No. 10 Youngstown State rallies to beat South Dakota
VERMILLION, S.D. -- Martin Ruiz scored with 14 seconds remaining to answer a late South Dakota touchdown as No. 10 Youngstown State sealed a wild 38-34 win Saturday.
Jordan Roberts ran in from 11 yards to give South Dakota a 34-31 lead with two minutes left to play. The Penguins (8-1, 5-0 Missouri Valley Football Conference) took off down the field with a 10-play, 74-yard drive that was capped off by Ruiz's 3-yard rush into the end zone.
Kurt Hess finished with 283 yards passing for two touchdowns and rushed for another as the Penguins ended with 517 offensive yards. Youngstown State turned the ball over three times -- all fumbles -- against the Coyotes and fought through seven lead changes to stay undefeated in the MVFC.
South Dakota (4-5, 3-3) capitalized on two Penguin fumbles after taking possession with a 17-yard TD run by QB Kevin Earl and a 40-yard field goal by Miles Bergner.
No. 2 Eastern Illinois cruises by Tennessee Tech 56-21
CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Jimmy Garoppolo threw four touchdowns on 399 yards passing, guiding No. 2 Eastern Illinois to a 56-21 win against Tennessee Tech on Saturday.
The Panthers (8-1, 5-0 Ohio Valley Conference) maintained sole possession of first place in the league, handing Tennessee Tech (3-7, 0-6) its fifth loss in a row.
Garoppolo had four touchdown passes for the sixth time this season, including two first-quarter touchdown passes to Erik Lora. The Panthers built a 28-7 halftime advantage before adding four more touchdowns in the second half.
Lora caught 12 passes for 119 yards and three touchdowns in the game.
The special teams unit also produced offense for Eastern Illinois, as Shepard Little returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Lora added a punt return touchdown of 80 yards in the third quarter.
Jared Davis threw three touchdowns on 183 yards passing to lead the Golden Eagles.
No. 3 Coastal Carolina doubles up Charlotte 50-25
CONWAY, S.C. -- Lorenzo Taliaferro ran for three touchdowns and Alex Ross returned from a sprained foot to fire a pair of touchdown passes as undefeated Coastal Carolina turned away Charlotte 50-25 in a non-conference game Saturday.
Ross fired a 5-yard pass to Matt Hazel to end the first quarter and found DeMario Bennett from 39 yards out in the second. The sophomore now is 9-0 as a starter and No. 3 Coastal Carolina (9-0, 3-0 Big South) has scored 50 or more points in five of his starts. The Chanticleers came into the game as the highest scoring team in FCS, averaging 47 points per game.
The win sets up a Big South showdown next week at Charleston Southern between the conference's two remaining unbeaten teams.
Kalif Phillips carried 15 times for 132 yards and a touchdown for the 49ers, who now are 4-5 in their inaugural season as an FCS independent.
No. 4 Eagles fly past Bengals 55-34
POCATELLO, Idaho -- Vernon Adams threw for 432 yards and five touchdowns to lead Eastern Washington past Idaho State 55-34 in Pocatello on Saturday.
The Eagles (7-2, 5-0 Big Sky) fell behind 24-17 with five minutes left in the first half but didn't stay down for long. They took the ensuing kickoff down to the Bengals' 20-yard line, and two plays later were in the end zone.
Adams was efficient, picking up his 432 yards passing on 26 completions. He threw 44 times, including five touchdowns and one interception.
Cooper Kupp pulled down eight catches for 205 yards and two touchdowns.
Justin Arias was 44 of 64 for 441 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception for the Bengals (3-5, 1-5) and Luke Austin added 177 yards and one touchdown on 10 catches.
Idaho State trailed 31-24 at half time and never presented a substantial threat to the Eagles during the second half.
No. 5 Montana State holds off Northern Colorado 35-28
GREELEY, Colo. -- Cody Kirk rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns as No. 5 Montana State held off Northern Colorado for a 35-28 win Saturday.
