece.
The Bulldogs reclaimed the lead with 1:35 remaining in the half on Brett's 24-yard scoring run, which capped a quick six-play, 84-yard jaunt to give FSU a 28-21 lead.
The Lakers answered by moving 39 yards in eight plays with Mathew Bacik closing the half with a long 54-yard field goal to pull GVSU withing 28-24 at the break.
Ferris State maintained the same four-point lead over GVSU at the close of the third quarter, which was aided by a pivotal interception by senior defensive back Justin Payoute, which halted a promising Grand Valley drive at the 4:27 mark.
In the fourth quarter, Ferris State extended its lead with a 38-yard field goal by Eddie Jewett at 12:03, followed by a decisive 10-yard touchdown run by Wyatt Bower at 2:44, capping a 79-yard drive. Grand Valley State answered with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Schuster at 1:38, but Ferris State recovered the onside kick and came up with a pivotal first down to preserve the win.
"My performance came from strictly my teammates on the offensive side of the ball doing their jobs," Brett said. "Everybody out there did their job. The blocking was great, and I am just going off what they're doing and reading the situations. Wyatt (Bower) did a great job of delivering the ball. It's up to me to make the catches and the plays from there."
Bower completed 10 of 20 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns while adding 53 rushing yards and one touchdown on 17 carries. Brett contributed significantly with 89 rushing yards on 10 attempts, scoring twice, and caught five passes for 76 yards and two additional touchdowns. Gulker caught six balls for 85 yards.
"An unsung hero for us, I mean Wyatt (Bower) was super, but for me one of the unsung heroes in this game was Carson Gulker," Annese said. "He made so many plays. We moved him into that position thinking he was an NFL-caliber athlete. And, if NFL players or organizations are out there don't know this then they should start looking because he's a legit athlete. I was very impressed with the way he played."
Payoute made an impact on defense with eight tackles, a forced fumble and an interception. Markee Jones recorded four tackles and one sack, bolstering the team's defensive efforts.
"I feel like in the first half, we kind of got in our heads a little bit and let the game take over in the way," Payoute said. "But when we got back into the locker room, we kind of told ourselves to just settle down, let the plays come to us, don't press to make plays. In the second half we did. That's part of why I came away with that pick."
The Bulldogs have been in the national spotlight, with USA Today, the New York Times, Washington Post, ESPN, Forbes and others looking at the success of former quarterback Trinidad Chambliss at University of Mississippi and the Bulldogs’ continued domination without him.
Saturday’s game brought additional attention. D1 Rejects, one of the country's most popular football social media platforms, broadcast its popular "Small School Saturday" live show from the game.
Annese said the players don’t get as caught up in the rivalry as the fans do. But said the excitement shows the quality of football in the region.
“The fans want to make it a big deal, and it is for the universities,” Annese said. “But for our team, and for their team, their coaching staff, our coaching staff, to me, it's just a lot of respect. And I think it took a while for us to earn their respect, because they were the dominant program in West Michigan.
“I think both programs fight really hard and for West Michigan to have those two programs, and then add to Davenport University. What a blessing for West Michigan, right? This is big-time Division II college football. And there's two programs that are regularly top 10. At Davenport, (Coach) Sparky (McEwen) has done a great job, too. What a blessing for West Michigan. And such a beautiful day. And it's just a great day to celebrate football.”
The Bulldogs will host Northern Michigan University next Saturday, Nov. 1, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. at Top Taggart Field.