Ferris State prepare to take on an FCS opponent for the first time in 10 years Saturday night

BIG RAPIDS- On Saturday night the Ferris State Bulldogs will be taking on the Montana Grizzlies, a top-20 FCS opponent at Washingon-Grizzly stadium in Missoula. This will be the first time the two teams have ever faced each other before and it will mark the Bulldogs’ first-ever meeting against a school from Montana. FSU last faced an FCS school in 2013, losing 56-10 at North Dakota State.

Last week Ferris went on the road and beat Ashland 38-28, with quarterback Carson Gulker having 5 total touchdowns, passing for three and running for two. He also passed and run for over one hundred yards and was named GLIAC player of the week. Montana is a much tougher task, but Gulker knows that he and the Bulldogs come into every game with the same mindset.

“Since I’ve been here, we’ve never approached a game like we were gonna lose, we approach every game the same and we expect to win every game.” Gulker said.

Defensive back, Major Dedmond, is excited for the opportunity to go against such a high level of competition.

“This is a big opportunity for us, a big chance for us to just put our name out there and an opportunity to make some moves happen. So, I’m really excited for not just me, but all these guys that get the opportunity to go. We know, they’re gonna, try to come out and, step on us in the beginning. They’re gonna try to come out and do some explosive plays, but we’re ready and we’ve been prepared, watching film and practicing hard.” Said Dedmond.

Montana is 2-0 on the season, putting up 35 or more points in both of their games so far, Bulldogs head coach Tony Annese knows that stopping them will be a tall task and he goes the utmost respect for their program.

“I think, you know, their, their whole philosophy is, you know, let’s win a national championship at the FCS level. So, they got to compete with, you know, the South Dakota States of the world, the North Dakota States of the world. That’s won a lot of them, the Montana states of the world, who’ve really done a really nice job. So, they’re used to having high level games and you know, being very competitive. They want to run the ball, which is you know, quality of a great team and they’re just really, you know, physical defensive team. They play really hard, which is a characteristic of great coaching.” Said Annese.

Montana’s head coach isn’t very familiar with the Ferris State team but knows one thing about the Bulldogs from Big Rapids.

“I don’t watch them practice. I don’t watch them train in the off season. I don’t sit in their coaches’ meetings, but I can tell you that the product they put on the field, is awfully good, so they must be doing everything right. You don’t win like that just being good at something. They’re probably pretty dang good at everything.

Kickoff against Montana is at 8 P.M. Eastern time.