BIG SKY
FARMINGTON, Utah (Nov. 5, 2023) — No. 4 Montana took down No. 7 Sacramento State 34-7 at home on Saturday, as the Griz picked up their second Top-10 win of the season and made history in the process. Below is a recap of Week 10 action around Big Sky football.
The Griz victory was Bobby Hauck's 124th while coaching at Montana, moving him past former Northern Arizona head coach Jerome Souers, as Hauck becomes the Big Sky Conference's all-time wins leader for football.
Montana scored 34 unanswered points in its 34-7 win over Sacramento State on Saturday night, with the victory also snapping a three-game losing skid to the Hornets that stretched back to 2019.
The biggest play of the night came in the fourth quarter, with the Griz backed up at their own three-yard line and leading just 21-7. That's when Montana quarterback Clifton McDowell delivered a deep ball from his own endzone to Keelan White, who raced 97 yards down the sideline for the momentum-shifting score.
Montana State and Idaho also picked up wins on Saturday, as the two kept pace with Montana's 5-1 conference record and have a three-way tie for first place in the Big Sky with only two games remaining in the regular season.
Montana State downed Northern Arizona 45-21 at home, while Idaho picked up a 27-13 win at Northern Colorado.
Elsewhere in the Big Sky, UC Davis kept its dream alive for a seven-win season, as the Aggies topped Portland State at home, 37-23.
The Aggies were paced by running back Lan Larison, who rushed for 136 yards and three touchdowns in his second game back from injury.
Weber State and Eastern Washington got back into the win column as well on Saturday, as the Wildcats defeated Idaho State 33-21 on the road and the Eagles won 48-13 over Cal Poly at home.
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Big Sky Football Week 10 Scores
Saturday, Nov. 4
FCS Rankings: Stats Perform
#6 Montana State 45, Northern Arizona 21
Read Full Montana State Recap
#3 Idaho 27, Northern Colorado 13
Read Full Idaho Recap
Eastern Washington 48, Cal Poly 13
Read Full EWU Recap
Weber State 33, Idaho State 21
Read Full Weber State Recap
#RV UC Davis 37, Portland State 23
Read Full UC Davis Recap
#4 Montana 34, #7 Sacramento State 7
Read Full Montana Recap
BIG SOUTH / OVC
It was the first full day of Conference play this season with all 10 teams in action. Charleston Southern, Eastern Illinois, Gardner-Webb, Robert Morris and UT Martin picked up wins. There are now three teams with just one loss in Conference play with two weeks to play in the regular season.
ROBERT MORRIS 21, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 20 | BOX SCORE
The RMU football team picked up its first conference victory of the season, downing Southeast Missouri State 21-20 on Saturday afternoon. The Colonials improved to 3-6 overall, with a 1-3 mark in Big South-OVC play. In the 3rd quarter, SEMO took a 20-14 lead with just over eight minutes to go. The following RMU drive started at their own 22-yard line as the offense marched 78 yards on 13 plays resulting in a Colonials touchdown that put them ahead for good. RMU quarterback Anthony Chiccitt threw for 65 yards on the game-winning drive, including the scoring play which was a four-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chaese Jackson.
GARDNER-WEBB 45, BRYANT 44 (OT) | BOX SCORE
Gardner-Webb stormed back in the fourth quarter to knock off Bryant 45-44 in overtime. Bryant took possession first in overtime, and Eckhaus fired an eight-yard pass to Konor Lathrop to give Bryant a 44-38 lead. The Bulldogs elected to go for two, and McRainey knocked down the pass to keep it a six-point game. On the first play of Gardner-Webb's possession, Jayden Brown rushed up the middle 21 yards to get the Runnin' Bulldogs down to the three-yard line. English found AJ Johnson in the endzone to tie the game, and Billingsley's extra point gave Gardner-Webb the 45-44 victory.
#18 UT MARTIN 44, TENNESSEE TECH 41 | BOX SCORE
Trailing by 14 points with under nine minutes to play in regulation, the University of Tennessee at Martin football squad rallied for a 44-41 overtime triumph at Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee Tech today. The UT Martin defense shut down a potential game-winning Golden Eagles drive to send the game into overtime. The Skyhawks won the coin toss and elected to play defense first, only yielding a 47-yard field goal. Roberts, who hung tough for a nine-yard catch up the middle on 3rd-and-6 earlier in overtime, came through with another clutch play. Facing 3rd-and-7 from the Tennessee Tech 9-yard line, the junior from Perry, Fla. made another acrobatic snag – hauling in a tipped pass from a Golden Eagle defender while reaching behind him on his way down to the ground for his second score of the day.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 16, LINDENWOOD 10 | BOX SCORE
Eastern Illinois defense had three interceptions including one by NiJhay Burt with five seconds left in the game as the Panthers locked up their first winning season since the 2017 season with a 16-10 win at Lindenwood. Pierce Holley passed for 245 yards with Thomas, Mirza and DeAirious Smith all catching five passes for EIU as the Panthers are now 6-3 overall, 2-2 in the Big South-OVC.
