• The marquee matchup in NCAA Division II this week will be held at the Farmers Insurance Athletic Complex on Saturday as No. 9 Davenport hosts No. 7 Ferris State at noon. This game features so many storylines as the Panthers will look to defeat the two-time defending national champions for the first time in their history. It also pits friends and colleagues against each other as head coach Sparky McEwen is an alum of Ferris State and also coached under Tony Annese with the Bulldogs. Davenport rallied from down 21-9 in the fourth quarter to put themselves in this position to challenge for the GLIAC title last week against Saginaw Valley State. The Panthers outscored the Cardinals 15-0 in the final seven-plus minutes and drove 92 yards for the game-winning score with 11 seconds left. Quarterback Jason Whittaker ran it in from 10 yards on fourth-and-goal which was one of the most thrilling plays in school history. The Bulldogs have a rare two losses in the regular season, but they came against FCS current No. 3 Montana and D2 current No. 3 Grand Valley State, both on the road. Ferris State is fresh off a 56-0 home win last Saturday going out of conference to face American International. The Bulldogs had 445 total yards split between 213 on the ground and 232 through the air. Trinidad Chambliss threw for three scores and 174 yards on just six completions.
• DU trails 7-0 in the all-time series against Ferris State and played the Bulldogs twice last season. It was the ninth game of the season and DU was 8-0 overall when they traveled to Big Rapids on Nov. 5. Justin Payoute had a 43-yard interception return to start the scoring in the first quarter. Tyrese Hunt-Thompson added a two-yard touchdown run with 47 seconds left until halftime. Roy Livingstone had a 23-yard touchdown catch from Whittaker to cut the lead to 14-7 early third quarter. The Bulldogs then got a five-yard Emari O'Brien touchdown run at 9:07 of the third quarter and a three-yard Mylik Mitchell touchdown run at 4:19 of the third quarter. The teams played again just two weeks later again in Big Rapids as DU made their first trip to the D2 playoffs. Ferris State won 41-7 in a snow storm and eventually won their second consecutive national championship.

• Whittaker helped propel the Davenport football team to 8-0, 4-0 GLIAC record by leading a fourth-quarter comeback on Saturday against visiting Saginaw Valley State. Down 21-9 with 9:22 to play, Whittaker helped lead two touchdown drives with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Demetrius Garrett on 3rd-and-goal with 7:52 remaining. The Panthers got the ball back at their own eight-yard line with 1:39 left. Whittaker completed five passes on the 12-play drive and with 11 seconds left he rushed for a 10-yard score on 4th-and-goal to give DU the lead for good. Whittaker threw for 255 yards and two scores and rushed for 31 yards and the winning score to keep the undefeated season intact.

• Davenport is ranked sixth in the NCAA Division II Super Region Three this week. The regional rankings are announced every Monday through the end of the regular season. The top seven teams will then advance to the NCAA playoffs. DU is one of four teams in the region with an undefeated record and is 6-0 during in-region games this season. Super Region Three is the toughest in all of NCAA Division II. If you look at the AFCA National Poll this week, here are the national rankings for those teams listed in the top 8 of the region: Pittsburg State (2nd), Harding (4th), GVSU (3rd), Central Missouri (11th), UIndy (8th), Davenport (9th), Ouachita Baptist (12th), and Ferris State (7th).
• Davenport had just their second one-score game of the season against SVSU winning 24-21. They also pulled off a 24-19 win in week two against Bowie State. 
• Davenport is one of just eight teams that are currently undefeated in NCAA Division II.
• The Davenport defense allowed a season-high 188 rushing yards against the Cardinals last week. It was just the second time this season that a team rushed for over 100 yards. The last occurrance was week one when Thomas More rushed for 113 yards. Despite that, DU still ranks ninth nationally and second in the conference allowing 77.1 rushing yards per game.
• Brandon Gielow had his streak of seven straight field goals end against SVSU. He connected on a 24-yard field goal to open the scoring at 2:31 of the first quarter. His miss was hardly an easy attempt however as he tried a 45-yard field goal into a stiff wind at the 7:35 mark of the third quarter. Gielow had not missed a field goal since week two against Bowie State. He ranks 13th nationally and first in the conference in field goal percentage (9-of-11) and is also third in the conference with 6.9 points per game.
• Myren Harris had his six-game streak of 100-plus rushing yards halted against SVSU. He carried nine times for a season-low 13 yards, but still has his sights set on the first 1,000-yard rushing season in school history. Harris ranks first in the GLIAC and 14th nationally with 911 rushing yards this season. He also is first in the league and 10th nationally in rushing yards per game with 113.9. 
• The dynamic duo of Austin Alward and Geemontae Peck are currently seventh in the GLIAC averaging 0.5 sacks per game. Alward and Peck each lead the team with four sacks. Peck also has a total of 26 tackles including six tackles for loss. Alward has 25 tackles including nine for loss.

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