Montana, noisy crowd too much for Bulldogs
No. 1-ranked Ferris suffers 17-10 setback
BIG RAPIDS – It was the noise. Lots of it.
The nation's top-ranked Ferris State University Bulldogs battled one of the premier and storied FCS programs in the country to the wire on Saturday (Sept. 16) night, but fell short 17-10 to Montana in front of a near sellout crowd of 25,000 fans at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula.
The Bulldogs built a 10-3 halftime lead against FCS's 11th-ranked Grizzlies, but came up short in the end by a single score. The loss snapped a 28-game Ferris road winning streak dating back to 2017. Afterwards, Ferris coach Tony Annese pointed to loud noise as playing a key factor. “They never said die,” Annese said. “No excuses. The crowd noise was so extraordinarily wild tonight. We struggled with it. That’s my fault. I told them I failed them to be prepared for the crowd noise. I don’t know what the answer is. I guess we’ll have to have Top Taggart Field so loud so no one can hear.” The Bulldogs led 10-3 at halftime.
Ferris State gave up a pair of short third-quarter scoring drives to Montana covering 40 and 30 yards before trying to rally in the final period. FSU got down inside the Montana five-yard line in the final quarter before the drive stalled and had one final possession following a defensive stop that reached the Montana 20-yard line.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Annese said. “Nobody is going to say Ferris came here to lose to an FCS (Football Championship Subdivision). There’s no moral victories here. Our guys think we’re going to win against anybody. “It’s unfortunate down there. We had the crowd noise that caused us a lot of trouble. Other than that, I have a headache and am a little bummed out we didn’t win this game. I’m proud we keep on fighting.”
The Bulldogs outgained Montana 285 to 189 yards offensively in the setback, which included 156 passing for FSU and 129 on the ground. “We’re dawgs and we’re tough,” Annese said. “Our guys have no doubt we can match up with people. We fought them hard. They’re a very good squad. We couldn’t manage the crowd. We’re there inside the two and couldn’t get a play off and moved it back. Our kicker got hurt so we used someone else and he hit the upright. Bad deal.” The matchup was the first-ever meeting between the two programs and FSU's first contest versus an FCS school in 10 years. The loss snapped Ferris State's 28-game road winning streak dating back to 2017. The Bulldogs will have a bye this coming week before opening GLIAC play back at home versus Northern Michigan on Sept. 30 at Top Taggart Field.
https://www.bigrapidsnews.com/sports/article/no-1-ranked-ferris-suffers-17-10-setback-18371500.php
No. 1-ranked Ferris suffers 17-10 setback
BIG RAPIDS – It was the noise. Lots of it.
The nation's top-ranked Ferris State University Bulldogs battled one of the premier and storied FCS programs in the country to the wire on Saturday (Sept. 16) night, but fell short 17-10 to Montana in front of a near sellout crowd of 25,000 fans at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula.
The Bulldogs built a 10-3 halftime lead against FCS's 11th-ranked Grizzlies, but came up short in the end by a single score. The loss snapped a 28-game Ferris road winning streak dating back to 2017. Afterwards, Ferris coach Tony Annese pointed to loud noise as playing a key factor. “They never said die,” Annese said. “No excuses. The crowd noise was so extraordinarily wild tonight. We struggled with it. That’s my fault. I told them I failed them to be prepared for the crowd noise. I don’t know what the answer is. I guess we’ll have to have Top Taggart Field so loud so no one can hear.” The Bulldogs led 10-3 at halftime.
Ferris State gave up a pair of short third-quarter scoring drives to Montana covering 40 and 30 yards before trying to rally in the final period. FSU got down inside the Montana five-yard line in the final quarter before the drive stalled and had one final possession following a defensive stop that reached the Montana 20-yard line.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Annese said. “Nobody is going to say Ferris came here to lose to an FCS (Football Championship Subdivision). There’s no moral victories here. Our guys think we’re going to win against anybody. “It’s unfortunate down there. We had the crowd noise that caused us a lot of trouble. Other than that, I have a headache and am a little bummed out we didn’t win this game. I’m proud we keep on fighting.”
The Bulldogs outgained Montana 285 to 189 yards offensively in the setback, which included 156 passing for FSU and 129 on the ground. “We’re dawgs and we’re tough,” Annese said. “Our guys have no doubt we can match up with people. We fought them hard. They’re a very good squad. We couldn’t manage the crowd. We’re there inside the two and couldn’t get a play off and moved it back. Our kicker got hurt so we used someone else and he hit the upright. Bad deal.” The matchup was the first-ever meeting between the two programs and FSU's first contest versus an FCS school in 10 years. The loss snapped Ferris State's 28-game road winning streak dating back to 2017. The Bulldogs will have a bye this coming week before opening GLIAC play back at home versus Northern Michigan on Sept. 30 at Top Taggart Field.
https://www.bigrapidsnews.com/sports/article/no-1-ranked-ferris-suffers-17-10-setback-18371500.php
