Jackrabbits beat Bison, retain Dakota Marker

Sean Welsh, The Brookings Register
Posted 11/5/17

BROOKINGS – The Dakota Marker is staying in town.

Taryn Christion had another solid game and the Jackrabbit defense came up with five takeaways as No. 10/8 South Dakota State handed second-ranked North Dakota State its first loss of the season, 33-21, during Missouri Valley Football Conference action Saturday afternoon.

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Jackrabbits beat Bison, retain Dakota Marker

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BROOKINGS – The Dakota Marker is staying in town.

Taryn Christion had another solid game and the Jackrabbit defense came up with five takeaways as No. 10/8 South Dakota State handed second-ranked North Dakota State its first loss of the season, 33-21, during Missouri Valley Football Conference action Saturday afternoon.

The reigning MVFC co-champs played in front of a record crowd of 18,130 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

“I’m really proud of our football team,” said SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier, whose squad possessed the ball for more than 35 minutes and held a 473-337 advantage in total yards of offense. “There has been a lot of talk about what we said in the preseason and what other people said and a couple losses and stuff; and, I’ll tell you what, there’s one population I care more about than anybody and that’s the guys in the locker room.

“I thought they came this week to play; they did a great job in preparation. We beat a very good football team. North Dakota State deserves their rank, deserves all the things they’ve accomplished; and I’m proud of our team for having won the football game.”

SDSU put together an 11-play, 86-yard drive in the fourth quarter to take control.

Christion hit Jake Wieneke on a slant route for a 14-yard gain on fourth-and 4 from the NDSU 33-yard-line. It was the first fourth-down conversion allowed on nine attempts for the Bison defense.

Christion faked a run on the next play, before going over the top to Dallas Goedert, who tipped the ball to himself at the goal line and then secured it for a 19-yard touchdown.

That made it 33-21 with 7:06 remaining.

“That was huge, that was huge,” Stiegelmeier said of the drive, which lasted nearly 7 minutes. “I can’t remember all the plays, but I think we mixed in some run in that. We couldn’t run the ball in the first half; our guys made some adjustments. You have to do that – you have to be able to run and pass the ball. I think that result and Goedert’s circus catch so, yeah, huge series.”

Christion was 3-of-4 for 44 yards and added a 6-yard rush during the series. Isaac Wallace picked up 26 yards on the ground and Brady Mengarelli added 15.

SDSU’s Marshon Harris forced NDSU receiver Darrius Shepherd to fumble on the Bison’s ensuing possession, and Jackrabbit Mason Leiseth fell on the loose ball at the SDSU 23.

Zy Mosley picked off NDSU quarterback Easton Stick with 1:58 to go, and the Jackrabbits knelt out the clock after that.

Christion was 23-of-33 for 329 yards with two TDs and ran for 25 yards with another score.

“Taryn did a great job of competing,” said Stiegelmeier “You measure yourself against your competition and, again, North Dakota State’s defense and their players, the way they’re coached – it’s a good football team. So, yeah, he rose up and had a great game.

“I thought he did a great job of buying more time with his feet; that was the biggest thing he did today when things weren’t there. And our receivers did a good job of adjusting.”

The Bison entered the game plus-14 in turnover margin. They were minus-4 Saturday.

“Obviously, we didn’t play very well today,” said North Dakota State coach Chris Klieman. “Give South Dakota State credit; they did some really good things that affected us and they had a good game plan. I told the guys, I don’t question our effort; our effort’s as good as there is in college football. We didn’t execute today. We had some opportunities where we couldn’t get off the field on defense; and, obviously, when you have the turnover bug and you turn it over especially in short fields with that good of an offense, bad things are going to happen. We will not point a finger at anybody – offense, defense. We were not very good executing on offense; we were not very good executing on defense; and we had too many penalties in special teams.

“So I’m not going to get into ‘do we have to do this or that with the offense and defense?’ It’s one game. It’s a big game because it’s the Marker game, but by no means is our season all of a sudden in jeopardy. All of our goals, everything we have is in front of us and we have a great group of seniors.”

Christion capped a seven-play, 75-yard drive with a 14-yard TD toss to Jacob Brown on the game’s opening possession.

The Bison got on the board via Stick’s 4-yard pass to Connor Wentz with 50 seconds left in the first.

The Jackrabbits moved the ball to the NDSU 4 midway through the second, before getting a 21-yard field goal from Chase Vinatieri.

