FCS Top 25 Roundup – Week 6
(SportsNetwork.com) – Normal, Illinois?
Anything but.
Something extraordinary seems to go on when Illinois State plays inside the friendly confines of Hancock Stadium.
The unbeaten and No. 22 Redbirds made it four straight home wins this season and nine straight over the last two years in throttling No. 9 South Dakota State, 45-10, on Saturday.
In the Missouri Valley Football Conference opener for both teams, Illinois State (4-0, 1-0) had the best running back on the field for one day at least.
Marshaun Coprich carried the ball 24 times for a career-high 174 yards and four touchdowns, including three in the first quarter to make the game one-sided.
South Dakota State All-American Zach Zenner rushed for 139 yards on 25 carries in the loss.
The Redbirds have allowed only 31 points through four games. They forced four turnovers, including three fumbles.
No. 9 South Dakota State fell to 3-2 and 0-1.
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Friday, Oct. 3
No. 16 Fordham (5-1, 2-0 Patriot) 42, Lafayette (2-3, 0-1) 18
Fordham exacted some revenge for its only loss in the regular season last year.
Mike Nebrich (23-for-32, 287 yards) threw for three touchdowns during a 3- minute, 38-second span of the second quarter, and Chase Edmonds rushed for 187 yards and two touchdowns and threw a two-point conversion against the defending Patriot League champions.
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Saturday, Oct. 4
No. 1 North Dakota State (5-0, 1-0 Missouri Valley) 17,
Western Illinois (2-4, 0-2) 10
North Dakota State senior John Crockett was part of a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including a 7-yard run with 3:51 left, to avoid an unlikely upset in its FCS-record 29th straight win. The Bison have won 21 games in a row on the road.
Western Illinois led 10-3 after third quarters before NDSU tied the game on a trick play – Crockett’s 16-yard TD pass to quarterback Carson Wentz’s at the 11:17 mark of the fourth quarter.
Safety Colten Heagle made a career-high 16 tackles and linebacker Carlton Littlejohn had 10 tackles to lead the Bison defense.
J.C. Baker ran for a career-high 175 yards and a touchdown against NDSU’s stout defense.
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No. 2 Eastern Washington (5-1, 2-0 Big Sky) 56, Idaho State (2-3, 1-1) 53
Like North Dakota State, the second-ranked Eagles survived a scare, this one to an Idaho State team that has lost 48 straight road games.
EWU quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 23-of-35 pass attempts for 354 yards and four touchdowns, and rushed for 79 yards and two touchdowns.
Cooper Kupp had eight receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns, while Kendrick Bourne caught six passes for 114 yards and a score.
For Idaho State, Justin Arias threw for 421 yards and six touchdowns.
The two teams combined for 1,231 yards.
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No. 3 Coastal Carolina (5-0) at Furman (2-3), 7 p.m.
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No. 4 New Hampshire (4-1, 1-0 CAA) 48, Elon (1-4, 0-1) 14
Elon’s first-ever CAA Football game was not memorable. Except for New Hampshire, which built a 48-0 lead in the easy win.
Quarterback Andy Vailas threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns, and six different Wildcats found the end zone, including Steve Thames on a 55-yard interception return in the second quarter.
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No. 5 McNeese State (3-1, 1-0 Southland) 45, Nicholls (0-6, 0-2) 3
McNeese State’s rotating quarterbacks did the job again. Daniel Sams rushed for 135 yards and passed for two touchdowns, while Tyler Bolfing threw for 166 yards and a touchdown.
The Cowboys had a 567-257 advantage in offensive yards.
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No. 6 Villanova (4-1, 2-0 CAA) 41, Maine (2-3, 1-1) 20
Villanova junior quarterback John Robertson passed for 285 yards and four touchdowns – all to different receivers – and rushed for 58 yards in another dominating performance.
For defending CAA champion Maine, Dan Collins threw for three touchdowns, including a pair to Arthur Williams.
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No. 7 Montana (4-2, 2-0 Big Sky) 18, North Dakota (2-4, 0-2) 15
Chase Naccarato’s 35-yard field goal to end the game lifted Montana. Shay Smithwick-Hann’s 46-yard pass to Jamaal Jones to the UND 13 two plays earlier set up the winning score.
Smithwick-Hann was in for starting quarterback Jordan Johnson, who was injured on a late hit in the second quarter. The redshirt senior sub had been intercepted by UND’s Chris Brown for a 14-yard touchdown while Montana surrendered a 15-0 lead in the fourth quarter.
UND had a chance to take the lead with 1:03 remaining, but kicker Reid Taubenheim’s 40-yard field goal was blocked by Griz freshman Robert Luke. With UM gaining life, Smithwith-Hann then hit Jones with the long gain.
Travon Van scored both Montana touchdowns, one on a run and one on a reception.
