Fordham commits five turnovers in 27-14 setback
EASTON, Pa. -- Ross Scheuerman rushed for 169 yards and two touchdowns to lead Lafayette to a 27-14 win over No. 5 Fordham on Saturday.
After Peter Maetzold's 34-yard touchdown pass to Brian Wetzel cut Lafayette's lead to 10-7 with 10:38 remaining in the first half, the Leopards (4-6, 3-1 Patriot League) rattled off 17 consecutive points, including a pair of 2-yard touchdown runs by Scheuerman, to put the game out of reach.
Lafayette rushed 245 yards as a team, averaging 6 yards per carry and dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for nearly 35 minutes.
Fordham (10-1) came into the game averaging 39.1 points per game but was held to a season-low 14 points thanks, in large part, to its five turnovers. The Rams have now committed 10 turnovers in their past two games.
Drew Reed, who completed 17 of 32 passes for 239 yards and one TD, threw four interceptions.
Jensen, North Dakota State beat Youngstown State
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Brock Jensen threw for four touchdowns and ran for another Saturday to lead No. 1 North Dakota State to its third consecutive Missouri Valley Football Conference title with a 35-17 victory against No. 15 Youngstown State.
All of Jensen's touchdown passes were for less than 15 yards and he picked up his final touchdown on a 1-yard rush. Jensen's career 62 touchdown passes broke the record of career TD passes at NDSU, previously held by Steve Walker with 60. Sam Ojuri ran for 146 yards on 17 carries -- one for a game-high 55 yards -- and John Crockett ran 120 yards on 15 carries for the Bison (10-0, 7-0).
Kurt Hess threw for 53 yards and one touchdown and Tanner threw for 48 yards and one touchdown for Youngstown State (8-3, 5-2), ranked second in the MVFC.
The Bison have not lost on the road since 2010.
First-quarter outburst sends Eastern Illinois to victory
CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Running back Shepard Little ran for 245 yards on 26 carries, scored three touchdowns and threw for another -- all in the first quarter -- as No. 2 Eastern Illinois defeated No. 23 Jacksonville State 52-14 to wrap up the outright Ohio Valley Conference championship Saturday.
The Panthers (10-1, 7-0) claimed their fifth outright title.
Jimmy Garoppolo passed New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton to become EIU's single-season passing leader, reaching 4,012 yards despite a season-low 169 against the Gamecocks (8-3, 4-3). Still, he threw for two touchdowns.
There wasn't much need for a passing game as Little led a rushing attack that rolled up 413 yards. Jimmy Lera added 111 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns.
The game was virtually over after a school-record 35-point first quarter in which Little ran for two scores, caught a TD pass and threw to Garoppolo for another score.
Jacksonville State lost three fumbles.
Kupp continues big season in Eastern Washington's win
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cooper Kupp had eight receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns as No. 3 Eastern Washington defeated Cal Poly 35-22 on Saturday.
Quincy Forte opened the scoring for the Eagles (9-2, 7-0 Big Sky) with a 37-yard touchdown rushing in the second quarter. Vernon Adams then hit Kupp on touchdown passes of 32 and 24 yards.
Adams left the game with a shoulder injury and was relieved by Anthony Vitto, who threw a 54-yard strike to Shaquille Hill on the next series. Mario Brown rushed for a 34-yard score to put the Eagles up by 32.
Cal Poly (5-6, 4-3) added three late touchdowns, with Chris Brown throwing a 25-yard score to Cole Stanford and running for a 5-yard touchdown.
Kupp has accumulated 1,231 yards receiving this season, setting an FCS record by a freshman.
With the win, Eastern Washington is guaranteed at least a share of the Big Sky title.
Southeastern Louisiana knocks off Sam Houston State
HAMMOND, La. -- Bryan Bennett threw for three touchdowns and No. 14 Southeastern Louisiana defeated No. 4 Sam Houston State 34-21 on Saturday to clinch at least a share of its first Southland Conference title.
The Lions (9-2, 6-0) trailed 21-17 at the half but Bennett threw a 62-yard pass to Xavier Roberson and Marquis Hayes rushed 18 yards for touchdowns in the third quarter. Bennett finished with 268 yards on 17 of 28 passing.
The Bearkats (8-3, 4-2), who have won or shared the past two conference championships, came into the game tied for second. They were riding a three-game winning streak but ran into a Lions team that had won seven in a row.