Jordan Brown had the game’s first takeaway, intercepting Stick at the SDSU 40-yard-line.

Christion and Goedert hooked up for pickups of 22 and 25 yards on the next two plays. Christion eventually scored on a 1-yard run to make it 17-7 12 seconds before halftime.

NDSU quickly cut it to a one-score game after the break, with Stick finding Ty Brooks for a 24-yard touchdown a little more than 3 minutes into the period.

SDSU was stuffed on fourth-and-1 at the Bison 33 on its next possession, but the Jackrabbit defense countered with another takeaway.

Kellen Soulek hit Stick, forcing a fumble, and Alex Romensko scooped up the ball and returned it 6 yards to the Bison 30.

Christion picked up 12 yards on the ground and 13 through the air on a completion to Marquise Lewis.

On second down, Mikey Daniel bulled his way into the end zone from 5 yards out to again make it a 10-point game – 24-14 – with 5:45 left in the third.

It marked the ninth touchdown this season – and 10th of his career – for Daniel, a sophomore and former Bobcat.

Later, Makiah Slade stepped in front of a Stick pass and returned the interception 23 yards to the NDSU 35, which set up Vinatieri’s 41-yard field goal. That put SDSU ahead 27-14 with 1:47 to play in the third.

Vinatieri went 3-for-3 on PAT kicks and 2-for-2 on field goals on the day.

The Jackrabbits had a shot to break things open in the fourth, forcing a Bison punt; however, Adam Anderson fumbled after signaling for a fair catch and Jaylaan Wimbush recovered to give the ball to the visitors at the SDSU 14.

Two plays later, Stick maneuvered his way into the end zone from 11 yards out to cut the deficit to 27-21 with 13:56 to play.

Goedert finished with 116 yards and the TD on seven receptions. Brown had five catches covering 59 yards.

Mengarelli ran for 64 yards.

Christian Rozeboom made six tackles and Anthony Wahsington five. Austin Smenda and Ryan Earith both recorded a sack.

For NDSU, Stick was 16-of-28 for 229 yards with two TDs and three INTs, and ran for 28 yards and a score with one fumble lost. Brooks ran six times for 49 yards. Shepherd had 95 yards on seven grabs.

North Dakota State (8-1, 5-1) plays host to South Dakota on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in the Fargodome.

South Dakota State (6-2, 4-2) closes out its regular-season home slate taking on Illinois State on Saturday at 2 p.m. for Military Appreciation Day.

The Jackrabbits have outscored their opponents a combined 147-75 during a three-game winning streak.

“We’re going to enjoy this one for about half a day and then go to work (Sunday) morning,” Stiegelmeier noted. “Right now, our offense has had three amazing games in a row. Our defense rose up today, so we’re going to come to work Monday – our players will – with a lot of confidence.”

Jake Wieneke had two catches for 59 yards against the Bison.

He pushed his career total to 4,730 receiving yards and passed the legendary Jerry Rice (4,693 yards from 1981-84 at Mississippi Valley State) for third place in FCS history.

In all NCAA divisions – FBS, FCS, II and III – Wieneke moved from 15th to 10th in career receiving yards.

Notes (from SDSU Sports Information):  The Bison hold an 8-6 advantage in Dakota Marker games. … SDSU’s 33 points are the most it has scored in a Dakota Marker game. … Goedert established a new mark for career receiving yards by an MVFC tight end as he finished the day with 2,693, surpassing the previous mark of 2,577 yards by Southern Illinois’ MyCole Pruitt from 2011-14. … Goedert moved into fourth place in career receptions at SDSU with 174, passing Jeff Tiefenthaler (173 receptions from 1983-86).

