North Dakota State beat South Dakota 49-14 in Fargo to clinch at least a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference title for the seven season in a row, while Northern Iowa, Western Illinois and Youngstown State also picked up victories on Saturday.
Regular-season action concludes this week.
• North Dakota State 49, South Dakota 14
FARGO, N.D. – The Bison rolled up 647 yards of offense on only 58 plays and scored the game’s final 28 points to pull away in the Harvest Bowl and clinch at least a share of the MVFC title for the seventh straight season.
Ty Brooks picked up 152 yards and three touchdowns on just nine rushes.
Easton Stick went an incredible 11-of-12 for 307 yards with one score. He added 39 yards and a TD on the ground.
The Coyotes’ Chris Steveler was 30-of-47 for 232 yards and ran for 93 yards with a pair of TDs. He opened the scoring with a 19-yard rush to the end zone 4 minutes into the game.
Brooks scored on an 8-yard run and Bruce Anderson added a 1-yard plunge later in the first. Seth Wilson, who totaled 81 yards, added a 28-yard touchdown rush to put the Bison up 21-7 at the 11:11 mark of the second.
Streveler capped an eight-play, 85-yard drive with an 8-yard TD run 3 minutes later.
It was all NDSU after that.
Brooks scored from 54 yards out in the second quarter and added a 14-yard in the third. Stick tacked on a 7-yard scoring rush late in the third and hit Connor Wentz for an 8-yard TD toss early in the fourth to provide for the final margin.
The Bison were coming off their first loss of the season – a 33-21 setback at South Dakota State the week prior. NDSU hasn’t lost back-to-back games since a five-game losing streak during its 3-8 season in 2009.
Jalen Allison paced the defense with 10 tackles and Jabril Cox added eight. Those two players, Stanley Jones and Derrek Tuszka each tallied a sack.
For USD, which has lost three of its past four games, Phillip Powell made 11 stops.
Total offense: NDSU 58 plays-647 yards (46-340 rushing/11-12-307 passing), USD 85 plays-419 yards (38-187 rushing/30-47-232 passing). Turnovers: NDSU 0, USD 0. Time of possession: NDSU 33:43, USD 26:17.
• Northern Iowa 25, Missouri State 10
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Panthers built a 19-0 lead en route to the win.
Marcus Weymiller, who ran for 129 yards in the game, found the end zone on a 2-yard rush on the first possession.
Sam Drysdale had field goals of 20 and 47 yards in the second quarter.
Elijah Campbell’s 35-yard interception return for a score made it 19-0 at the 4:15 mark of the second.
The Bears’ Jason Randall capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive with a 6-yard scoring rush with 54 seconds left in the half.
Drysdale made it 22-7 with a 37-yard field goal soon thereafter.
MSU’s Zach Drake kicked a 25-yard field goal with 3:04 left in the third, pulling the Bears within 22-10. Drysdale closed out the scoring with a 22-yard boot with 1:49 remaining in the game.
UNI starting quarterback Eli Dunne left the game with an injury at the 5:01 mark of the first quarter. Backup Colton Howell was 12-of-20 for 129 yards.
Jared Farley made 13 tackles and Xavior Williams picked off a pass.
The Bears managed just 215 yards of offense.
Peyton Huslig went 11-of-23 for 151 yards with two INTs. Angelo Garbutt had 17 tackles, including a sack, and Darius Joseph added 10.
Total offense: UNI 72 plays-335 yards (47-185 rushing/16-25-150 passing), MSU 50 plays-215 yards (27-64 rushing/11-23-151 passing). Turnovers: UNI 0, MSU 2 (2 INT). Time of possession: UNI 37:40, MSU 22:20.
• Western Illinois 45, Indiana State 0
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Leathernecks broke a school record with their sixth road win of the season, posted their first shutout since 2010 and handed the Sycamores their 13th consecutive loss.
WIU, which did not have a nonconference home game this year, is 6-1 on the road (including an FBS victory) – the lone loss came in Fargo.
Sean McGuire finished 17-of-25 for 253 yards with four touchdowns.
Sam Crosa, who went 6-of-6 on PAT kicks, converted a career-long 44-yard field goal to open the scoring at the 4:27 mark of the first quarter.
“The field goal was absolutely huge, just to get points at that point (of the game),” coach Charlie Fisher told WIU Sports Information. “That was really extended a little bit beyond his range, and Sam has continued to come up big for us.”
Steve McShane’s two touchdowns – including a special teams score – highlighted the Leathernecks’ 28-point second-quarter outburst.
McGuire had TD tosses of 21 yards to Adam Conrady, 23 yards to Jaelon Acklin and 46 yards to McShane during the big period.
McShane returned a punt 81 yards to paydirt to make it 31-0 at halftime.
McGuire capped his solid performance with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Slamans in the third.
Backup Connor Sampson, who finished 4-for-4, hit Darron Wheeler for a 5-yard TD with 8:40 left in the game to close things out.
Brett Taylor led the WIU defense with nine tackles and a forced fumble. Aaron Diggs and Justin Fitzpatrick both picked off a pass, and Colin Olson recovered a fumble. The Leathernecks tallied five sacks.
Indiana State’s Jonas Griffith had 13 tackles, including a sack. Ardley KeAaris, who forced a fumble, added 12 stops and Katrell Moss 10, including a sack. Rondell Green and Adrian Butler both recovered a fumble.
Cade Sparks was 8-of-17 for 90 yards with two INTs. LeMonte Booker ran 20 times for 51 yards and Jaquan Keys 10 times for 44 yards.
