No. 4 Eastern Washington held off No. 10 Montana 36-26 at home on Saturday.
Adams, No. 5 Eastern Washington trip Montana 36-26
CHENEY, Wash. -- Vernon Adams Jr. passed for 399 yards and four touchdowns after missing the previous four games with a broken foot and Eastern Washington held on to defeat Montana 36-26 on Saturday.
After Adams connected with Cooper Kupp for a 38-yard score and Kupp followed with a 67-yard punt return for a touchdown, the Eagles (8-2, 5-1 Big Sky Conference) led 33-10 midway through the third quarter.
Jordan Johnson, who threw for 447 yards, brought the Grizzlies (6-3, 4-2) back with a 61-yard touchdown pass to Travon Van and a 38-yarder to Jamaal Jones in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 10. Dan Sullivan kicked a 40-yard field with 5:56 to play but Adams directed a final drive that led to Tyler McNannay's clinching 34-yard field goal with 28 seconds remaining.
Johnson completed 29 of 50 passes but had two intercepted. Adams was 24 of 36 but fumbled once.
Northern Iowa snaps No. 1 North Dakota St. streak, 23-3
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Northern Iowa kept three-time defending FCS champion North Dakota State out of the end zone and handed the Bison their first loss, 23-3 on Saturday.
The loss snapped North Dakota State's 33-game winning streak, the longest in Football Championship Subdivision history. It also snapped an 18-game Missouri Valley Football Conference win streak. The loss knocked the Bison (9-1, 5-1) into a first-place tie with Illinois State atop the MVFC standings. Northern Iowa (6-4, 4-2) pulled into a tie with Youngstown State for second place.
David Johnson rushed for 133 yards on 28 carries to lead Northern Iowa. Brion Carnes finished with 43 yards, including a 6-yard run for a first-quarter touchdown. David Miller scored on a 30-yard run in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
North Dakota State finished with just 175 yards of total offense and was just 1-for-14 in third down efficiency.
No. 2 Coastal Carolina Dominates Charlotte, 59-34
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Alex Ross tied his own school record with 426 yards of total offense - as he threw for a career-high 370 yards and rushed for two scores - and Coastal Carolina rolled up a school-record 690 yards of total offense as the No. 2 Chanticleers (10-0) handed Charlotte (3-6) a 59-34 loss Saturday afternoon at Richardson Stadium.
Coastal was just five yards shy of the Big South single-game record for total yards and finishing with the fourth-best, single-game output in league history. Coastal becomes the first school in Big South history to start a season 10-0 as well as be the first Big South school to open a season at least 9-0 in consecutive seasons. The Chanticleers additionally set two Big South records by being 7-0 in road games this season, including most consecutive road wins and first league school to win seven road games in a season. Today's win was also CCU's 12th consecutive versus non-conference FCS opponents.
By scoring a season-high 59 points, Coastal became the first Big South school to tally at least 30-points in 10 straight games.
No. 3 New Hampshire puts away Rhode Island 41-14
KINGSTON, R.I. -- Sean Goldrich threw for 330 yards with two touchdowns and ran for a third as New Hampshire pulled away from winless Rhode Island 41-14 on Saturday.
Nursing a 21-14 lead in the third quarter, the Wildcats (8-1, 6-0 Colonial Athletic Association) surged ahead with three unanswered touchdowns. Goldrich threw a 6-yard score to R.J. Harris and Nico Steriti added his second rushing touchdown of the day. Andy Vailas relieved Goldrich and threw a 51-yard touchdown to Mike Kelly for the final margin with 6:55 remaining.
Goldrich went 25 of 33, also throwing an 80-yard strike to Harris to open the scoring on New Hampshire's second drive. He and Steriti each rushed for scores in the second quarter to make it 21-7 at halftime. Harris had 210 yards on 11 receptions.
Lyle McCombs led the Rams (0-10, 0-6) with 14 carries for 115 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
No. 4 Jacksonville State tops Eastern Kentucky 20-6
RICHMOND, Ky. -- DaMarcus James gained 170 yards and had a touchdown to lead Jacksonville State to a 20-6 win against Eastern Kentucky on Saturday.
Troymaine Pope scored a 14-yard rushing touchdown with 3:46 remaining to put Jacksonville State up by 14, and then DeBarriaus Miller intercepted Jared McClain on the ensuing drive to seal the win for the Gamecocks.