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 33,

NORTH DAKOTA STATE 21

NDSU (8-1, 5-1) 7    0    7  7  –  21

SDSU (7-2, 4-2) 7  10  10  6  –  33

First Quarter

SDSU – Jacob Brown 14 pass from Taryn Christion (Chase Vinatieri kick), 11:16

NDSU – Connor Wentz 4 pass from Easton Stick (Cam Pedersen kick), :50

Second Quarter

SDSU – Vinatieri 21 FG, 7:52

SDSU – Christion 1 run (Vinatieri kick), :12

Third Quarter

NDSU – Ty Brooks 24 pass from Stick (Pedersen kick), 11:53

SDSU – Mikey Daniel 5 run (Vinatieri kick), 5:45

SDSU – Vinatieri 41 FG, 1:47

Fourth Quarter

NDSU – Stick 11 run (Pedersen kick), 13:56

SDSU – Dallas Goedert 19 pass from Christion (run failed), 7:06

NDSU SDSU

First Downs 18 23

Plays-Yards 55-337 69-473

Rushes-Yards 27-108 36-144

C-A-Int.-Yards 16-28-3-229 23-33-0-329

Fumbles-Lost 2-2 1-1

Penalties-Yards 6-48 7-58

Punts-Avg.-I20-TB 4-43-1-1 4-33.5-3-0

Kickoffs-Avg.-TB 4-62.2-2 7-63.7-2

Punt Returns-Yards-TD 0-0-0 1-(-1)-0

Kickoff Returns-Yards-TD 5-118-0 2-33-0

Interception Returns-Yards-TD 0-0-0 3-23-0

Fumble Returns-Yards-TD 0-0-0 1-6-0

Miscellaneous Yards 0 0

Possession Time 24:56 35:04

Third-down Conversions 5-of-10 3-of-12

Fourth-down Conversions 0-of-0 1-of-2

Red Zone Chances-TD-FG 2-2-0 5-4-1

Sacks By-Yards 2-8 3-19

Field Goals 0-for-0 2-for-2

RUSHING: NDSU – Ty Brooks 6-49, Bruce Anderson 8-30, Easton Stic 10-28, Seth Wilson 3-1. SDSU – Brady Mengarelli 13-64, Isaac Wallace 6-34, Taryn Christion 11-25, Mikey Daniel 3-24, TEAM 3-(-3).

PASSING: NDSU – Easton Stick 16-28-3-229. SDSU – Taryn Christion 23-33-0-329.

RECEIVING: NDSU – Darrius Shepherd 7-95, Connor Wentz 3-29, Seth Wilson 2-25, Ty Brooks 1-24, RJ Urzendowski 1-23, Desmond Cain 1-19, Dallas Freeman 1-14. SDSU – Dallas Goedert 7-116, Jacob Brown 5-59, Cade Johnson 4-18, Marquise Lewis 3-56, Jake Wieneke 2-59, Skyler Cavanaugh 1-15, Brady Mengarelli 1-6.

DEFENSE: NDSU – Tre Dempsey 8 tackles; Robbie Grimsley 7 tackles, sack; Levi Jordheim 7 tackles; Caleb Butler sack; Jaylaan Wimbush FR. SDSU – Christian Rozeboom 6 tackles; Anthony Washington 5 tackles, 2 PBU; Austin Smenda 4 tackles, sack; Logan Backhaus 4 tackles; Dalton Cox 4 tackles; Ryan Earith sack; Zy Mosley INT; Jordan Brown INT; Makiah Slade INT; Alex Romenesko FR; Mason Leiseth FR; Kellen Soulek .5 sack, FF; Marshon Harris FF; Spencer Hildahl .5 sack.

   A – 18,130.

Missouri Valley Football Conference

MVFC Overall

STATS/Coaches W-L PF/PA W-L PF/PA Streak

2/2 North Dakota State 5-1 192/94 8-1 360/114 L1

6/6 South Dakota 4-2 217/138 7-2 374/170 L1

10/8 South Dakota State 4-2 221/146 7-2 354/196 W3

12/13 Illinois State 4-2 151/116 6-3 256/166 L1

Northern Iowa 4-2 158/146 5-4 248/250 W1

15/18 Western Illinois 3-3 187/187 6-3 318/231 W1

Southern Illinois 2-3 118/146 4-4 239/210 L1

Youngstown State 2-4 151/143 4-5 261/180 W1

Missouri State 2-4 175/231 3-6 246/358 W2

Indiana State 0-6 87/302 0-9 155/408 L12

Notes: As in 2016, the following matchups will not take place in 2017: SDSU-InSU, NDSU-SIU, UNI-IlSU, WIU-YSU and USD-MSU. … UNI (30th/28th) and YSU (31st/32nd) are receiving votes in both polls. … The MVFC went 20-10 in nonconference games, including an 18-5 mark versus FCS schools and a 2-5 record against FBS teams. The Valley won the inaugural Big Sky-MVFC Challenge Series 5-3.