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No. 8 Jacksonville State (4-1, 2-0 OVC) 38, UT Martin (1-5, 0-3)
Jacksonville State’s Eli Jenkins threw two touchdown passes and Miles Jones rushed for 150 yards and a touchdown in the win.
The Gamecocks more than doubled up UT Martin in offensive yards, 498 to 216.
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No. 25 Indiana State (4-1, 1-0 Missouri Valley) 20,
No. 10 Northern Iowa (2-3, 0-1) 19
Indiana State made it four straight wins after slipping past Northern Iowa on wide receiver Chris O’Leary’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Gary Owens with 2:12 remaining to play.
UNI had overcome a 14-0 deficit with 19 unanswered points. Quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen scored the Panthers’ only touchdown on a 5-yard run and Michael Schmadeke kicked four field goals.
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No. 11 Southeastern Louisiana (4-2, 2-0 Southland) 30,
Northwestern State (2-3, 0-1) 22
Southeastern Louisiana built a 30-8 and held on for the win. Isiah Corbett scored on a 44-yard interception return and Ryan Adams kicked three field goals, including a 55-yarder.
Lions quarterback Bryan Bennett was only 10-of-21 for 103 yards and a touchdown, added 47 rushing yards.
Northwestern State quarterback Zach Adkins was intercepted four times.
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No. 12 William & Mary (4-1), Idle
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No. 13 Montana State (3-2, 1-0 Big Sky) at Sacramento State (3-2, 0-1), 9 p.m.
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No. 14 Chattanooga (3-2, 1-0 Southern) 55, VMI (1-5, 0-3) 7
Chattanooga quarterback Jacob Huesman accounted for six touchdowns – four passing and two rushing – to power the Mocs to a third straight win.
Huesman passed for 178 yards and rushed for another 97.
The Mocs held VMI to 165 yards while forcing three turnovers.
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No. 15 Southern Illinois (5-1, 2-0 Missouri Valley) 41,
South Dakota (2-3, 0-1) 10
SIU broke a 10-10 halftime tie with 31 unanswered points in the second half.
Malcolm Agnew rushed for 128 yards and three touchdowns, and tight end MyCole Pruitt had seven receptions for 137 yards and one touchdown in the win.
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No. 17 Bethune-Cookman (4-1, 1-0 MEAC) 27, Delaware State (1-5, 1-1) 7
Bethune-Cookman stopped Delaware State on a combined 15 third- and fourth-down conversion attempts and senior quarterback Quentin Williams passed for two touchdowns.
The Wildcats are 29-4 in MEAC games under fifth-year coach Brian Jenkins.
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No. 18 Youngstown State (4-1, 1-0 Missouri Valley) 14,
Missouri State (3-2, 0-1) 7
Youngstown State held Missouri State to 227 yards, including quarterback Kierra Harris to 9-of-28 passing for just 75 yards. He threw a touchdown but also two interceptions.
Jody Webb scored on an 81-yard run and Dante Nania connected with Andrew Williams for an 8-yard pass.
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No. 19 Eastern Kentucky (4-0, 1-0 OVC) at Austin Peay (0-4, 0-1), 7 p.m.
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No. 20 Richmond (2-2) at Liberty (3-2), 7 p.m.
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Southeast Missouri State (4-2, 2-0 OVC) 28,
No. 21 Tennessee State (4-2, 1-1) 21
The Redhawks continued to rise for a big opponent, beating a nationally ranked team for the second time this season while improving to 2-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Lennies McFerren (115 rushing yards), Kyle Snyder and Lewis Washington all rushed for touchdowns and SEMO gained 226 yards on the ground.
Tennessee State quarterback Michael German was 34-for-59 for 362 yards and two touchdowns, but he was intercepted by the Redbirds’ Eriq Moore in the game’s final minute. Chris Sanders-McCollum had nine receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown.
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James Madison (3-3, 1-2 CAA) 31, No. 23 Albany (4-1, 1-1) 28
James Madison handed Albany its first loss on Ryan Maglio’s 34-yard field goal with four seconds remaining.
It followed Albany running back Omar Osbourne’s game-tying 1-yard touchdown run with 55 seconds to go.
Osbourne rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns.
JMU quarterback Vad Lee totaled 288 yards (177 passing, 111 rushing) and three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing).
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Sacred Heart (4-1) 10, No. 24 Delaware (3-2) 7
Jalen Randolph’s 79-yard touchdown run on the opening play from scrimmage put Delaware ahead 7-0, but the Blue Hens didn’t score again as a CAA team lost to a Northeast Conference opponent for the fourth time this season.
Sacred Heart tied the game on RJ Noel’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Dube in the second quarter and Chris Rogers kicked a 25-yard field goal in the third quarter for a 10-7 lead.
Noel had 284 yards of total offense.
Categorized in: NCAA Football