April 5th, 2025 12:00pm
From Ferris State sports information:
Big Rapids, Mich. - Defending NCAA Division II National Champion Ferris State University, which has captured three of the last four D2 national titles, has announced its upcoming 2025 fall schedule highlighted by a full 11-game slate and six home contests at Top Taggart Field.
The Bulldogs will again play 11 games over the course of 12 weeks this coming fall, including a season-opening week zero matchup for the second-straight year against fellow D2 power Pittsburg State (Kan.). The schedule also features highlights such as two evening home contests early in the year, the annual homecoming game, a first-ever league trip to Roosevelt University and the annual Anchor-Bone Classic, which will be played this year in Big Rapids.
"It is awesome to have a full schedule once again this coming year as it is hard to find out of conference games in Division II football, especially given the success we've had," said FSU head coach and reigning D2 National Coach of the Year Tony Annese. "Our guys understand again the challenge in front of us and how important it is to be at your best each and every week. We're looking forward to the fall and having another opportunity to compete."
The Bulldogs, who have reached the NCAA Division II Playoffs a nation-leading 10 consecutive years to date, will kickoff the campaign at home on Thursday, Aug. 28, versus Pittsburg State at Top Taggart Field. The game is slated for a 6 p.m. (ET) start. A year ago, the Gorillas handed FSU its lone setback in the season opener in Kansas before the Bulldogs responded by winning the next 14 games en route to the national championship. Pitt State has reached the NCAA D2 Playoffs each of the past three seasons, including a pair of trips to the second round in 2022 and 2023.
Following the season opener, the Bulldogs will play their first road game on Sept. 6 in Ohio against Lake Erie, a former Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) school now in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). It will mark the second consecutive year in which the two schools have played in non-league action.
The following week, on Sept. 13, Ferris State returns back home to the friendly confines of Top Taggart Field to square off against yet another former GLIAC member now competing in the G-MAC in Tiffin (Ohio) with kickoff again set for 6 p.m. (ET). The Dragons reached the D2 Playoffs as Super Region One's top seed in 2023 and narrowly missed the playoff field a year ago, finishing with a 8-4 mark after competing in the America's Crossroads Bowl in postseason play.
The Bulldogs will play a second consecutive home game and their third in the first four contests of the year when they host the University of Rio Grande (Ohio) in the annual homecoming game on Sept. 20 starting at 3 p.m. (ET). The RedStorm will be fielding a football team for the first time since the close of the 1949 season and compete at the NAIA level.
Ferris State will have a bye week on Sept. 27 before opening GLIAC play on the road with its first-ever visit to Roosevelt University near Chicago to start the month of October. Last fall, the Lakers played their initial season in the league after moving to Division II and fell to FSU in Big Rapids.
FSU will be back at home on Oct. 11 when Wayne State comes to town for a 1 p.m. (ET) GLIAC tilt before the Bulldogs return to the road with a long trip to Michigan Tech the following week on Oct. 18 in Houghton.
The Anchor-Bone Classic will take place on Oct. 25 at Top Taggart Field when Grand Valley State makes the trip North to face FSU in a national showdown yet again at 1 p.m. (ET). The two squads have played each of the last four matchups in Allendale, including NCAA D2 Playoff meetings in 2022 and 2023, as this year's contest marks the Lakers' first visit to Big Rapids since pulling out a regular-season win in 2022.
Ferris State will play its sixth and final home game of the regular-season the following Saturday, on Nov. 1, against Northern Michigan at 1 p.m. (ET). The Bulldogs will then end the regular-season on the road with back-to-back matchups at Saginaw Valley State (Nov. 8) and Davenport (Nov. 15). Both teams battled the Bulldogs close a year ago and are expected once again to be contenders near the top of the league standings. The regular-season finale at DU will be the second installment of the Calder City Classic after last fall's inaugural win by Ferris State in the West Michigan rivalry trophy series.
The NCAA Division II Playoffs will begin the following week on Nov. 22 with the national championship game back in McKinney, Texas, on Dec. 20. This year will mark a change in the regional alignment for Division II football with the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and the G-MAC now joining the GLIAC and Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) in Super Region Three.
Stay tuned to FerrisStateBulldogs.com for additional information on the 2025 campaign, including start times for all remaining road contests and ticket details coming soon.
Below is the complete 2025 schedule:
Aug. 28 - Pittsburg State, 6 pm
Sept. 6 - at Lake Erie
Sept. 13 - Tiffin, 6 pm
Sept. 20 - Rio Grande (Homecoming), 3 pm
Sept. 27 - Bye Week
Oct. 4 - at Roosevelt*
Oct. 11 - Wayne State*, 1 pm
Oct. 18 - at Michigan Tech*
Oct. 25 - Grand Valley State*, 1 pm
Nov. 1 - Northern Michigan*, 1 pm
Nov. 8 - at Saginaw Valley State*
Nov. 15 - at Davenport*