The Ashland University Football team had its toughest test of the season this past Saturday as the number two ranked team in the nation, Ferris State, came to town for the 2019 GLIAC opener at Jack Miller Stadium. The Eagles came into the game with a 1-1 record through their first two games of the season, losing 24-9 in Week 1 to Indianapolis followed by a 34-12 Week 2 win over Walsh at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

Despite all the opportunities to pull off the upset, the Eagles fell to the Bulldogs of Ferris State by a final score of 28-13. The offense for Ashland certainly struggled, turning the ball over three times in the loss while failing to top 300 total yards and converting on just three of their 17 third down conversion opportunities.

“A lot of people think they [Ferris State] are one of the best teams in the country, if not the best,” AU head coach Lee Owens said. “We have a lot of growing up to do on offense. We can’t keep putting it all on Austin’s shoulders.”

Sophomore quarterback Austin Brenner completed 19 of his 49 pass attempts for 167 yards while throwing three interceptions. Despite not throwing any touchdowns, Brenner did rush for a touchdown late in the first half to bring the Eagles back within one score at the time.

One of the bright spots for the team was the play of the defense. Ferris State brought a very lethal offense into Jack Miller Stadium and the defense was able to hold the Bulldogs to just 28 points, a week after they had exploded for 62 against Central Washington. Along with that, they were able to force four takeaways to keep their team in the game for most of the night.

The Eagles will move forward and hit the road next week when they travel to take on the Northwood Timberwolves on Saturday at 1 p.m. The 1-2 Ashland football team will have the intentions of continuing to grow as a team and get back to .500 on the season once again.