FCS Top 25 Roundup – Week 8
(SportsNetwork.com) – If Villanova quarterback John Robertson gets tired of winning CAA Football offensive player of the week, there’s another award that might be out there for him.
Robertson, already a four-time winner of top CAA honors, was at it again on Saturday, totaling four more total touchdowns, including a 13-yard pass to Kevin Gulyas with 52 seconds left to play to lift the No. 5 Wildcats past No. 15 William & Mary, 35-31, in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Villanova (6-1, 4-0) took a half-game lead over third-ranked New Hampshire (5-1, 3-0) in the CAA. William & Mary fell to 4-3 and 1-2.
Eastern Washington quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. had been the favorite for the Walter Payton Award which honors the outstanding player in the FCS, but he has been sidelined since suffering a broken right foot on Oct. 4, and Robertson seemingly has taken over the frontrunner’s position.
Against William & Mary, the redshirt junior completed 20-of-32 pass attempts for 267 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 63 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries.
On the winning drive, Villanova was without a timeout yet went 69 yards on seven plays in only 59 seconds.
“This was a hard-fought CAA Football game and I am really proud of our team,” Wildcats coach Andy Talley said. “We hung in there and kept battling against a very good football team on the road. John Robertson’s performance on the final drive was sensational and showed why he is an elite player.”
This season, Robertson, the 2012 Jerry Rice Award winner as the FCS freshman of the year, has thrown for 22 touchdowns against only one intercepion, with three more rushing scores. He is averaging 306.4 total yards per game.
William & Mary quarterback Steve Cluley threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns. Two of the scores went to Tre McBride (11 receptions for 209 yards; 359 all-purpose yards) and the third one was a 3-yarder to Andrew Cashin with 10:23 remaining in the fourth quarter, which gave the Tribe a 31-28 lead.
The Tribe outgained Villanova in yards, 518-444, but committed two turnovers.
Villanova junior linebacker Don Cherry collected a game-high 16 tackles with a sack and a forced fumble.
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The Sports Network FCS Top 25
All Times ET
No. 1 North Dakota State (7-0, 3-0 Missouri Valley) 34,
No. 22 Indiana State (4-3, 1-2) 17
North Dakota State stretched its FCS-record winning streak to 31 games, beating the team which last beat the Bison on Oct. 13, 2012.
Carson Wentz threw a pair of touchdowns to Zach Vraa (nine receptions, 119 yards), and John Crockett rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.
The Bison held the ball for 41 minutes, 12 seconds, and limited the Sycamores to 96 yards in the first three quarters. Defensive end Kyle Emanuel had 3.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two quarterback hurries.
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No. 2 Eastern Washington (7-1, 4-0) 26, Northern Colorado (2-5, 1-3) 18
Eastern Washington quarterback Jordan West threw for a touchdown and Conner Richardson did the same on a fake field goal, while Jalel Moore rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown.
The Eagles, who are 24-2 in their last 26 Big Sky games, including 14 wins in a row, recorded seven sacks.
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No. 3 New Hampshire (5-1), Idle
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No. 4 Coastal Carolina (7-0), Idle
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No. 6 Jacksonville State (5-1), Idle
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No. 7 Montana (5-2, 3-0 Big Sky) 42, UC Davis (1-6, 0-4) 28
Montana’s Jordan Canada carried the ball 15 times for 151 yards as well as three second-half touchdowns.
Quarterback Jordan Johnson returned from an ankle injury to go 18-for-27 for 280 yards and two touchdowns, adding another score on the ground. Jamaal Jones caught five passes for 146 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown to open the scoring in the first quarter.
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No. 8 Southeastern Louisiana (6-2, 4-0 Southland) 41,
Central Arkansas (4-4, 3-1) 24
In a first-place battle in the Southland Conference, Southeastern Louisiana quarterback Bryant Bennett rushed for 131 yards and three touchdowns, including a 75-yarder. He also threw for 170 yards.
Denzel Thompson had two of the Lions’ three interceptions. They also forced a fumble.
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No. 9 Montana State (6-2, 4-0 Big Sky) 23, Weber State (0-7, 0-3) 13
Shawn Johnson rushed for 153 yards, including a 63-yard touchdown, lifting Montana State.
Chad Newell and Gunnar Brekke also rushed for touchdowns in the win.
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No. 10 Illinois State (6-0, 3-0 Missouri Valley) 37,
Western Illinois (3-4, 1-2) 34
A week after Illinois State’s Nick Aussieker kicked a game-winning 34-yard field goal with three seconds left against Indiana State, he booted a 34- yarder with no time remaining to top Western Illinois and keep the Redbirds unbeaten.
