HARDING AT FERRIS STATE

COMMENTS Harding is making its fifth playoff appearance since 2012 and is 5-4 overall, with all 5 of the victories coming in the past 2 seasons. … The Bisons beat Ferris State a year ago on the same field on Tristan Parsley’s 20-yard field goal, a finish that still doesn’t sit well with the Bulldogs. “The team that kicked a field goal on the last play of the game to beat us is the team we’re playing in Round 1,” Ferris State Coach Tony Annese told the Detroit News this week. “They humbled us last year, they stole our dreams. … It’s lingered with us. It hurts.” One big difference for both teams is at quarterback. Sophomore Preston Paden (25-47 passing, 596 yards, 5 TDs; 129-472 rushing, 12 TDs) is the distributor in Harding’s Flexbone offense that is No. 1 in Division II in rushing (348.3 ypg) and time of possession (36:08). … Ferris State has 6-5 junior Jayru Campbell (1,162 yards rushing, 19 TDs; 2,368 passing, 22 TDs). Campbell originally committed to play for Michigan State before his career was derailed by two trips to jail— after body-slamming a high school security guard and then assaulting a former girlfriend. He ended up at Garden City (Kan.) Community College and found his way to Big Rapids. … Harding Coach Paul Simmons compared Campbell to another long-striding quarterback, former Arkansas Razorbacks star Matt Jones. “He glides,” Simmons said of Campbell. … The Bisons held the ball for 41:01 of the game’s 60 minutes in last season’s victory, and Simmons said the Bisons need to limit Ferris State’s possessions. “You’ve got to adjust things a little bit,” he said. Simmons also said that the Bisons have enough speed on defense to possibly limit Campbell’s impact. “I like how we match up,” he said. … Ferris State is sixth nationally in total offense (517 ypg), 12th in scoring (41.4 ppg) and third in first downs (26.3 pg); Harding’s defense is No. 2 in yards allowed (220.5 pg) and points allowed (10.4 ppg) and is No. 3 in first downs allowed (12 pg). … Simmons said the Bisons won’t be intimidated by playing in cold and snow. The forecast calls for a high of 33 degrees 33 degrees with a 20 percent chance of snow flurries. “The worse the weather the more we like it,” Simmons said. “I don’t think the weather is going to be a factor.”