No. 1 NDSU tops Missouri St. 41-26 for 15th consecutive win
FARGO, N.D. -- Brock Jensen tossed three touchdown passes and Zach Vraa tallied 179 yards receiving as No. 1 North Dakota State topped Missouri State 41-26 on Saturday for its 15th consecutive win, the second-longest streak in Division I.
NDSU (6-0, 3-0 Missouri Valley) trailed late in the second quarter but a 2-yard touchdown run by Sam Ojuri and a 36-yard score from Jensen to Vraa in the final minute put NDSU up 24-13 at halftime.
Missouri State (1-6, 1-2) cut the score to 24-20 early in the third with a 19-yard interception return for a touchdown by Caleb Schaffitzel. Jensen responded with touchdown passes on NDSU's following two possessions -- a 23-yarder to Vraa and a 33-yarder to Kevin Vaadeland -- to put the Bison up 38-20 in the third. Jensen threw for a career-high 313 yards.
Julian Burton had 128 yards receiving and a touchdown for Missouri State.
No. 15 Villanova tops No. 2 Towson 45-35
TOWSON, Md. -- John Robertson threw for 182 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 150 yards and three touchdowns, as Villanova topped previously-unbeaten Towson 45-35 in a Colonial Athletic Conference game Saturday evening.
Towson (6-1, 2-1 CAA) turned the ball over on its first two possessions and Villanova (4-2, 3-0) took full advantage, scoring touchdowns on its first three drives on the short field.
Robertson hit Gary Underwood for 20 yards to open the scoring, and then called his own number for a two yard score on the next drive. After Kevin Monangai's 1-yard plunge, it was 21-0 before Towson had run six plays.
Robertson added a 7-yard scoring strike to Earnest Pettway and touchdown runs of four and 10 yards to pace the Wildcats.
Towson made a game of it in the second half, outscoring Villanova 22-7, but never got closer than the 10-point final margin.
No. 3 Sam Houston St. outlasts Lamar for a 14-3 victory
HUNTSVILLE, Texas -- Brian Bell threw for one touchdown and rushed for another as No. 3 Sam Houston State beat Lamar 14-3 in the Southland Conference opener for both teams.
Sam Houston State's prolific offense, averaging 51.6 points per game heading into the game, struggled to move the ball. Timothy Flanders, coming off a 280-yard performance against Eastern Washington, was held to just 83 yards on 28 carries.
Bell opened the scoring with a 45-yard run in the second quarter. Lamar (3-3, 0-1) responded with a 47-yard Alex Ball field goal at the end of the half. Bell found Stephen Williams for an 18-yard touchdown late in the third quarter, giving the Bearkats (5-1, 1-0) the 14-3 lead they would hold onto for the win.
Caleb Berry struggled for the Cardinals, going 17 of 41 for 196 yards and throwing one interception.
Lightning delayed the game for two hours in the fourth quarter.
Garoppolo helps No. 4 Eastern Illinois rout Austin Peay 63-7
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 306 yards and five touchdowns and broke Sean Payton's school record for total offense in No. 4 Eastern Illinois' 63-7 victory against winless Austin Peay on Thursday night.
Garoppolo has 10,344 yards of total offense. Payton, the New Orleans Saints' head coach, had 10,298.
Erik Lora had five catches for 133 yards and three touchdowns, the longest a 66-yarder that capped the scoring in the fourth quarter, for the Panthers (5-1, 2-0 Ohio Valley). Taylor Duncan ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.
Tim Phillips ran for 83 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries for the Governors (0-6, 0-2).
Eastern Illinois scored 27 first-quarter points. Duncan broke through for a 27-yard touchdown run in first 2 minutes, and scored from a yard out with 8:15 to go. Garoppolo threw a 43-yard scoring pass to Shepard Little, and added a 35-yarder to Lora with 33 seconds left in the quarter.
The Panthers led 42-0 at halftime. Garoppolo scored on a 1-yard run late in the second quarter, and threw a 6-yard scoring pass to Lora only 50 seconds later.
Southern Illinois drops No. 5 UNI in overtime 24-17
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Malcolm Agnew's 5-yard touchdown run in overtime led Southern Illinois past No. 5 UNI 24-17 in a Missouri Valley Conference showdown Saturday.
The Saluikis (4-3, 2-1, MVC) took a 14-0 halftime lead on two Kory Faulkner second-quarter touchdown passes. He hit Josh Sullivan for 6 yards after a 93-yard drive and LaSteven McKinney on a 5-yard strike with 16 seconds left in the half. Agnew finished with 113 yards rushing.