Illinois State quarterback Tre Roberson passed for 256 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown.
WIU’s Lance Lenoir Jr. caught 12 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns.
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No. 11 McNeese State (4-2, 2-1 Southland) 31,
Abilene Christian (4-4, 2-2) 20
McNeese State quarterback Daniel Sams threw for 184 yards and three touchdowns, and had over 100 rushing yards for the third straight game with 112 yards.
Derrick Milton also rushed for 107 yards with a touchdown.
The Cowboys outgained Abilene Christian in yards, 507-351, limiting the Wildcats to a combined 2-of-16 on third- and fourth-down conversion attempts.
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No. 12 Fordham (6-1), Idle
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Tennessee Tech (3-4, 2-2 OVC) 39, No. 13 Eastern Kentucky (6-1, 3-1) 31
Ahead 30-10, Eastern Kentucky surrendered 29 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to lose for the first time.
Tennessee Tech quarterback Darian Stone threw all three of his touchdown passes and Ladarius Vanlier (140 yards) broke off a 63-yard scoring run in Tech’s big rally.
EKU turned the ball over seven times in the loss, with Tech safety Marty Jones picking off four passes.
Colonels running back Dy’Shawn Mobley had 163 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.
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No. 21 Youngstown State (5-2, 2-1 Missouri Valley) 26,
No. 14 Southern Illinois (5-3, 2-2) 14
Youngstown State quarterback Hunter Wells was 21-for-28 for 269 yards and one touchdown with one interception.
Martin Ruiz rushed for 109 yards, and Jody Webb had 88 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
SIU’s Tay Willis and MyCole Pruitt both caught touchdown receptions.
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No. 16 Bethune-Cookman (6-1, 3-0 MEAC) 48, Savannah State (0-7, 0-4) 20
Bethune-Cookman’s Larry Brihm started at quarterback and was dominant, going 13-for-19 for 222 yards and three touchdowns, and rushing for 33 yards and a score.
The Wildcats forced five turnovers, with Thomas Finnie picking off two passes.
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No. 17 Chattanooga (4-3, 3-0 Southern) 34, The Citadel (2-5, 0-2) 14
Chattanooga quarterback Jacob Huesman had 247 total yards and three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing), and the Mocs raced to a 31-0 halftime lead.
The Mocs racked up 315 rushing yards. Derrick Craine rushed for 137 yards, Keon Williams had 89 yards with a touchdown, and Huesman added 84 yards on the ground.
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No. 18 South Dakota State (5-2, 2-1 Missouri Valley) 31,
No. 20 Northern Iowa (3-4, 1-2) 28
South Dakota State’s Justin Syrovatka kicked a 44-yard field goal with 1:47 left, breaking a 28-28 tie.
Zach Zenner carried the ball 29 times for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Dallas Brown had a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown.
UNI’s David Johnson scored a pair of touchdowns and had 121 yards from scrimmage. Ray Mitchell returned an interception 58 yards for a touchdown.
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No. 19 Richmond (5-2, 2-1 CAA) 37, Rhode Island (0-7, 0-3) 0
Richmond forced six turnovers, including five interceptions. Safety David Jones picked off two passes, returning one 34 yards for a touchdown, and had a fumble recovery.
Michael Rocco made his first start as Richmond’s starting quarterback, going 17-for-31 for 162 yards and one touchdown.
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Presbyterian (4-3, 1-1 Big South) 7, No. 23 Charleston Southern (5-2, 0-1) 3
Presbyterian’s Demarcus Rouse capped the game’s opening drive with a 48-yard touchdown run, and the Blue Hose made it stand against Charleston Southern.
The Buccaneers managed only 97 passing yards and 250 total yards. Their only points came on David Kennedy’s 27-yard field goal in the second quarter.
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Northwestern State (4-3, 2-1 Southland) 31,
No. 24 Sam Houston State (3-4, 2-1) 27
Sam Houston State’s Keyshawn Hill rushed for 198 yards and three touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough for the Bearkats one week after they defeated McNeese State.
Northwestern State quarterback Zach Adkins passed for 296 yards and four touchdowns, overcoming three interceptions.
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No. 25 Harvard (5-0) 24, Lafayette (3-4) 14
Harvard built a 24-0 third-quarter lead en route to its ninth straight win since last season.
Scott Hosch threw touchdown passes to Andrew Fischer (six receptions, 107 yards) and Ben Braunecker, while Paul Stanton Jr. had 102 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Lafayette’s Ross Scheuerman rushed for 105 yards on 20 carries and caught eight passes for 125 yards and a touchdown.
Categorized in: NCAA Football