In 2012, Jason Vander Laan took the reigns as Ferris State’s starting quarterback. Vander Laan, then a redshirt freshman, led the Bulldogs to a 40-24 win over Grand Valley State.

It was the first time the Bulldogs had beat the Lakers in 12 tries.

That 2012 game set a dangerous precedent for GVSU. The Lakers haven’t beaten the Bulldogs in three straight seasons. Vander Laan has torched GVSU year after year, accounting for 10 touchdowns in his three outings against GVSU.

The Lakers host FSU in the Anchor-Bone Classic on Sept. 19 at Lubbers Stadium. Vander Laan isn’t the only storyline for the tilt, but the top key for a GVSU victory is slowing down the senior quarterback.

“He’s just big, strong and physical,” said defensive end Matt Judon. “He does a good job studying defenses and they do a good job of preparing. We had him in the backfield a couple of times last year and we didn’t finish and it ended up being a big play.

“We just want to be sure we play within ourselves and we know we can stop him.”

Vander Laan is the returning Harlon Hill award-winner – the Division II equivalent of the Heisman Trophy. The FSU signal caller has rushed and passed for over 1,000 yards for three consecutive seasons, and brings dual-threat abilities to a body built like a fire hydrant.

At 6-foot-4, 244 pounds, Vander Laan’s listed height and weight are listed as more than each individual Laker linebacker.

It won’t be GVSU’s first time seeing Vander Laan, however. Nor will it be GVSU’s first time against a dual-threat quarterback.

In weeks one and two, both opposing quarterbacks hurt the Lakers on the ground. Trent Edwards II of Southwest Baptist rushed for 68 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. In the contest against ODU, Panther quarterback Grant Russell rushed for a team-high 52 yards.

“These past couple weeks we’ve seen some good athletes,” said head coach Matt Mitchell said. “Hopefully we can look at that from a schematic standpoint and from a player execution standpoint and hopefully that might make us a little bit better going forward as we face a prolific runner like Jason Vander Laan.”

GVSU’s defense improved from week one to week two. Another leap forward will be exactly what the Lakers need to slow down a Bulldog offense that can damage by both land and air.

In last week’s narrow win, GVSU’s defense forced five turnovers. Both interceptions came as a result of quarterback pressure, and the fumbles were forced by crunching hits.

Physicality and relentless pursuit are going to be crucial against FSU. Thankfully, that’s exactly what the Laker defense is good at.

Led by the deceptively fast and obviously strong Judon, GVSU has tallied 10 quarterback sacks and a number of hurries in 2015. The Lakers tackled well against ODU – a skill that will need to stay strong against Vander Laan, who resembles a tight end more than a quarterback.

Linebackers David Talley, Joe Moran and Jeff Madison have impressed with strong tackling abilities this season. Hitting Vander Laan low, driving through and wrapping up will be crucial – but the Laker defense already knows this.

GVSU’s secondary won’t have to collide with Vander Laan quite as much, but will have its hands full with a number of talented Bulldogs.

Senior Jake Lampman, who played against GVSU last year, went down with an injury in 2014 and received a medical redshirt, giving him eligibility for 2015. He’ll be joined by junior Jamel Lockett and senior Antonio Agurs.

Lockett and Agurs pulled in 96 and 95 yards, respectively, through the air in FSU’s 40-3 win over Northwood last week.

The Bulldog receiving corps provides a number of options for any opposing secondary. But so does GVSU’s, and, as of last week, it’s just getting better.

The Lakers have a balanced tandem in Brandon Bean and Matt Williams. Bean, a speedy, sure-handed wideout, is used toward the middle of the field, while Williams finds space toward the sidelines.

Matt Williams has been quarterback Bart Williams’ favorite target so far this season.

On Saturday, however, Laker fans will likely see the return of an All-American. Wide receiver Jamie Potts, fresh off a stint with the Class A Short Season Spokane Indians of the Texas Rangers organization, is expected to see his first action of the season in the FSU contest.

Potts had one more season of NCAA eligibility for football, and Rangers organization allowed him to return to Allendale to play football after the Indians’ season ended on Sept. 6.

Potts gives the Lakers the potential for a No. 1 receiving option. But he’s not a shoo-in.

“I think you’ll see (Potts’) role continue to increase,” Mitchell said. “But our whole thing has been about earning it. I’m not just going to throw Potts out there because Potts played in 2014. This is ’15. He has to go out and earn his touches and reps.

“Knowing the type of kid he is and competitor, I think that he’s going to have a good week of practice and you’ll see his role increase. Jamie Potts has proven that he can have a role.”

The addition of Potts will further help Bart Williams slide into the quarterback role for the Lakers. He has thrown for 495 yards and five touchdowns on 56.7 percent completions, but has also tossed three interceptions.

He has been crisp and commanding, but from an execution standpoint, there remains room to grow.

Ever-important, special teams and intangibles will be magnified in a game where everything seems – and is – bigger.

Freshman punter Collin Cribley has been serviceable through two starts with the Lakers. Pinning FSU deep in its own territory and giving Vander Laan a full field to eat up will help the Lakers as much as any other play.

“If they get short fields, you know their coaching staff is aggressive and they’ll go for it on fourth downs,” Mitchell said. “They get over the 50 and it immediately turns into four-down territory for their offense and makes things challenging too. It’s tough to stop that offense within the span of four downs.”

The Bulldogs had a week one bye, and annihilated a lowly Northwood squad. The Lakers played two games, winning by a combined total of 11 points and topping the then-No. 7 team in the nation in Ohio Dominican.

GVSU has had to scrape, claw and will its way to 2-0. FSU danced to 1-0. Both teams will be ready, but the Lakers are coming off a big road win and will be playing in front of a deafening home crowd.

“(The ODU game) helps us build confidence,” said running back Kirk Spencer. “It just shows us that if we fight and play for four quarters that we can actually win the game. It goes into the next game and it keeps helping us push each other and lean on each other more.”

Kickoff is set for Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. at Lubbers Stadium.