BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The final road game of the season ended in a 41-17 loss at No. 2 Ferris State on Saturday, Nov. 3 at Top Taggart Field. The Bulldogs improved to 10-0 overall and won the GLIAC outright with an 8-0 conference record. The Panthers dropped their fourth straight and are now 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the GLIAC. The Panthers made their first trip to Ferris State and ran into a very talented offensive team led by quarterback Jayru Campbell. The leading candidate for GLIAC Player of the Year enhanced his resume by totaling 287 yards of offense and accounting for four touchdowns. Freshman Blake Daniels got his first extended playing time and responded with 165 passing yards and the first two touchdowns of his career.

The Bulldogs came out inspired early on their Senior Day and held DU without a first down over the first three drives. During that time, Ferris State scored two touchdowns and gained 136 yards including two scoring drives under one minute. On FSU's second drive, Campbell found Sy Barnett on a pump-and-go route down the visiting sideline for 43 yards and a 6-0 lead at the 7:19 mark of the first quarter. On FSU's third drive, Campbell avoided the rush on the second play of the drive and scampered 46 yards up the middle of the field for a 13-0 lead with 4:59 left in the first quarter.
Davenport put together their best drive of the first half after falling behind by 13 as they drove 62 yards in 10 plays. Deondre Moore had a 29-yard catch from Haiden Majewski on the fourth play to get into Ferris State territory. The drive stalled at the FSU 13 and then Chris Ahmed booted a 30-yard field goal with 30 seconds left in the opening quarter to make it 13-3. The Bulldogs had a 135-54 edge in total offense during the quarter.

DU got a stop on the next drive but then Nate Couturier made an uncharacteristic error by trying to grab a punt that bounced on the turf. He fumbled the ball at his own 35 and it was recovered by Jovan Bayless of the Bulldogs. 10 plays later it was Campbell rushing for a four-yard score on 4^th-and-2 for a 20-3 lead with 10:15 left in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs drove 61 yards in seven plays on their next drive and Robert Thomas III rushed up the middle for a one-yard touchdown and a 27-3 lead with 2:59 left until halftime. After a three-and-out by DU's offense, Ferris State took over with 1:52 on the clock and methodically drove 54 yards and Campbell found Keyondre Craig for 14 yards with 31 ticks left and a 34-3 lead at the break. Ferris State gained 295 yards in the first half with a balanced 162 rushing and 133 passing. Davenport had 104 yards with 60 through the air and 44 on the ground.

The silver lining in the second half was that the Panthers outscored the Bulldogs 14-7 over the final 30 minutes. Daniels emerged as a bona fide slinger as he entered the game on DU's third possession of the second half. He completed his first pass on 3^rd-and-10 for 11 yards to Couturier and then found Keion Powers for a 68-yard pitch and catch with 2:11 left in the third for a 41-10 score. The second touchdown pass for Daniels came with 36 seconds left in the game. He fired on a slant route to Gourney Sloan who walked into the end zone on a 15-yard completion and the final score in a 41-17 outcome.

Ferris State gained 395 total yards compared to 319 for the Panthers. The Bulldogs were 5-of-15 on third down and 2-of-4 on fourth down. The Panthers were 7-of-19 on third down and 0-of-3 on fourth down. Deion Powers led Davenport with nine tackles including seven solo stops. Jamal Veazey and C.J. Thornton each recorded eight tackles and Thornton had 1.5 tackles for loss. QuVaughn Jones finished with six tackles including two forced fumbles.