Total offense: WIU 71 plays-409 yards (42-136 rushing/21-29-273 passing), ISU 53 plays-133 yards (36-43 rushing/8-17-90 passing). Turnovers: WIU 2 (2 fumbles), ISU 3 (2 INT/1 fumble). Time of possession: WIU 35:49, ISU 24:11.
• Youngstown State 28, Southern Illinois 20
CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Penguins’ playoff hopes stayed alive, while the Salukis’ were dashed.
Justus Reed scooped up Matt DeSomer’s fumble and returned it 21 yards to paydirt to give the Penguins a 28-20 lead with 1:44 remaining. YSU then forced a turnover on downs to seal the victory.
YSU’s Tevin McCaster ran for 158 yards and a score. Hunter Wells was 11-of-23 for 160 yards with two TDs and an INT.
SIU’s Matt DeSomer picked up 140 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. He went 6-of-19 for 81 yards through the air.
DeSomer’s 58-yard run opened the scoring 4 minutes into the second quarter.
Wells hooked up with Damoun Patterson for TDs covering 48 and 14 yards later in the period.
The Salukis pulled within 14-10 on Nico Gualdoni’s 25-yard field goal midway through the third.
McCaster’s 1-yard plunge made it 21-10 with 1:26 left in the third.
DeSomer scored on a 1-yard run with 1:26 to go in the third and Gualdoni kicked a 29-yard field goal with 9:21 to play in the fourth to cut the deficit to 21-20.
YSU’s Jalyn Powell had nine tackles and Justus Reed both recovered a fumble.
SIU’s Kyron Watson made 11 stops. Craig James picked off a pass. Malik Haynes and Markese Jackson both recovered a fumble.
Total offense: YSU 75 plays-436 yards (48-252 rushing/13-27-184 passing), SIU 62 plays-288 yards (37-173 rushing/7-25-115 passing). Turnovers: YSU 4 (1 INT/3 fumbles), SIU 2 (2 fumbles). Time of possession: YSU 34:17, SIU 25:43.
Notable games
• Central Connecticut State 28, Duquesne 27
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Cameron Nash scored on an 18-yard reception from Jake Dolegala with 2:17 to go and Frankie Palmer’s PAT kick was the difference as the Blue Devils (7-3, 5-0) beat the Dukes (7-3, 4-1) to clinch at least a share of the Northeast Conference title for the fifth time and earn the league’s automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs.
Duquesne drove to the CCSU 1-yard-line after that; however, John Domit, who missed a PAT kick earlier in the game, was wide left on an 18-yard field goal attempt with 2 seconds showing on the clock.
CCSU has won seven consecutive games.
Dolegala finished 21-of-33 for 276 yards with two TDs and also ran for a pair of scores. Cameron Nash picked up 90 yards on the ground.
Duquesne’s Tommy Stuart was 16-of-25 for 232 yards with two TDs. Nehari Crawford piled up 167 yards and both touchdowns on 10 receptions. A.J. Hines ran for 126 yards and a pair of scores.
Dolegale had a 2-yard touchdown run and a 36-yard TD toss to Courtney Rush in the second quarter. Stuart connected with Crawford for a 22-yard score just before halftime to pull the Dukes within 14-7.
Hines’ 7-yard TD rush knotted the score at 14-all at the 4:04 mark of the third.
In the fourth, Stuart and Crawford hooked up again, this time for a 21-yard touchdown, but a missed extra point left the score at 21-20. Hines followed with a 45-yard TD scamper to make it 27-14 with 10:29 to play.
Dolegala got his team within 27-21 via a 16-yard run to the end zone with 5:16 remaining in the game. That capped a seven-play, 93-yard drive.
CCSU (462) and Duquesne (430) combined for 892 yards. The Blue Devils lost three fumbles.
• Drake 45, Campbell 10
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Grant Kraemer went 17-of-20 for 369 yards with three touchdowns as the Bulldogs (7-4, 5-2) routed the Fighting Camels (5-5, 4-3) in a Pioneer League game.
Steven Doran scored twice, picking up 170 yards on four catches. Drew Lauer (79 rushing yards), Brock Reichardt (56) and Tyler Updegraff (51) each had a rushing score.
• No. 24/24 Northern Arizona 37, Montana State 36
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Joe Logan ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns as the Lumberjacks (7-3, 6-1) stayed in contention for a Big Sky Conference title and very likely ended the postseason hopes for the Bobcats (4-6, 4-3).
MSU’s Chris Murray tossed a 21-yard touchdown to Kevin Kassis with 32 seconds showing on the clock. But the Bobcats failed on the two-point conversion attempt.
The Bobcats’ Nick LaSane ran for 184 yards and a TD. Murray finished with two scores and 85 yards.
• No. 19/21 Eastern Washington 21, North Dakota 14
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Running back Sam McPherson threw a 2-yard touchdown to Talolo Limu-Jones and caught a 14-yard pass from quarterback Eric Barriere, and Barriere added a 1-yard TD plunge as the Eagles (6-4, 5-2) beat the Fighting Hawks (3-8, 2-6) in a Big Sky Conference game – the season finale for UND.
EWU scored three consecutive TDs after facing an early 7-0 deficit to move ahead 21-7 at the break.
McPherson ran for 118 yards.
Keeton Studsrud was 22-of-40 for 261 yards with a pick for UND, which was ranked eighth in the preseason FCS poll. He had a 2-yard TD catch from receiver Noah Wanzek to cut the deficit to 21-14 with 4:37 left but the rally came up short.