Montana State (7-2, 5-0 Big Sky) just could not pull away from Northern Colorado (1-8, 0-5). The Bobcats jumped out to separate leads of 14 and 13 points, only to see the Bears reel them back in.
Trailing 27-14 in the fourth quarter, Seth Lobato threw a touchdown pass to Austin Wilbers and ran for another as Northern Colorado took a 28-27 lead. Montana State responded with a 12-play, 69-yard scoring drive. Kirk capped the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run. DeNarius McGhee found Kirk for the 2-point conversion.
Northern Colorado would get two chances to drive for the tying score, but both ended on failed fourth-down conversions.
Lobato finished 30 of 43 for 291 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw one interception.
Delaware beats No. 6 Towson on 2-point conversion 32-31
TOWSON, Md. -- Trevor Sasek connected with Rob Jones for a two-point conversion with 19 seconds left to complete Delaware's furious 22-point fourth quarter comeback to beat Towson 32-31.
The conversion followed Sasek's 3-yard touchdown pass to Jones to complete a 3-play, 51-yard drive, set up when the Fightin Blue Hens recovered an onside kick.
Delaware (7-2, 4-1 Colonial Athletic Association) cut the lead to seven just 29 seconds earlier when Sasek (34 of 46, 330 yards) found Michael Johnson open for an 11-yard score.
Towson (8-2, 4-2) led 31-10 after a Drew Evangelista 25-yard field goal at 14:31 of the fourth quarter.
Delaware started its comeback with a 56-yard drive, capped by Jalen Randolph's 1-yard touchdown run to cut the score to 31-17.
Towson's Terrance West added to his nation-leading totals in both rushing yardage and touchdowns with 206 yards and 2 TDs - his third 200-plus yard game this season.
SE Louisiana shuts down No. 7 McNeese State 41-7
LAKE CHARLES, La. -- Brian Bennett ran for a pair of touchdowns and passed for two more to lead Southeastern Louisiana to a 41-7 win against McNeese State on Saturday night in a battle between the two remaining undefeated teams in Southland Conference play.
The Lions (7-2, 4-0 Southland) fashioned a 20-0 lead midway through the second quarter and never looked back, rolling up 439 total yards.
Meanwhile, the SE Louisiana defense kept the Cowboys bottled up, allowing just 191 total yards and held them to just 99 yards rushing.
Cody Stroud threw a 24-yard scoring pass to Diontae Spencer in the second quarter to account for the lone touchdown for McNeese State (7-2, 3-1).
Bennett was 14 of 29 for 155 yards, throwing 12 yards to Juwaan Rogers in the first quarter and 20 yards to Jeff Smiley late in the third. He also ran for 88 yards.
Nebrich passes No. 8 Fordham to win vs. Holy Cross 32-30Sam Ajala was Nebrich's main target, pulling in 12 passes for 189 yards. Tebucky Jones had six catches for 120 yards. Carlton Koonce added to the offensive explosion, rushing for 146 yards on 28 carries.
Pujals passed for 238 yards for Holy Cross.
No. 9 Sam Houston State outlasts Stephen F. Austin 56-49
HOUSTON -- Brian Bell threw four touchdowns on 339 yards passing and No. 9 Sam Houston State used four fourth-quarter touchdowns to edge Stephen F. Austin 56-49 on Saturday in the Battle of the Piney Woods.
The Bearkats (7-2, 3-1 Southland Conference) broke a 28-28 tie, scoring 28 points in less than three minutes to take a 56-28 lead against the Lumberjacks (3-6, 1-3) early in the fourth quarter.
Bell found Torrance Williams for a 38-yard touchdown reception to give Sam Houston State a 35-28 lead and two fumbles from Stephen F. Austin led to quick scores by the Bearkats. Sam Houston State capped the scoring spurt with a 45-yard interception return for a touchdown by DeAntrey Loche.
The Lumberjacks responded with 21 unanswered points to come within a touchdown, but the Bearkats recovered an onside kick to preserve the win.
Brady Attaway had 505 yards passing and five touchdowns to lead the Lumberjacks.
