Returning some of the most exciting playmakers in college football and projected as the preseason No. 1, Ferris State is the clear team to beat in the 2023 campaign. 

But it's not just the rest of the nation the Bulldogs look to defeat in pursuit of three consecutive NCAA Division II national championships. They're competing against history, as well. 

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In 2006, Chuck Martin coached Grand Valley State to its second consecutive national title in his tenure, and the Lakers' fourth in five seasons. However, the GVSU dynasty experienced a one-year hiccup in 2004 when, after Brian Kelly guided two Lakers teams to the top, Valdosta State emerged to win its first championship. 

Ferris State's Anchor Bone rival falling one year short of not only a three-peat, but claiming an unprecedented five consecutive titles stands out — but it isn't the only instance of near-three-peats thwarted in Division II history. 

Northwest Missouri State is the most recent, winning three championships from 2013 through 2016, but with an interruption courtesy of Colorado State-Pueblo in 2014. 

North Dakota State, which earned a record five straight Football Championship Subdivision titles from 2011 through 2015, and another three in a row from 2017 through 2019, fell short of a three-peat at the Division II level with three titles in four years during the 1980s. 

Only North Alabama, under the leadership of legendary coach Bobby Wallace, ever completed the championship hat trick with wins over Indiana (Pennsylvania) in 1993, Texas A&M-Kingsville in 1994 and Pittsburg State in 1995. 

The history speaks to just how difficult a proposition it is winning three consecutive championships. 

Roster attrition due to the typical four-year cycle can leave a program with a much different lineup by Year 3 than it had in Year 1 of a run. 

Ferris State's 2023 squad is an outlier in that regard, however, featuring a variety of experienced players, thanks in part to the additional year of eligibility extended to athletes the COVID-19 pandemic impacted. 

Leaders on both sides of the ball boast unparalleled experience. 

Quarterback Mylik Mitchell teamed with breakout freshman star Carson Gulker to power the Bulldogs' 35.7 point-per-game offense. 

Mitchell again will share snaps with the record-setting ball-carrier, giving the Ferris State backfield a unique look of youth and experience, with Gulker in his second season in the rotation and Mitchell a remarkable seven years removed from his college debut. 

Mitchell, a talented dual-threat playmaker, began his career at Kent State in 2016, quarterbacking the Golden Flashes in matchups with Penn State and Alabama, before sustaining an injury that kept him out in 2017. 

Since transferring to Ferris State, Mitchell has enjoyed a resurgence that includes pivotal performances in the 2021 Playoffs, when he threw a touchdown in every Bulldogs win, and last season's title push, which included a three-touchdown passing performance in the postseason win over Davenport, as well as a rushing score against GVSU. 

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And Mitchell is just one of several key Bulldogs with invaluable, championship snaps on his resume. 

"It's great having guys like [wide receiver] Xavier [Wade] back on the outside," Mitchell told reporters after Ferris State's first practice of fall camp. 

The rangy Wade caught a pair of touchdowns in just two games last season and was the most dangerous scoring threat in the passing game during the 2021 run with 10 scoring grabs. 

Ferris State's leading running back from a season ago, Marcus Taylor, exhausted his eligibility but remains to pitch in on coaching this year's rotation of backs. 

"We've got guys from the team last year who came back both coaching and playing, so that's going to be big for us," Mitchell said. 

Defensively, end Ian Hall is chief among the veterans, after he racked up eight sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss in 2022. 

Ferris State coach Tony Annese noted at July's GLIAC media day that Hall earned his degree in the spring of 2020, joking he didn't "know how [Hall]'s still around." 

But it's a huge boon for the Bulldogs that he is, as Hall is poised to take over as the primary pass-rusher, with All-American Caleb Murphy joining the NFL's Tennessee Titans. And, that veteran presence Hall provides will be a cornerstone for a Ferris State replacing plenty of other standouts. 

Along with Murphy, the Bulldogs lose game-changing defensive back Sidney McCloud; linebacker Konnor Near, who transferred to Oklahoma; and tackle Jordan Jones, whose physicality on the interior of the line gave Hall and Murphy room to operate. 

Ferris State's defense will aim to have its new starters at a championship level once GLIAC competition starts, and that's where the Bulldogs' three-peat bona fides truly will be tested. 

En route to last season's title, Ferris State faced a stretch of three straight conference games decided by one possession, bookended by 33-28 and 28-20 defeats of Saginaw Valley State and Michigan State. In the middle was a 22-21 loss to GVSU. 

Ferris State scored revenge in the Playoffs, beating the Lakers in an equally thrilling, 24-21 Super Regional Final. However, the Anchor Bone showdown in October meant that while the Bulldogs claimed the 2022 NCAA championship, the GLIAC title eluded them. 

What's more, the playoff victory at Grand Valley marked Ferris State's second postseason win over three points after outlasting Pittsburg State in a 17-14 slugfest over Thanksgiving weekend. The pair of stiff challenges underscored just how narrow the margin is between a national championship and a postseason exit. 

Put simply: "We're zero-and-zero right now," Annese said of his team at GLIAC media day. "We're just trying to get ready for it all because we know there's going to be a lot of challenges for us." 

The challenges awaiting Division II's two-time defending national champions indeed are numerous — and not the least of which is history itself.