UNI (4-2, 0-2) answered with two TDs in the third quarter. Ray Mitchell picked off Faulkner on the Panthers' 8-yard line and returned it 53 yards, where he fumbled. The ball was scooped up by Deiondre' Hall, who scampered 29 yards for the touchdown. Later in the frame, UNI used more conventional means to score, as Sawyer Kollmorgen hit Kevin Vereen for a 52-yard touchdown.
Tyler Sievertsen's 30-yard field goal, with 4:33 left, sent the game into overtime.
Coastal Carolina pounds Gardner-Webb 42-7
CONWAY, S.C. -- Lorenzo Taliaferro scored three touchdowns on 144 yards rushing and Coastal Carolina ran away from Gardner-Webb for a 42-7 win in the conference opener for both schools on Saturday night.
Mistakes hurt Gardner-Webb (4-3, 0-1 Big South Conference), as a muffed punt return was recovered by the Chanticleers (6-0, 1-0) and led to a 4-yard touchdown run from Taliaferro for the first score of the game. Quinn Backus later added a 73-yard interception return for a touchdown as Coastal Carolina jumped to an early 14-0 first-quarter lead.
The Runnin' Bulldogs lone score came on a 3-yard touchdown run from Juanne Blount to close the gap to 14-7, but the Chanticleers responded by reeling off 28 unanswered points.
Gardner-Webb produced 380 yards of total offense, but was hindered by turnovers with three interceptions and a fumble lost.
Kenny Cook had seven receptions for 100 yards to lead Gardner-Webb.
No. 8 E. Washington defense stymies North Dakota 35-14
GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Vernon Adams threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns and the defense forced two crucial turnovers in the second half as No. 8 Eastern Washington pulled away from North Dakota for a 35-14 win in a Big Sky Conference game Saturday.
The Eagles (4-2, 2-0 Big Sky) were leading 21-14 late in the third quarter when Ronnie Hamline intercepted Joe Mollberg's pass and returned it 77 yards for a touchdown.
North Dakota (2-4, 1-2) responded with a long drive but receiver Jer Garmen lost a fumble at the EWU 10. Eastern then marched 90 yards, capped by Mario Brown's 3-yard run to put the game away. Overall UND had four turnovers.
Adams hit 22 of 30 passes and Ashton Clark had seven catches for 116 yards for EWU.
Mollberg threw for 355 yards but didn't find the end zone. Jameer Jackson and Kenny Golladay combined for 19 catches and 235 yards.
Nebrich, No. 9 Fordham bury Georgetown 34-12
WASHINGTON -- Michael Nebrich threw for 405 yards and Tebucky Jones had 12 receptions for 182 yards as No. 9 Fordham crushed Georgetown 34-12 in a Patriot League game Saturday.
Nebrich, who set a league record and tied the FCS record by opening the game with 20 consecutive completions, connected with Brian Wetzel for an 8-yard score on the opening drive and followed that with an 8-yard TD run as the Rams (7-0, 1-0 PL) took control early. It was 21-0 after one quarter when Isaiah Kempf returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown.
Fordham piled up 536 yards of offense and pushed the lead to 31-0 before the Hoyas (1-5, 0-1) kicked a field goal late in the third quarter.
Nebrich, who was 35 of 45 passing for his first 400-yard game, was also the leading rusher for the Rams with 51 yards.
Fordham is 7-0 for the first time since 1930.
No. 10 Montana runs over UC Davis 42-7
DAVIS, Calif. -- Jordan Johnson threw for two touchdowns and Montana ball carriers notched four more as the Grizzlies ran over UC Davis 42-7 in a Big Sky Conference game on Saturday.
Behind a big offensive line that manhandled defenders in opening holes, Montana (5-1, 2-1) racked up 255 yards rushing, including an 18-yard scoring run by Travon Van and TD runs of 1 and 24 yards by Jordan Canada. Canada had 126 yards on 24 carries.
Johnson was 12 of 20 for 163 yards passing, with TD strikes of 30 and 21 yards to Ellis Henderson. Backup QB Shay Smithwick-Hann had a 41-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter.
Defensively, Montana held UC Davis (2-5, 2-1) to 237 yards of total offense and bagged two interceptions, including one that set up a touchdown.
The Aggies' only score came on a 9-yard run by QB Randy Wright, in the third quarter.
