Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Tough start for the GLIAC

Lake Erie College's Mark McNellie wasn't the only Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference coach solemnly staring at the scoreboard following his team's opener.

The powerful Division II conference endured a difficult Week 1. The 13 teams that played last weekend went a combined 3-10. Grand Valley State, Findlay and Ohio Dominican were the only winners. Grand Valley State handled Azusa Pacific, 38-17, Findlay outlasted Urbana, 51-33, and Ohio Dominican crunched Georgetown (Ky.), 41-14.

The losses came in a variety of forms, with Lake Erie allowing a late touchdown in a 36-33 loss to Gannon and Ashland and Sanginaw Valley State losing to Indianapolis and Northwest Missouri State, respectively, in games featuring two ranked teams. Ashland, which lost to Indianapolis, 10-9, tumbled from No. 9 to No. 21 in the American Football Coaches Association Division II poll. Saginaw Valley State, which fell to Northwest Missouri State, 45-24, dropped out of the Top 25.

No GLIAC team had a more difficult Week 1 assignment than Ferris State. The Bulldogs faced two-time FCS champion North Dakota State in the raucous Fargo Dome. North Dakota State, which opened the season by defeating Kansas State, whipped Ferris State, 56-10.

Up next for Ferris State? The Bulldogs play host to Lake Erie on Saturday night.

Two GLIAC teams -- Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan -- begin their seasons this weekend. They join Grand Valley State as the only North Division teams without losses.

-- Guy Cipriano | @newsheraldguy

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