BIG RAPIDS, Mich. - #14/15 Ferris State proved to be too much for #21/21 Colorado School of Mines as the Bulldogs won 38-17 in the NCAA Championship Second Round.

Ferris State (11-2), the second seed in Super Region 4, will advance to the national quarterfinal to face either Grand Valley State or Texas A&M-Commerce. The Orediggers, who earned the sixth seed in SR4, end the year at 10-3.

Both Brody Oliver and Zach Richter went over 100 yards receiving as Justin Dvorak threw for 363 yards and two scores on 32-of-53 passing. The Bulldogs halted Mines' resurgent ground attack as the Orediggers rushed for only 84 yards. Trevor Bermingham threw for 392 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 44 and three scores to lead the Bulldogs.

Turnovers hurt the Orediggers with two interceptions and a lost fumble leading to key Ferris State swings. Mines recovered a pair of fumbles, but only scored off one takeaway.

Cameron Mayberry's 50-yard kickoff return set the tone right off the bat, and the offense needed only five plays and 1:20 to get in the end zone with Oliver's two-yard catch. David Churchwell's interception set up Trevor Bermingham's three-yard keeper on Ferris State's second possession to it at 7-7. Ferris State made it 10-7 with Wyatt Ford's 25-yard field goal just before the end of the quarter.

A Ryan Griffith strip on Marquel Hines' reception led to a fumble and an opportunity for the Orediggers early in the second quarter, but Mines had to settle for Austin Toussaint's 22-yard field goal to tie it 10-10. Ferris State got a late score on Bermingham's 14-yard pass to Shakur Sanders with less than a minute to go in the half, and Churchwell's second interception with 16 seconds left put Ferris State on the Mines 2 for an easy Bermingham keeper to make it 24-10 at the half.
 
Mines scored on its first possession of the second half, as a key 4th-and-6 conversion by Dvorak set up Oliver's 16-yard touchdown catch to cut the deficit to 24-17. Mines had a chance to tie on their next series but the Bulldogs held on 4th-and-goal at the two; the Bulldogs then worked out of their own end zone to score on a 97-yard drive with Bermingham's scoring dive to lead 31-17. Malik Taylor's 63-yard touchdown all but sealed it early in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs held Mines scoreless for the balance of the game.

NOTABLES
- The Orediggers were appearing in their fourth NCAA Championship tournament. They equaled their best-ever showing by making the second round (their first since 2004), and their 10-3 final record represents only the third 10-win season in program history. 
- Dvorak ends an incredible career with 13,466 passing yards (an RMAC record), 134 touchdowns (2nd all-time in NCAA Division II), and Mines records in completion percentage (66.1%) and rating (160.9). His 53 passing touchdowns in 2016 was one shy of the NCAA Division II single-season record as he threw for 4,584 yards this year.
- Sam Seeton had 38 yards to end up second all-time at Mines with 2,454 career rushing yards.
- Oliver's two touchdowns took him to 26 for the season, which leads all NCAA divisions. His exceptional sophomore season ended with 1,627 receiving yards, a Mines and RMAC record.
- Oliver ended up with 166 yards on 11 catches. Richter had a huge game with 120 yards on 10 catches, with Ty Young 42 yards on four targets and Riley Hoff 33 yards on four catches.
- Chris Brockman led all Orediggers with nine tackles, including Mines' only sack. Griffith added eight tackles to his forced fumble.
- Mines scored on its opening possession for the fourth consecutive game.
- Bermingham got the start for Ferris State at quarterback as the Bulldogs' Harlon Hill nominee Reggie Bell was ruled out after missing part of their first-round game against Midwestern State.
- Toussaint's second-quarter field goal was the first of his career.
- Mines had a pair of fumble recoveries in the first half but couldn't score off Jalen Champagne's scoop of Caleb Courkamp's force late in the second quarter.