   *MVFC game

WEEK 10 – Saturday, Nov. 4

*South Dakota State 33, North Dakota State 21

*Northern Iowa 34, South Dakota 29

*Western Illinois 31, Illinois State 14

*Youngstown State 66, Indiana State 24

*Missouri State 36, Southern Illinois 28

Notable games

No. 25/25 Kennesaw State 16, Montana State 14

Liberty 27, Duquesne 24

San Diego 45, Drake 15

No. 17/23 Southern Utah 47, North Dakota 21

WEEK 11 – Saturday, Nov. 11

*Western Illinois at Indiana State, Terre Haute, Ind., noon

*Youngstown State at Southern Illinois, Carbondale, Ill., 1 p.m.

*Illinois State at South Dakota State, Brookings, 2 p.m. [Military Appreciation Day]

*Northern Iowa at Missouri State, Springfield, Mo., 2 p.m.

*South Dakota at North Dakota State, Fargo, N.D., 2:30 p.m.

Notable games

Central Connecticut State (6-3, 4-0 Northeast) at Duquesne (7-2, 4-0 Northeast; RV), Pittsburgh, Pa., 11 a.m.

Drake (5-4, 4-2 Pioneer) at Campbell (6-4, 5-2 Pioneer), Buies Creek, N.C., noon

No. 11/11 Eastern Washington (5-4, 4-2 Big Sky) at North Dakota (3-7, 2-5 Big Sky), Grand Forks, N.D., 1 p.m.

Montana State (4-5, 4-2 Big Sky; RV) at No. 18/16 Northern Arizona (6-3, 5-1 Big Sky), Flagstaff, Ariz., 6 p.m.

 Northern Iowa 34, South Dakota 29

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Panthers scored 21 consecutive points and forced four turnovers – the same number of giveaways the Coyotes had for the entire season entering the game – in the come-from-behind victory.

Eli Dunne finished 14-of-24 for 228 yards with a pair of touchdown tosses to Isaiah Weston. Briley Moore had five catches covering 100 yards. Marcus Weymiller ran for 69 yards and a TD.

Dunne and Weston hooked up for a 4-yard score to pull Northern Iowa within 23-20 at the 3:56 mark of the third quarter.

South Dakota’s Chris Streveler threw an interception in the end zone – Xavior Williams had the pick – on second-and-goal from the 4-yard-line early in the fourth. The Coyote defense forced a punt; however, Bryce Douglas forced Kai Henry to fumble, and Jared Farley recovered the ball and returned it 21 yards to the USD 11.

Two plays later, Weymiller found paydirt on an 8-yard run as UNI grabbed a 27-23 advantage with 3:02 remaining in the game.

Keelon Brookins’ 29-yard pick-six all but sealed the win with 2:23 showing on the clock.

Streveler found Dakarai Allen for a 1-yard TD toss with 11 seconds left to provide for the final margin. Weymiller recovered the on-side kick attempt to end it.

Duncan Ferch led the Panthers with 13 tackles and Farley added 10. Elijah Campbell forced two fumbles.

Streveler went 34-of-51 for 401 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of INTs.

Shamar Jackson picked up 92 yards on eight receptions. Josh Hale added six catches for 151 yards with a TD.

Phillip Powell had eight tackles. Nathan Schultz posted half of the team’s four sacks.

Streveler and Hale hooked up for a 16-yard score 3 minutes into the game. UNI’s Sam Drysdale kicked a 37-yard field goal late in the first. Campbell forced Henry to fumble and Ricky Neal recovered to set UNI up with a short field.

USD’s Ryan Weese (32 yards) sandwiched field goals of 32 and 24 yards around Drysdale’s 45-yard boot, leaving the score at 13-6 with 6:13 left in the second.

Dunne found Weston for a 59-yard score soon thereafter to knot things up. Weese’s 33-yard field goal put the visitors on top 16-13 at halftime.

Brett Samson had an 11-yard TD run 2:23 into the third to push the margin to 23-13.

Total offense: UNI 59 plays-283 yards (35-55 rushing/14-24-228 passing), USD 87 plays-490 yards (36-89 rushing/34-51-401 passing). Turnovers: UNI 0, USD 4 (2 INT, 2 fumbles). Time of possession: UNI 28:48, USD 31:12.

 Western Illinois 31, Illinois State 14

NORMAL, Ill. – The Leathernecks outscored the Redbirds 31-0 in the second half to overcome a 14-0 halftime deficit in the 100th meeting between the in-state rivals.