Brian Bell gave the Bearkats the lead in the first half on three touchdown passes but finished with just 135 yards on 9 of 17 passing, including an interception. He rushed for 112 yards on 16 carries.
Maine beats Rhode Island to clinch CAA title
ORONO, Maine -- Marcus Wasilewski threw for 307 yards, completing 22 of 26 attempts, and three touchdowns to lead No. 6 Maine to a 41-0 win against Rhode Island on Saturday.
Rickey Stevens also ran for 125 yards, scoring two touchdowns.
Maine (10-1, 7-0 Colonial Athletic Association) clinched their first CAA title with the victory. With a win against New Hampshire next week Maine will become the only CAA team to finish a season undefeated in conference play.
Wasilewski got the Bears off to a fast start, throwing touchdown passes of 21 yards to Arthur Williams and 52 yards to Damarr Aultman. Maine was ahead 31-0 by halftime.
John Ebeling was Wasilewski's main target as he pulled in seven passes for 85 yards and a touchdown.
Rhode Island (3-9, 2-6) could not slow the Bears as they amassed 501 total yards. Cabririni Goncalves led the Maine defense with eight tackles, including one sack.
West, defense lead Towson past William & Mary
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Terrance West rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 7 Towson past No. 20 William & Mary 15-9 on Saturday.
West ran in from a yard out in the second quarter for a 7-3 lead to complete a 72-yard drive that took more than five minutes. His 3-yard run in the third quarter finished a 71-yard drive for the 15-9 lead that held up for the Tigers (9-2, 5-2 Colonial Athletic Association).
All of the scoring for the Tribe (7-4, 4-3) came on three John Carpenter field goals.
Towson pulled out the win despite being held far below its average of 40.3 points per game against the top scoring defense in the FCS. But the Tigers responded with solid defense of their own led by cornerback Donnell Lewis, who made 10 tackles and had an interception.
The victory was Towson's 10th in a row on the road covering two seasons.
Canada rushes for 189 yards as Montana rollsMISSOULA, Mont. -- Jordan Canada rushed for a career-high 189 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 8 Montana to a 42-6 win against Weber State on Saturday.
The Grizzlies (9-2, 5-2 Big Sky) piled up 461 yards of total offense, with John Nguyen, Marlon Miles and Shay Smithwick-Hann each rushing for a TD. Cam Warren caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Johnson to put Montana on the scoreboard in the first quarter with a lead it would never relinquish.
Johnson suffered a concussion and didn't play in the second half.
Weber State (1-10, 0-7) had three first-half turnovers, including two interceptions from quarterback Austin Chipoletti. The only Wildcat scoring came from kicker Shaun McClain, who hit two field goals for the Wildcats, including a 48-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to cut the Grizzlies lead, 14-6.
Canada responded with an 80-yard TD run to open the third quarter.
Coastal Carolina defeats Presbyterian 46-13
CONWAY, S.C. -- Lorenzo Taliaferro rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns as No. 9 Coastal Carolina easy defeated Presbyterian 46-13 on Saturday.
Coastal Carolina (10-1, 4-1 Big South) rushed for 410 yards. Brian Kass had 68 yards on seven carries and Travis Small had 61 and a score. Matt Hazel caught seven balls for 119 yards and became the school's career receptions leader.
Tobi Antigha scored two touchdowns, including a school-record 87-yard catch, for Presbyterian (3-7, 1-3). It was one of two Heys McMath passing TDs on the day. The Blue Hose were outgained 642-293.
With Charleston Southern's loss, the Chanticleers now hold a share of the Big South championship. It's the second time, in the program's 11 years of existence, that Coastal Carolina has had 10 wins.
Cantu scores twice as Southern Utah tops Montana State
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- QB Aaron Cantu ran for two touchdowns Saturday night to give Southern Utah enough of a lead to hold off a late rally by No. 10 Montana State and win 22-14.
Cantu threw for just 88 yards and only ran for 6, but was able to score two of Southern Utah's three touchdowns, both off a 1-yard rush. Chris Robinson scored the other touchdown for the Thunderbirds (8-3, 5-2 Big Sky) with a 5-yard rush in the final minute before the half.
The Bobcats (7-4, 5-2), who were held to 87 yards rushing, didn't score until the fourth quarter. Chad Newell ran for a 13-yard TD five minutes into the fourth and DeNarius McGhee ran in from the 1 with 2:47 remaining. McGhee finished 20 of 29 for a game-high 196 yards passing, but had only completed 4 of 9 passes for 4 yards by the end of the third quarter.
