No. 3 Ferris Holds Off No. 16 Tech 24-14

AUDIO: Coach Kearly Postgame Interview

BIG RAPIDS, Mich. — Michigan Tech's defense held Ferris State 21 points and 180 yards below its season averages, but it wasn't enough for the 16th-ranked Huskies to get a win at the No. 3 Bulldogs today. The hosts took a 17-14 halftime lead and held on for a 24-14 victory at Top Taggart Field.

Tech forced four turnovers, held the football for nearly 34 minutes and stopped FSU on downs twice inside the five-yard line in the fourth quarter to stay in the game.

The margin Ferris had—thanks in large part to two big first-half plays—proved too much for the Huskies to overcome against a stout defense on a windy, rainy day.

The Bulldogs (7-0, 7-0 GLIAC) scored on a 71-yard punt return three minutes into the game and again on a 70-yard pass play early in the second quarter.

Sandwiched in between were a 28-yard FSU field goal and a one-yard touchdown run by Tech's Alex Sherbinow.

Tech (5-2, 5-2 GLIAC), trailing 17-7, forced turnovers on each of Ferris' next three possessions.

The first was an interception by Nick Brajak, setting up the Huskies on the FSU 29. Five plays later, Sherbinow plowed into the endzone again from a yard out to pull his squad within 17-14.

The other two turnovers were fumbles—one at midfield and the other at the Tech 38. The Huskies couldn't convert on either, leaving the margin three at halftime.

Tech tried to take a shot at a big play to start the second half, but Brandon Cowie's throw was picked off.

Ferris marched 57 yards for a 24-14 advantage with 11:14 remaining in the third quarter.

Neither team would score again.

Tech netted just 59 yards of offense in the second half and punted on five straight possessions.

Cowie was knocked out of the game with a late hit on the sideline in the fourth quarter. With backup quarterback Isaiah Hackney banged up on a special teams play, Jake Brown came in and played the final two series under center.

Brown had the Huskies driving in the final two minutes, but had a pass picked off to end the Huskies' threat.

"I thought we played as well as we could play defensively," said Tech coach Tom Kearly. "When you take away the punt return TD, we held an explosive offense to just 17 points.

"We did very little offensively in the second half, and just didn't play well enough to beat a good football team."

Total offense favored the hosts by a 361-273 margin. Tech limited FSU's Harlon Hill Award-winning quarterback Jason Vander Laan to 179 yards passing and forced him to turn it over three times.

Ben Tauchen had a team-leading 16 tackles plus a forced fumble.

Cowie, who entered as the nation's leader in completion rate (73 percent), went 7-of-19 for 88 yards. He also rushed 17 times for 70 yards. Brown finished 2-of-10 throwing for 41 yards in his first collegiate QB action. 

Michigan Tech, after playing back-to-back games against top-20 ranked teams on the road, will return home for its final regular season home game next Saturday (Oct. 31). The Huskies host Tiffin at 1 p.m. at Sherman Field.