Sean McGuire went 19-of-30 for 288 yards with two TDs and an INT.

Clint Ratkovich scored twice.

Steve McShane ran for 67 yards and a TD. Jaelon Acklin had 94 yards on five receptions.

Aaron Diggs, who intercepted a pass, Justin Fitzpatrick and Mike Viti each tallied eight tackles to pace the Western Illinois defense. Riggs Baxter and Zach Gilsan both recovered a fumble.

Brandon Gaston caught a 35-yard TD toss from McGuire to cut the deficit in half just 78 seconds into the third quarter.

Ratkovich’s 1-yard plunge capped an 11-play, 89-yard drive and pulled the Leathernecks even at 14-all.

Crosa gave WIU its first lead – 17-14 – with a 28-yard field goal to end the third. The Leathernecks extended the advantage to 24-14 on Ratkovich’s 27-yard scoring pass from McGuire less than 2 minutes later.

McShane found the end zone from a yard out with 9:56 showing on the clock to provide for the final margin.

Illinois State’s Jake Kolbe was 19-of-34 for 223 yards with two TDs and an INT.

Christian Gibbs racked up 113 yards on five catches while scoring once. James Robinson ran for 73 yards.

Tyree Horton had nine stops and DraShane Glass picked off a pass.

Kolbe had touchdown tosses of 65 yards to Gibbs in the first quarter and 4 yards to Tylor Petkovich in the second to help the Redbirds build the 14-0 lead.

Total offense: WIU 62 plays-406 yards (32-118 rushing/19-30-288 passing), IlSU 69 plays-311 yards (35-88 rushing/19-34-223 passing). Turnovers: WIU 1 (1 INT), IlSU 3 (2 fumble/1 INT). Time of possession: WIU 31:37, IlSU 28:15.

 Youngstown State 66, Indiana State 24

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Ricky Davis went 10-of-12 for 349 yards with four touchdowns, and ran for 98 yards and two more scores to lead the Penguins past the Sycamores.

Youngstown State was up 28-7 after a quarter and 38-24 at halftime.

Samuel St. Surin had TD catches of 64 and 61 yards, both of which came in the third quarter and pushed the margin to 52-24. Jermiah Braswell added a 39-yard touchdown grab and Alvin Bailey a 23-yarder.

Joe Alessi picked up 86 yards on the ground, scoring on runs of 5 and 67 yards. Tevin McCaster added 71 rushing yards, including a 1-yard touchdown.

Davis’ scoring scampers covered 57 yards and 1 yard.

Zack Kennedy was 9-of-9 on PAT kicks and booted a 19-yard field goal.

The Penguins’ Lee Wright and Armand Dellovade both came up with eight tackles. DJ Smalls, Jalyn Powell and Avery Larkin each intercepted a pass.

Indiana State’s LeMonte Booker ran 19 times for 167 yards and a touchdown. Cade Sparks finished 12-of-22 for 224 yards with a TD and two INTs. Jacq McClendon finished with 101 yards and a score on six catches. Jaquon Keys added a rushing touchdown.

Brento Lockett had 14 tackles and Jonas Griffith 11.

Total offense: YSU 67 plays-638 yards (55-289 rushing/10-12-349 passing), InSU 63 plays-442 yards (33-177 rushing/14-30-265 passing). Turnovers: YSU 0, InSU 3 (3 INT). Time of possession: 33:25, InSU 26:35.

 Missouri State 36, Southern Illinois 28

CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Bears opened up a 24-7 advantage after a quarter and held off the Salukis down the stretch.

Missouri State’s Peyton Huslig ended up 15-of-29 for 265 yards with a pair of touchdown tosses.

Jason Randall ran 16 times for 139 yards and a TD.

Malik Earl totaled 119 yards and a score on four receptions.

Erik Furmanek scored twice.

Darius Joseph, who had an interception, Angelo Garbutt and Kam Carter each notched 12 tackles. Kurran Blamey forced and recovered a fumble.

Southern Illinois’ Tanner Hearn was 13-of-22 for 180 yards with three TDs and an INT. D.J. Davis tallied nine catches for 130 yards and a score. Matt DeSomer logged 74 yards on the ground.

Airan Reed, Cody Crider and Kyron Watson, who came up with a sack, tallied nine tackles apiece.

SIU opened the scoring on Walter Cameron’s 6-yard run 2 minutes into the game.

MSU scored the next 24 points, all of which came in the opening period.

