The Gulf South opened the 2022 campaign in impressive fashion, continuing its recent run of dominant Week 1s with a 6-2 collective mark. The league’s only losses came against a Top 25 opponent (Mississippi College at Albany State) and a solid FCS program (North Greenville at Furman).

Championship football starts up front; look no further than Ferris State.

GLIAC Players to Watch As college football becomes more of an offensive game at every level, the GLIAC is a something of a throwback coming into the 2022 season. A variety of the conference’s top returning players are on the defense.

Ground games on the Div. II landscape a season ago proved to be a youth movement. Two of the nation's top four, three of the top six, and four of the leading 13 rushers in 2021 were freshmen. All return in 2022 to build on their impressive debuts.

The top of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will likely come to a battle between two longtime powers and rivals, with defending Div. II national champion Ferris State and four-time national champion Grand Valley State tabbed as the league’s top teams by its coaches back during the offseason.