Anchor-Bone Classic pits No. 1 Ferris State against No. 2 Lakers

The two top-ranked teams in Division II face off at 1 p.m. on October 15 when No. 1 Ferris State and No. 2 Grand Valley meet in the annual Anchor-Bone Classic in Big Rapids.

Grand Valley is looking to snap a six-game losing streak to Ferris State, which is the defending Division II national champion. Ferris beat the Lakers twice last year — once during the regular season and again in a NCAA Division II Super Region contest. 

“This may sound like a broken record, but it seems like the game has a lot of big implications,” said head football coach Matt Mitchell. “It’s one of those games, No. 1 vs. No. 2, that will have a lot of eyes on it. I think our guys really understand what the environment is going to be like.”

The Lakers (6-0) enter the game after beating American International, 45-3, in Springfield, Massachusetts, on October 8. 

“Great job by our offense,” Mitchell said. “I thought we were explosive with the run game and the pass game. Defensively, we did a great job of stopping the run. There are some things from the pass defense that we wish could be a little bit better.”

Ferris State (5-0) survived a scare from Saginaw Valley last weekend, rallying with 13 points in the fourth quarter to beat the Cardinals. 

Saturday's game will be live streamed via FloSports, and is available online or via iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromcast. Lakers fans can register for a subscription at the GLIAC’s home page on FloSports. 

For the radio broadcast of the game, tune in to 96.9 WLAV-FM. Pre-game coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. 

For full coverage of GVSU football, including broadcast info, news, features, highlights, press conferences and more, follow @GVSUFootball on social media or visit gvsulakers.com.