HOUGHTON, Mich. — The Ferris State Bulldogs got back on track with a 35-21 road win over Michigan Tech on Saturday (Oct. 21) at Kearly Stadium in Houghton.
Sophomore quarterback Carson Gulker ran for 120 yards and five touchdowns in the victory while adding seven-of-nine passes for 80 yards.
FSU built an early lead with a game-opening 78-yard TD drive capped by Gulker's 12-yard scoring run early in the game. The Bulldogs added another Gulker run to start the second period following a blocked punt that set up a short field, making it 14-0.
After Michigan Tech cut the margin to 14-7 on a four-play, 83-yard march, the Bulldogs responded with a four-play, 83-yard drive of their own to push the advantage back to two scores at 21-7 late in the opening half with Gulker scoring his third touchdown of the day from four yards away.
In the second half, Michigan Tech put together a couple of lengthy offensive scoring drives, but both times Ferris State again had the answer. MTU trimmed the margin to 21-14 early in the third before Gulker capped FSU's ensuing drive with a three-yard touchdown to push the edge back to 28-14 with 5:31 remaining in the third.
The Huskies again cut the deficit to a single score with 2:31 left in the period with a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive. However, the Bulldogs closed the third and opened the fourth quarter with a 17-play, 74-yard jaunt that chewed up more than seven minutes. Gulker finished the scoring with his fifth TD from three-yards out to account for the final margin.
The Bulldogs had 372 yards of total offense compared to 396 for MTU. Overall, FSU ran for 185 yards on 47 carries with the Huskies garnering 326 of their yards thru the air on Alex Fries' 23-of-40 passing performance.
Ferris State improved to 5-2 overall with the win and 3-1 in the GLIAC.
The Bulldogs return home to host American International in non-league action on Saturday, Oct. 28, at Top Taggart Field. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. (ET).