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 35, TENNESSEE STATE 21 | BOX SCORE
Charleston Southern scored the final 14 points to knock off Tennessee State on Saturday. TJ Ruff scored a pair of touchdowns including a 25-yarder with 2:16 to play to ice the game.
CAA
There is a five-team tie atop the CAA Football standings with two weeks remaining after a wild Week 10. Elon knocked off #5 Delaware, while Villanova, Hampton and Towson also got wins on the road. UAlbany defeated William & Mary in a Top 25 battle and Monmouth rolled with a big offensive performance.
Elon 33, Delaware 27
Box Score
Quarterback Matthew Downing passed for 352 yards and three touchdowns as Elon (5-4, 5-1 CAA) knocked off 5th-ranked Delaware (7-2, 5-1 CAA), ending the Blue Hens’ six-game winning streak. Chandler Brayboy made three receptions for 121 yards and a TD and Johncarlos Miller II added five catches for 101 yards and a TD for the Phoenix, while their defense came up with three turnovers. Freshman Jack Berkowitz added four field goals for Elon.
Delaware led 7-3 early on a 39-yard Joshua Youngblood scoring reception, but Downing connected on TD passes of 65 yards to Brayboy, 70 yards to Miller and 29 yards to Jordan Bonner to take a 27-13 advantage early in the third quarter. Field goals of 37 and 44 yards from Berkowitz put Elon ahead by 13 in the fourth quarter, but the Blue Hens pulled within 33-27 on Ryan O’Connor’s 4-yard scoring run with 3:27 left. Delaware forced a 3-and-out and drove to the Elon 16-yard line, but a fumble recovered by Elon’s Marco Patierno sealed the victory. O’Connor passed for 315 yards, with Youngblood making seven catches for 121 yards. Caleb Curtain had nine stops for the Elon defense and Jackson Taylor made 13 tackles and 2.0 TFL’s for the Blue Hens.
Villanova 45, New Hampshire 33
Box Score
Villanova quarterback Connor Watkins threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more, including a 69-yard scoring strike to Rayjoun Pringle with 9:53 to play as the Wildcats (7-2, 5-1) battled past New Hampshire (4-5, 2-4 CAA), 45-33. In a back-and-forth contest, VU took a 24-20 lead into halftime after a 6-yard TD run by Jalen Jackson, who finished with a season-high 145 yards and 2 TD’s on 19 carries. UNH went back on top, 27-24, as D.J. Linkins caught a 6-yard TD pass on the opening drive of the second half. However, Villanova responded with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns on an 18-yard catch by TD Ayo-Durojaiye and a 6-yard run by Watkins. Dylan Laube’s 2-yard scoring run pulled UNH within 38-33 with 10:43 remaining before Pringle’s big play.
Villanova’s defense forced four turnovers in the game, including three interceptions. Ty Trinh had a team-best 13 tackles and Brendan Bell added 12 stops, a forced fumble and an interception. Laube had a huge day for UNH offensively, running for 132 yards and 2 TD’s, making 10 catches for 75 yards and returning three kickoffs for 103 yards.
UAlbany 24, William & Mary 8
Box Score
UAlbany (7-3, 5-1 CAA) turned in a dominant defensive performance, recording six sacks, scoring on a pick six and pitching a shutout until the final four minutes as the 23rd-ranked Great Danes defeated 24th-ranked William & Mary (5-4, 3-3 CAA), 24-8. Dylan Kelly tallied 13 tackles, AJ Simon had 2.5 sacks and Aamir Hall returned an interception 45 yards for a score to lead the effort.
UAlbany needed just 48 seconds to jump on top as Brevin Easton caught a 37-yard TD pass from Reese Poffenbarger. Hall’s pick six late in the second quarter made it 17-0 at the half. The Great Danes added a 15-yard scoring run from Griffin Woodell in the fourth quarter before W&M got on the board on a 20-yard Darius Wilson scramble with 3:28 on the clock. Poffenbarger threw for 205 yards and a TD, while Woodell ran for 100 yards on 18 carries. For the Tribe, Wilson passed for 171 yards, with Hollis Mathis making five catches for 78 yards. Kevin Jarrell had a team-high nine tackles.
