Ferris State’s Chase Carter runs for daylight in the NCAA Division II national championship football game against Harding on Saturday in McKinney, Texas. (Luke Wyckoff photo courtesy Ferris State University)

McKINNEY, Texas (AP) — Will Bower threw for two touchdowns and rushed for three more as Ferris State won its fourth NCAA Division II championship in the past five years, taking down Harding 42-21 on Saturday.

Head coach Tony Annese has been at the helm for all four titles.

“It’s just the family atmosphere we’ve built,” Annese said to Ferris State Sports Information in its news release heralding the championship. “And if you’re not built that way, it’s gonna be hard to win in a significant level.

“I always say, I’ve said it many times, (the) catalyst of our greatness is love.”

The Bulldogs, ranked first in the American Football Coaches Association poll, concluded their season at 16-0 (7-0 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) and stretch their win streak to 30 consecutive games, last losing in the first game of the 2024 season.

The streak includes this year’s national title and also the 2024 crown. This year’s perfect record of 16-0 is the first by a Division I or II team in the modern era.

Ferris returned to the championship game despite losing seven players to other universities through the NCAA transfer portal, most notably quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who has gained national attention for guiding the Southeastern Conference’s University of Mississippi to a top-10 ranking and first-round victory in the Division I College Football Playoff on the same day Ferris won the D-II final.

Bower scored two rushing touchdowns in the first quarter to put Ferris up 14-0, and threw for another with just over two minutes remaining in the half. The Bulldogs led 21-14 at the break.

Chase Carter racked up 111 yards rushing on seven carries, and broke free for a 64-yard touchdown to start the third quarter. Ferris ran for 363 yards on the ground alone, converting a pair fumbles lost by Harding into TDs.

Bower scored his third rushing touchdown of the day and threw his second TD pass to Carson Gulker to put the game on ice and secure the repeat for the Bulldogs, who finished with 587 total yards.

Bower finished 10 of 16 for 177 yards passing, along with 39 rushing yards on five carries.

Andrew Miller had 70 rushing yards and a TD on 22 carries for the Bison (15-1, 11-0 Great American Conference), who are ranked second in the coaches’ poll and hail from Searcy, Arkansas.

Harding last lost in the 2024 Division II playoffs to the same Ferris team.

Ferris State is now tied for the second-most Division II titles with four in all, joining fellow GLIAC member Grand Valley State and Valdosta State. Northwest Missouri leads with six titles.

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