Findlay to Battle #3 Ferris St. in Season Opener
The Game
After a spring season that consisted of just six Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) contests, the Oilers football team will begin their first fall campaign since 2019 as they travel to Big Rapids, Mich. to battle with #3 Ferris State. The game will be played on Thursday, Sep. 2 and will kick off at 7:30 pm.Tickets
General admission tickets are available to the general public and can be purchased online: https://ferrisstatebulldogs.com/tickets
Tickets will also be made available at the gate.
Radio Coverage
Radio coverage will be provided by Ferris State's SUNNY 97.3 (LISTEN LIVE)
Video Stream
Video streaming of the contest will be produced by Ferris State and aired on the Bulldog Sports Network.
Click any of the options below to find the contest live:
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Head Coach Rob Keys
Head coach Rob Keys will enter his 11th season at the helm of the Oilers football program in 2021. He has recorded a 67-39 record with the program as a head coach, which includes a 34-26 mark in GLIAC games and a 21-7 mark in G-MAC games.
For Findlay's 2021 coaching staff, please click on the following link:
The Series
This will be the 29th all-time meeting between Findlay and Ferris State, a series that began in 1934. The Oilers have a record of 11-17 in the series and were winners of seven of the first eight games. However, the Bulldogs have held the advantage as of late, winning each of the past six games in the series.
Findlay Oilers (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC)
As is the case with most teams this season, the Oilers are back in action with a multitude of experience at nearly every position on the field. G-MAC runners-up in the 2021 spring campaign, Findlay brings back 16 players who earned all-conference awards last season.
Taking the snaps again this season will be senior Matt Winzeler, now in his third season at UF, who is coming off a season in which he was named second-team all-G-MAC. Winzeler, a Toledo, Ohio native, is working his way up in the Oilers' record books as he now sits in the top five all-time at Findlay for single-season passing yards, attempts, completions, and touchdowns as well as being ranked top five in career passing touchdowns. To date, Winzeler has thrown for over 3,600 yards and has 38 career touchdown passes while completing better than 56% of his passes.
Junior Derek Lynch is listed as the starting running back on the Oilers' depth chart and has two capable backups in senior Brian Benson and freshman Garret Clark. The trio of backs makes up the only backfield in the country that have three players who were all named first-team all-conference last season. The three backs combined for 942 yards and ten touchdowns last year and averaged 5.8 yards per carry last season.
Anchoring the line that paved the way for those backs are senior Logan Bailey, junior Ben Farrar, sophomore Matt Iliff, freshman Brennan Davies, and junior Michael Jerrell. Davies is the only player on the line to not have earned all-conference last season but has earned his spot on what will surely be one of the top offensive units in the conference.
Defensively, junior Reggie Micheaux is the headliner after he picked up preseason all-American honors as named by College Football America. Micheaux was a second-team all-G-MAC pick last year after bursting onto the scene in his full year of playing time. Micheaux, who had eight tackles-for-loss and four sacks last season, had a coming-out party against Kentucky Wesleyan in which he made his presence felt to the tune of 3.5 TFL including two sacks. For that effort he earned G-MAC Defensive Player of the Week.
Junior Kijana Caldwell, a first-team pick in the spring, anchors the secondary after he led the conference with three interceptions earlier this year. Up front, junior Ervin Besingi, alongside Micheaux, will pressure opponents backfields and, with Ferris State's history of athletic quarterbacks, will be a major factor in Thursday's contest.
2021 Season Statistics
2021 Roster
#3 Ferris State Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC)
The Bulldogs, who did not compete in the fall 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic when no NCAA Championships were held, are expected to return a strong nucleus from their 2019 national semifinal squad, including more than 50 letterwinners as they hope to contend again for both the league and national championship in 2021. FSU welcomes back regulars at virtually every position and has added several key newcomers.
Newcomer Mylik Mitchell (Kent State Transfer) and returner Evan Cummins headline the list of guys challenging for the quarterback position. The Bulldogs return talented playmakers in wideouts Sy Barnett and Xavier Wade along with their top three running backs, including senior standout Marvin Campbell. The offensive line, anchored by Preseason All-America tackle Dylan Pasquali and returning starters Jacob Boonstra (C) and Zein Obeid (OT), has eight of its top 10 regulars returning, which should make for explosive potential offensively. On the defensive side, the Bulldogs return a strong nucleus up front and have added a group of newcomers and talented young players at the linebacker and defensive secondary levels. Senior veterans John Higgins (LB), Sam Girodat (DT), Austin Simpson (DT), Jordan Jones (DT), Sidney McCloud (DB) and Alex Thomas (DB) are among the top returners expected back when the season begins.
FSU has won each of the last two GLIAC Championships in unbeaten fashion and reached the national quarterfinals four consecutive years, which is the longest streak in the country. Over the past two seasons of action, not counting the COVID-19 impacted 2020 season, in 2018 and 2019, the Bulldogs have compiled a 27-2 mark. FSU ranks as the country's winningest program over the past six full seasons in NCAA Division II football, compiling a 72-9 overall record with four conference championships, four unbeaten regular seasons, three regional titles and four national quarterfinal appearance under head coach Tony Annese.
Ferris State has also accumulated three Harlon Hill National Player of the Year trophies, twice had a student-athlete tabbed as the nation's National Scholar-Athlete of the Year and won 12 postseason games in addition to an appearance in the 2018 National Championship game in the past six years. The Bulldogs' six-straight playoff appearances is the second-longest longest streak in the nation.
Links
NCAA Division II Stats
NCAA
NCAA Division II Football
American Football Coaches Association
D2Football.com
Great Midwest