Towson 42, North Carolina A&T 32
Box Score
Devin Matthews ran for 98 yards and three touchdowns as Towson (4-5, 3-3 CAA) registered its fourth road win of the season, beating North Carolina A&T (1-8, 0-6 CAA), 42-32. Matthews found the end zone on runs of 2 and 1 yard in the first quarter and the Tigers never trailed after that. A&T pulled within 28-23 on a 10-yard scoring pass from Eli Brickhandler to Darren Bennett early in the fourth quarter, but the Tigers got an 18-yard TD catch by Daniel Thompson IV and a 2-yard run from Matthews to go back up 42-26 with four minutes on the clock.
Towson quarterback Nathan Kent threw for 263 yards and 2 TD’s, with Lukkas Londono making six receptions for 126 yards. Brickhandler came off the bench to pass for 181 yards and a TD, while Kenji Christian rushed for 140 yards and 3 TD’s on 22 carries. Dorian Davis made 11 stops for the Tigers’ defense and Ty Williams had nine tackles for the Aggies.
Monmouth 56, Stony Brook 17
Box Score
Monmouth (4-5, 3-3 CAA) scored touchdowns on five of its first six possessions to build a 35-3 halftime advantage and posted a 56-17 triumph over Stony Brook (0-9, 0-7 CAA). Hawks’ quarterback Marquez McCray was 22-of-27 passing for 323 yards and four touchdowns, with Dymere Miller (11 rec., 150 yds., 1 TD) and Assanti Kearney (5 rec., 124 yds., 1 TD) both going over the century mark. Jaden Shirden added 171 yards and 2 TD’s on the ground as the Hawks piled up 588 yards of offense.
Shirden had scoring runs of 17 and 81 yards to get things started for MU and McCray followed with TD passes of 8 and 14 yards in the final three minutes of the second quarter to go up big at the half. He capped his day with a 46-yard TD pass to Kearney. For Stony Brook, Roland Dempster rushed for a season-high 141 yards on 22 carries, including a 16-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter. Jake Brown made 10 stops for the Hawks’ defense, while Anthony Williams recorded two sacks for the Seawolves.
Hampton 42, Maine 35
Box Score
Hampton (5-4, 3-3 CAA) scored the final 21 points of the game and rallied past Maine (2-8, 1-6 CAA). Elijah Burris rushed for a career-high 173 yards and four touchdowns for the Pirates, including game-tying and game-winning 7-yard scoring runs in the final nine minutes. He also had an 80-yard TD burst.
Maine got another big game from quarterback Derek Robertson, who passed for 349 yards and five touchdowns. He had scoring passes of 49 yards to Jamie Lamson and 1 yard to Cooper Heisey to put the Black Bears ahead 28-14 and added a 9-yard TD toss to Rohan Jones to make it 35-21 midway through the third quarter. The Pirates started their comeback with a 40-yard TD catch by Romon Copeland before Burris tied it with 8:51 left. HU’s Mason King forced a fumble at the Maine 38 with 5:49 left and the Pirates took the lead on a Burris run with 1:48 to go. Lamson finished with eight catches for 180 yards. DeAndre Faulk recorded 11 tackles for the Hampton defense.
North Carolina 59, Campbell 7
Box Score
Hajj-Malik Williams threw for 185 yards and a touchdown and added another 51 yards on the ground, but Campbell (4-5) was beaten 59-7 at North Carolina. Trailing 7-0, Williams hit Chaney Fitzgerald with a 19-yard TD pass to tie the game late in the first quarter. However, the Tar Heels build a 28-7 advantage at halftime and pulled away in the second half.
Ezeriah Anderson made nine receptions for 102 yards and Fitzgerald had six catches for 43 yards. Linebacker C.J. Tillman had a big day defensively with 14 tackles and a sack.
IVY
PRINCETON, N.J. – No. 19 Harvard stands alone atop the standings following Week 8 of the Ivy League football season.
The Crimson hold an Ivy record of 4-1 following its win over Columbia. The race for the Ivy title is still very tight with two weeks remaining as Dartmouth, Penn, Princeton and Yale are just one game behind at 3-2.
FRIDAY, NOV. 3
DARTMOUTH 23, PRINCETON 21
7 p.m. // Hanover, N.H. // Memorial Stadium
- Dartmouth (4-4, 3-2 Ivy) topped Princeton (4-4, 3-2 Ivy) in back-and-forth affair, 23-21. There were four lead changes in the contest.