Randall found the end zone on a 10-yard run, Zack Drake kicked a 22-yard field goal, Erik Furmanek got to paydirt from 8 yards out and Huslig hooked up with Earl for a 57-yard score to make it 24-7.

Hearn sandwiched TD tosses of 6 yards to Connor Iwema and 29 yards to Darrell James around Drake’s 35-yard field goal as the score stood at 27-21 through three. MSU led 27-14 at halftime.

Davis got free for a 47-yard scoring reception from Hearn with 12:08 remaining to give the Salukis a 28-27 edge.

Furmanek’s second score – a 26-yard catch from Huslig – put the Bears on top for good at 33-28 with 8:16 showing on the clock. Drake’s 31-yard field goal with 56 seconds left rounded out the scoring.

Total offense: MSU 70 plays-443 yards (40-178 rushing/15-30-265 passing), SIU 80 plays-496 yards (46-239 rushing/22-34-257 passing). Turnovers: MSU 0, SIU 2 (1 INT/1 fumble). Time of possession: 27:46, SIU 32:14.

 No. 25/25 Kennesaw State 16, Montana State 14

BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Owls (8-1, 3-0 Big South) ran for 346 yards and Justin Thompson booted a 37-yard field goal – his third of the game – with 1:55 to go during a nonconference defeat of the Bobcats (4-5, 4-2 Big Sky).

Chandler Burks ran 34 times for 149 yards and Jake McKenzie 20 times for 116 yards.

Burks scored on a 2-yard run in the first, but MSU quarterback Chris Murray countered with a 7-yard TD rush later in the quarter.

Thompson converted a 35-yard field goal late in the second to make it 10-7. Murray threw a 37-yard TD toss to Mitch Herbert at the 11:10 mark of the third to put the Bobcats up 14-10.

Thompson’s 40-yard field goal 2 1/2 minutes later pulled the Owls within 14-13.

Murray was 5-of-18 for 110 yards with a TD and an INT while running for 92 yards and a score.

 Liberty 27, Duquesne 24

LYNCHBERG, Va. – The Flames (5-4, 1-2 Big South) scored the game’s final 20 points to beat the Dukes (7-2, 4-0 Northeast Conference), ending their seven-game winning streak despite a big-time effort from A.J. Hines.

Duquesne faces Central Connecticut State (6-3, 4-0) in a big Northeast Conference matchup in Pittsburgh, Pa. next week, as the winner earns the league’s automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs.

The Dukes were minus-4 (0-4) in turnover differential on Saturday.

Liberty’s Carrington Mosley ran for 151 yards and two TDs. Stephen Calvert was 23-of-46 for 211 yards with a TD through the air.

Trailing 24-7, Alex Probert kicked a 42-yard field goal just before half. Calvert tossed a 16-yard touchdown to B.J. Farrow in the third and Probert added a 43-yard boot in the fourth. Mosley’s 1-yard plunge with 4:14 left was the difference.

Hines picked up 253 yards on 25 carries – a 10.1 average – and scored on rushes of 79 and 49 yards in the opening half. Tommy Stuart was 13-of-23 for 139 yards with a TD pass to Chavas Rawlins and a pair of picks.

 San Diego 45, Drake 15

SAN DIEGO – Anthony Lawrence was 27-of-36 for 326 yards with four touchdowns and Emilio Martinez ran for 99 yards and a score as the league-leading Toreros (7-2, 6-0) took down the Bulldogs (5-4, 4-2) in a Pioneer game. Tied at 7s after 15 minutes, San Diego led 17-7 at halftime and 24-7 through three, before grabbing a 31-7 advantage early in the fourth. Drake’s Grant Kraemer finished 15-of-28 for 224 yards with a TD and an INT. Steven Doran had 141 yards and a TD on seven catches.

 No. 17/23 Southern Utah 47, North Dakota 21

CEDAR CITY, Utah – Jay Green ran for three touchdowns, Patrick    Tyler threw for 310 yards and two TD tosses to Alex Croyle, and the Thunderbirds (7-2, 5-1) did not commit a turnover while forcing four in the Big Sky Conference rout of the Fighting Hawks (3-7, 2-5). UND’s Keaton Studsrud finished 19-of-25 for 230 yards with two TDs and two INTs. John Santiago ran for 115 yards and a score. Noah Wanzek scored twice and picked up 107 yards on eight catches.