● The Panthers will be on the road for the third straight week when they travel to third-ranked Ferris State on Saturday. Davenport has played seven games in their history against D2 nationally-ranked teams and will be looking for their first victory in Big Rapids.
● The Panthers have played the Bulldogs three times and each of those matchups have been when Ferris State is nationally-ranked. The first meeting was 2017 when the 12th-ranked Bulldogs won 26-0. In 2018, second-ranked FSU won 41-17. In 2019, again second-ranked FSU won 35-7. This will be the second trip to Top Taggart Field for the Panthers.
● During the last meeting with Ferris State at home in 2019, DU gained 62 yards of total offense and Evan Cummins found the end zone four times on the ground as FSU built a 35-0 lead. In the fourth quarter, Nate Couturier hauled in a six-yard touchdown pass from
Deondre Ford. The Bulldogs set an opponent record with 64 carries for 317 yards and 11 different players recorded a carry. Kye Black set a DU record in the game with 20 tackles and current Panther
Jalen Robinson had 10 tackles.
● Ferris State survived a scare last week with a 47-45 overtime win at home over Saginaw Valley State in their GLIAC opener. Cyntell Williams, a senior defensive back from Battle Creek, was named GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week after nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a pass breakup and interception against the Cardinals. This season overall, Ferris State ranks second nationally in scoring offense (48.7) and fourth in rushing offense (273.3).
● The Davenport offense scored 14 points in the first quarter at Northern Michigan and gained 153 yards. However over the next three quarters they were held scoreless and gained 146 yards. The Panthers will be looking to solve their second half shortcomings this week and have yet to score a point in the fourth quarter through three games.
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Deondre Ford eclipsed a milestone at Northern Michigan going over 2,000 career passing yards. Ford currently has 344 passing yards in two games played this season and sits at 2,073 yards. He is second all-time at DU behind Haiden Majewski (2,865).
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Elysee Mbem-Bosse had been a welcome addition to the Davenport defense. The Georgia native is currently leading the team with 27 tackles which is also 10th in the GLIAC. He has recorded 10-plus tackles in back-to-back games including a season-high 11 tackles at Northern Michigan. He made eight solo stops and also had two tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble. In addition, he had first interception of the season and the second for Davenport's defense.
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Amonte Phillips caught six passes for 45 yards in the season opener against Truman State but has not recorded a catch over the last two games. Phillips was targeted four times against Northern Michigan and is the team's top deep ball threat.
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Shain Shannon the starting center for the Panthers will be playing in his 35th career game at Ferris State, which is a record for offensive lineman at DU.
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Bryan Plegue has been a very consistent kicker for the Panthers in 2021. He hasn't been given a ton of chances but has come through in those opportunities. He is 1-of-1 in field goals and 5-of-5 in extra-point attempts to rank second on the team with eight points.
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Jalen Robinson will be playing in his 25th career game this week and recently eclipsed 100 career tackles with six at Northern Michigan. He currently has 103 tackles which is tied for seventh best at Davenport. He set a career-high with 13 tackles in the season opener against Truman State which also tied for third best in a game at Davenport.
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