Pope rushed for 63 yards on six carries, with a long of 34, and Eli Jenkins completed 11 of 29 attempts for 132 yards for Jacksonville State. James' 13-yard touchdown put the Gamecocks up 10-3 at halftime.
Andrew Lloyd converted two field goals, from 23 and 30 yards, for Eastern Kentucky. Dy'Shawn Mobley rushed for 87 yards on 18 carries and Jeff Glover caught four balls for 75 yards for the Colonels.
Jacksonville State outgained Eastern Kentucky 357-100 on the ground and 489-292 in total offensive.
Stephen F. Austin knocks off No. 6 McNeese State 31-16
LAKE CHARLES, La. -- Zach Conque totaled four touchdowns as Stephen F. Austin upset No. 6 McNeese State 31-16 on Saturday night.
McNeese State, sharing the lead in the Southland Conference before the game, could not stay with the Lumberjacks as SFA (7-3, 4-2 SLC) stretched a 5-point halftime lead to a 31-9 advantage in the fourth.
SFA's Gus Johnson, who averages 138.9 yards per game, was held to just 32 yards on 22 carries by McNeese (6-3, 4-2), but the Cowboys could not stop Conque and his receiving corps. Conque joined the corps when he caught a pass from wide receiver Tyler Boyd for the first score. He then passed for three touchdowns, throwing for 201 yards and also rushed for 31 yards.
Tyler Bolfing threw for 198 yards and one touchdown for McNeese.
Southeastern Louisiana (7-3, 5-1) and Sam Houston State (6-4, 5-1) are the conference leaders.
Robertson with 4 TDs, No. 7 Villanova downs Towson 42-14
PHILADELPHIA -- John Robertson threw three touchdown passes and ran for another to lead Villanova in a 42-14 victory against Towson on Saturday night.
The Wildcats (8-2, 5-1 Colonial Athletic Association) led by two touchdowns at the break, but Connor Frazier's 5-yard scoring pass to Tanner Vallely in the third quarter made it a one-score game, 21-14.
Robertson responded with a 1-yard touchdown run with 14:55 left to play. On Towson's ensuing drive, Frazier's pass was intercepted on second and 10 by Joe Sarnese, who returned it 48 yards for a touchdown to stretch the Wildcats' lead to 35-14.
Robertson finished with 182 yards passing and 107 on the ground.
Darius Victor led the Tigers (4-6, 2-4) with 165 yards rushing and one touchdown. Frazier threw for 111 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Villanova was on a seven-game winning streak until a 10-9 loss to Richmond last Saturday.
Defense leads Maine to 33-20 victory against No. 8 Richmond
ORONO, Maine -- Trevor Bates returned an interception 23 yards for a touchdown, Benjamin Davis blocked a punt for another score and Maine forced five turnovers to beat Richmond 33-20 on Saturday.
Michael Rocco ran in from the 1 to give Richmond (7-3, 4-2 Colonial Athletic Association) an early 6-0 lead before Bates' interception tied it at 6. Sean Decloux's 26-yard field goal gave Maine (4-5, 3-3) the lead to end the first.
Jeff Ondish had a 60-yard punt to pin the Spiders on their own 9, setting up Davis' blocked punt for a touchdown three plays later. Nigel Beckford ran for a 7-yard touchdown and Maine led 23-6 at half.
Rocco threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Diggs to pull the Spiders within 23-13, but threw three of his four interceptions in the fourth quarter. Drew Belcher's 1-yard touchdown run stretched the Bears' lead to 30-13 with 11:19 to play.
No. 9 Fordham wins Patriot League Title
LEWISBURG, Penn. -- Check another one off the preseason list of goals for No. 9 Fordham: winning the Patriot League championship. Peter Maetzold connected with Tebucky Jones, Jr. on a ten-yard touchdown pass in overtime to lead the Rams to a 30-27 win against Bucknell at Christy Mathewson Stadium to help Fordham clinch the 2014 Patriot League title on Friday night.
With the win, Fordham's eighth consecutive, the Rams improve to 9-1 overall, 5-0 in the Patriot League, while Bucknell falls to 7-2 overall, 3-1 in the conference.
The game marked the second time that the Rams have clinched a Patriot League title at Bucknell as the 2002 squad also won the championship at Christy Mathewson Stadium.