- Dartmouth Kicker Owen Zalc was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts, including the game-winning 47-yarder with 1:28 remaining. Defensive back Sean Williams had a career game on defense and special teams. He opened the scoring with a 26-yard pick six. He later recovered a blocked field goal attempt which set up the game-winning score. Williams averaged 10 yards per punt return and his lone kickoff return went 38 yards.
- Princeton receiver Luke Colella hauled in five receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Liam Johnson led the team with 11 tackles, including one for a loss.
SATURDAY, NOV. 4
YALE 36, BROWN 17
12 p.m. // Providence, R.I. // Richard Gouse Field at Brown Stadium
- Yale (5-3, 3-2 Ivy) defeated Brown (4-4, 2-3 Ivy) by a score of 36-17.
- Yale receiver Mason Tipton had seven catches for 123 yards and three touchdowns. The Akron, Ohio, native is now up to 10 touchdown receptions this season, which tied for 20th all-time in Ivy League history. Linebacker Joseph Vaughn led the team in tackles with eight
- Brown quarterback Jake Willcox threw for 245 yards on 20-for-38 passing. Defensive back Isaiah Reed recorded his fourth interception of the season with a 35-yard pick six.
HARVARD 38, COLUMBIA 24
12:30 p.m. // New York, N.Y. // Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium
- Harvard (7-1, 4-1 Ivy) bested Columbia (2-6, 0-5 Ivy), 38-24, to earn its 900th win in program history. The Crimson is the 10th program in all of college football to reach the 900-win mark.
- Harvard quarterback Jaden Craig threw for 264 yards on just 13 completions. Defensive back Kaleb Moody had a pair of interceptions and blocked punt which he returned 10 yards for a touchdown.
- Columbia’s Joey Giorgi rushed for 92 yards and touchdown on 19 attempts. Receiver Edan Stagg reeled in eight receptions for 82 yards.
PENN 23, CORNELL 8
1 p.m. // Philadelphia, Pa. // Franklin Field
- Penn (6-2, 3-2 Ivy) beat Cornell (3-5, 2-3 Ivy) by a score of 23-8.
- Penn running back Malachi Hosley rushed for 261 yards and a pair of scores on 21 attempts. His 261 yards is tied for the 16th most all-time in a single game by an Ivy. His rushing touchdowns were 68 and 96 yards, respectively. Defensive Back Lawson Nash led the team with 11 tackles.
- Cornell quarterback Jameson Wang threw for 325 yards and a touchdown on 34-for-52 passing, marking the second time in the last three games he has surpassed the 300-yard passing mark. Linebacker Noah Taylor led the Big Red with 10 tackles.
MEAC
NORFOLK, Va. - An exciting weekend of MEAC football wrapped up today with the Eagles of No. 9 North Carolina Central emerged as the only undefeated team in the conference standings at 3-0. Three teams, Howard, Morgan State, and South Carolina State are all tied for second at 2-1.
Morgan State 24, Delaware State 17
The Bears picked up their second win in a row after defeating the Hornets 24-17. Morgan State scored the only 10 points in the first half, with all 10 coming in the first quarter. After the teams came out of halftime, MSU scored another touchdown to go up 17-0 before DSU scored back-to-back touchdowns pulling within three points, 17-14. Morgan State added another touchdown and held Delaware State to a field goal to claim the win 24-17.
The Hornets recorded 317 total yards of offense while the Bears put together 274 total yards but scored three touchdowns to outscore the Hornets who scored twice.
BOX SCORE | RECAP
North Carolina Central 38, Norfolk State 24
The No. 9 Eagles managed to remain undefeated in MEAC action after beating the Spartans 38-24. NCCU came out in the first half taking a 28-10 lead, scoring two touchdowns in both the first and second quarters. Norfolk State fought back to pull within four points, 28-24, after scoring two touchdowns in the third quarter. North Carolina Central shut down Norfolk State in the fourth quarter while putting up 10 more points to claim the 38-24 victory.
The Spartans put together more yardage than the Eagles with 372 total yards while NCCU put up 320 total yards. NSU threw for 236 yards and three total touchdowns, while NCCU ran for 169 and five total touchdowns.
BOX SCORE | RECAP
South Carolina State 27, Howard 24
The Bulldogs held the Bison to their lowest total offensive yardage of the season at 245 yards. SCSU freshman Jawarn Howell rushed for 283 yards and three TDs as S.C. State amassed 438 yards on the ground. Saturday’s win was extra special as it was Head Coach Buddy Pough’s last homecoming as the
With the win over the Bison, the Bulldogs now sit in a three-way tie for second in the MEAC football standings.
BOX SCORE | RECAP
MVFC
Saturday, November 4, 2023Football