As a person who covers D2 Football, if you'd like to get a better of what Ferris will looks like, the D2 Championship Game from last year is a pretty fair representation. Here's that game between Colorado Mines at Ferris. FSU brings back the brunt of the team in the video linked, minus star DE Caleb Murphy, who's now in the NFL.
https://youtu.be/ZPuxyfJnsuU?si=eowu7JhZAbrTjMQ2
People who follow D2 are interested to see how the Bulldogs will fare against a ranked FCS squad..in a place that'll be very tough to play. Certainly that's a considerable task for a D2 squad to overcome, this kinda home field advantage.
Since this thread is a scouting report..here are some of the key points from someone who's watched them closely over the last handful of years.
-Decent sized OL - average of 6'4, 310.
-Ferris will run a speed option out of the shotgun with their lefty QB (more of a conventional dual threat guy) or their bigger QB who's a brut that runs like a Josh Allen type. When they get inside the 10 yard line they'll bring in the big QB and try and play bully-ball and see if the opposing front can stop them on QB keepers. The big QB (Gulker) scored 30x last year as a result. If they think they can pound the middle against the Griz 3 man front, they will look to keep doing that and then run speed option off that to the edges..and not feel like they need to pass much. The lefty QB (Mitchell) can be sneaky good, but also puts the ball on the turf and sometimes doesn't put a premium on ball security. Here is when they go rugby push inside the 10 yard line with Gulker, the bigger signal caller. (7 min mark)
https://youtu.be/Y6ZaoBD05Ns?si=ue58poG7unv5Qirv&t=420
-Speed on the edges. In the game video above, they were without their top 2 wideouts..and they are both playing now. Wade and Thompson. They have deep threat speed and Jefferson (slot) will be used to run jet sweeps. Their speed on both sides of the ball is one of their biggest differentiators at the small college level. The elements of the triple option (from shotgun) that you'll see offer the defense a lot of eye candy. They'll run middle, then the ball to the edge, and then hit a shot in the passing game from play action off the triple action. Most DC's will have a lot to prepare for with their option and non-option stuff. I'm guessing Montana will be focused on trying to disrupt things at the point of attack and not allow the car to get out of the garage. A good example of their option look can be found here at the 3:26 mark.
https://youtu.be/Y6ZaoBD05Ns?si=hOy7CXJmG2tRvS-A&t=208
-Their defense has a good front four..decent size as well..left to right..265, 300, 349, 265. They'll play a 4-2-5 and be aggressive. Their secondary has gotten some injuries early-on and does lack size. Safeties are 5'9 and 5'7 for example. Their top defender is DE #8 Olalere Oladipo who is a FBS drop-back from Illinois. Their pass rush will likely be formidable, but they are giving up yards against the pass at the moment. At this point I'd say their offense (which has been sloppy early in the season so far) is a bit ahead of their defense. Their defense was strong a year ago, but has not shown as well this year so far. I think Montana might be able to hit some big plays against them..while I admittedly don't know enough about the Griz this year.
-Ferris fans are likely pretty concerned about the volume of penalties they had this last week..21 infractions for 193 yards. Yikes. This can be a problem for them at times. They play with an edge and a swagger and allow things to get that way occasionally.
-The biggest weapon for Ferris is their head coach Tony Annese. He's thought of as the best offensive mind in D2 = hard to prepare for with their option looks and such. He's just a winner and will take this as his next mountain to climb, since he's already won the D2 natty. While this game will not impact Ferris at all in terms of playoff qualifications, I feel sure the competitor in Coach Annese will really want to win this game..even if they are a 14 point underdog.
Looking forward to seeing how things play out in this interesting matchup on Saturday night.
