David vs. Goliath - Slippery Rock Football Update!

The best football team in the state of Pennsylvania might just be playing their games 60 miles north of Pittsburgh in Slippery Rock. Many students at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania and alum of the school like me, hail from the ‘Burgh. This week anyone and everyone associated with the Rock in any fashion will be holding their heads high in regards to Slippery Rock football as once again as the team has done every year since 2018, is playing in the NCAA Division II championship tournament.

Since 2018 Slippery Rock has landed in the semifinals of the playoffs just once before but next weekend is where the mighty Rockets are at. However, they will be playing an absolute monster in the form of Ferris State University. The Bulldogs who call Big Rapids, Michigan home, have lost just one game this season as has Slippery Rock with both teams heading into this game with 12-1 records.

Slippery Rock has never reached the championship game of the NCAA Division II playoffs, but Ferris State has been there twice in the last three seasons and came away with the title winning easily both times. In 2022, Ferris State wiped out Colorado School of Mines University 41-14. They defended the title they won a season before when they destroyed Valdosta State University 58-17. Three years earlier in 2018, Ferris lost to that same Valdosta team 49-47.

In the 2024 season, Ferris State aside from their one loss in the season opener to Pittsburg State (19-3), have won 12 straight and along the way just blew opponents off the field. For their 13 games Ferris State averaged just over 44 points per game while allowing just over 11. That’s an average of just one touchdown a game. Slippery Rock on the other hand, despite having an equal won/loss record, scored 27 points per game on average but yielded almost 17 points to their opponents.

This is certainly a “David vs. Goliath” game given the season’s results. Just take a sampling of some of the Bulldogs’ victories. After losing their first game of 2024 they took it out the following week on Lake Erie college by wiping them out 56-3. On September 14, playing their second straight game at home, the result was a 43-3 victory over Ashland. After a one-week break, it was complete ugliness for American International as they were embarrassed by Ferris State on their home turf, 84-7.

The onslaught continued in the school’s homecoming game the following weekend with the destruction of Roosevelt University with a final of 55-13. Wayne State slowed down the Bulldogs in the next game but still lost 27-14. But facing Michigan Tech, Ferris State continued to brutalize opponents winning 51-13. Ferris State would get over 50 again when they defeated Northern Michigan 55-9.

Another team that probably wished that Ferris State was not on their schedule this season was Central Oklahoma who got smashed 78-17 in the first round of the playoffs. In the quarterfinals, Harding University was no match and went down to defeat 41-7. That brings us to the semifinals with Ferris State and Slippery Rock squaring off.

As Slippery Rock enters the final four, they are seeded third and Ferris State is #2. The top ranked team is Valdosta State with their opponent in the semifinals Minnesota State seed fourth. Minnesota State goes to the final four with a record of 10-3 while Valdosta is undefeated at 12-0.

As the Rock faces a virtual giant in Ferris State, I’m sure that Head Coach Shawn Lutz has his team extremely confident. After all, earlier in the playoffs they knocked off a previously undefeated Kutztown State 25-24 on a crazy successful hook-and-ladder wo-point conversion to win instead of going for a tie to send the game into overtime. Lutz said no one expected them to win. No matter what happens, if you are fan of Slippery Rock University football or graduated from the school, win or lose there will be plenty of pride to be associated with the Green and White come Sunday.



For the record, the school with the most NCAA Division II titles is North Dakota State who has won the championship six times as has Northwest Missouri State, and Grand Valley State has won the title four times. Valdosta State, who will be playing next weekend, is a four-time winner. The Division II championship began in 1973.