The NCAA Division II semifinal contest between No. 11 Slippery Rock and No. 2 Ferris State featured a showdown of two of the nation’s top quarterbacks.
Slippery Rock senior Brayden Long owned the first half against Ferris State junior Trinidad Chambliss.
Long threw for 238 yards, three touchdowns and led the Rock to 38 points — its highest output of the season over the game’s first two quarters. Most importantly, Long helped put the heavily favored host Bulldogs in danger of taking a shocking upset with an 11-point halftime deficit.
“We forced turnovers, we were winning our one-on-ones, and it was a great script,” ninth-year Slippery Rock coach Shawn Lutz said. “It was exactly the way we wanted it. We were 30 minutes away from playing for a national championship.”
As promising as those first two quarters were for the Rock Saturday afternoon, though, the game’s final 30 minutes proved to be just as painful.
Slippery Rock turned the football over three times, failed to score on two trips inside the Ferris State red zone and was outscored by 21 points in the second half en route to absorbing a crushing 48-38 loss to end its season at Top Taggart Field in Big Rapids, Mich.
It was the fourth NCAA semifinal trip all time for the Rock (12-2) and the program’s first since falling to Minnesota State, 58-15, in 2019.
The Bulldogs (13-1) made their sixth national semifinal appearance in eight seasons and will play for a national championship for the first time since winning the second of its consecutive national titles in 2022.
Ferris State will meet No. 1 Valdosta State (13-0) in the NCAA Division II national championship game at 2 p.m. next Saturday at McKinney ISD Stadium in McKinney, Texas.
“I thought we had it,” Lutz said. “We were up, 38-27, at half and, man, we were playing well.”
Long completed 27-of-48 passes for 398 yards and three touchdowns on the game. He connected with wide receiver Logan Ramper for a game-high eight passes for 171 yards and three touchdowns, while Mike Solomon added eight receptions for 130 yards.
Running back Idris Lawrence carried the football 19 times for 71 yards and a score to lead the Rock rushing attack and Chris D’Or added 10 yards and a 1-yard, first-quarter touchdown run.
It was Long’s four critical interceptions, though, that marred an otherwise strong outing. The first resulted in Ferris State’s Justin Payoute returning a first-quarter interception 27 yards for a touchdown.
Long’s final three interceptions came over the game’s final two quarters, putting an end to promising scoring drives deep in Bulldogs territory.
“They just made plays, and we didn’t convert,” Lutz said. “We were down in the red zone twice, and we just couldn’t make the plays.”
When all was said and done, it was Chambliss who made plenty of plays, completing 19-of-26 passes for 221 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. The dual-threat quarterback also made critical plays with his feet, rushing for 124 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries to complement running back Kanon Katzer’s 165 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.
With his team trailing 38-27, Chambliss rushed for a 22-yard touchdown to cut his team’s deficit to just four points with 4:43 left in the third quarter.
Katzer then exploded for a 69-yard touchdown run to put Ferris State in front for the first time with 12:26 left in the fourth quarter.
Chambliss then punctuated a nine-play, 57-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown run with 8:00 left in the fourth quarter to effectively put the game out of reach.
Emari O’Brien caught six passes for 44 yards and a score to pace the Bulldogs’ passing attack, while Taariik Brett also returned a kickoff 87 yards for a score.
Chambliss and Long are each one of eight finalists for the Harlon Hill Trophy, which is awarded annually to the top Division II player in the country.
“Everybody is going to be upset unless you win the national championship,” Lutz said. “These guys overcame a lot.”
After having its 16-game regular-season winning streak snapped with a 28-7 loss at the hands of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division rival California University of Pennsylvania Oct. 19, Slippery Rock rebounded and salvaged its season.
The Rock earned an at-large bid to the NCAA playoffs and immediately knocked off New Haven in the first round before upsetting previously undefeated No. 3 Kutztown, Super Region One’s top seed, and earning a modicum of revenge in the second round.
The Golden Bears ended Slippery Rock’s season a year earlier in the 2023 Super Region One championship game just three weeks after defeating the Rock in the PSAC championship game.
Slippery Rock then advanced and avenged its loss to California earlier in 2024 by knocking off the Vulcans in this season’s Super Region One title contest.
“If you had told me in Week 5 when we lost to Cal, 28-7, that we’d be in this situation, Region One champs and then beating the back-to-back national champions in 2021-22 [in the fourth quarter], I’d be surprised,” Lutz said. “We can play with anybody. We are that close. I am just really proud of them.”
Slippery Rock’s roster featured 17 graduate students and seniors, which are among the most accomplished in the history of their program.
The Rock currently has a six-year NCAA playoff streak, which is second in the nation only to Ferris State’s active run of 10 straight national postseason berths.
“These guys just don’t quit,” Lutz said. “They’re tough. They’re tough guys, man. They don’t give up. They’re resilient. That’s hard to find. I’m really going to miss these guys. It wasn’t easy this year, but that’s why I respect them so much. They found a way.”
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.