Big Sky
#10/8 Sacramento State 38, Nicholls State 24
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THIBODAUX, Louisiana (Aug. 31, 2023) — Sacramento State jumped out to an early lead, withstood a surge from Nicholls, and then pulled away for a 38-24 win over the Colonels on Thursday night at Guidry Stadium. With the win, the eighth-ranked Hornets improved to 1-0 on the season and extended their regular season win streak to 20 games and its road win streak against FCS teams to 15 games.
#16/17 UC Davis 48, Texas A&M-Commerce 10
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COMMERCE, Texas (Aug. 31, 2023) — UC Davis used a huge 279-yard showing on the ground, including 109 yards from Lan Larison and five rushing touchdowns to pick up a 48-10 win against Texas A&M-Commerce Thursday night on the road at Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium.
#8/13 Idaho 42, Lamar 17
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BEAUMONT, Texas (Aug. 31, 2023) – Gevani McCoy found Hayden Hatten for a six-yard touchdown pass to cap a 70-yard opening drive. It was the beginning of a dominating 42-17 season-opening win for Idaho Vandals on the road at Lamar.
Abilene Christian 31, Northern Colorado 11
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ABILENE, Texas (Aug. 31, 2023) – Abilene Christian defeated Northern Colorado 31-11 Thursday evening in the season opener for the Bears.
#13/10 Weber State 35, Central Washington 10
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OGDEN, Utah (Aug. 31, 2023) – Weber State began a new season, on a new field, with a new coach Thursday night in the 2023 season opener and the Wildcats responded with a 35-10 win over the Central Washington Wildcats at Stewart Stadium.
#14/14 Montana 35, Butler 20
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MISSOULA, Montana (Sept. 2, 2023) – The Montana Grizzlies jumped out to a 1-0 start to the 2023 season with a 35-20 victory over the Butler Bulldogs on a warm, early September day inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium Saturday.
Oregon 81, Portland State 7
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EUGENE, Oregon (Sept. 2, 2023) – The 15th-ranked Oregon Ducks brought three "Ss" into the opening game of the season against Portland State – size, speed and skill. All three shown brightly as Oregon took down the Vikings, 81-7.
#2/2 North Dakota State 35, Eastern Washington 10
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MINNEAPOLIS (Sept. 2, 2023) — The Eastern Washington Eagles battled all afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, but the #2-ranked North Dakota State Bison pulled away in the second half, downing the Eags, 35-10. Receiver Nolan Ulm scored Eastern's lone touchdown on a 34-yard strike from Kekoa Visperas in the first quarter.
Cal Poly 27, San Diego 10
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SAN LUIS OBISPO, California (Sept. 2, 2023) — The Paul Wulff era of Cal Poly football almost couldn't have started any better as Cal Poly showed dominant performances on both sides of the ball en route to a 27-10 season-opening win Saturday over the University of San Diego at Mustang Memorial Field Presented by Dignity Health French Hospital.
#3/3 Montana State 63, Utah Tech 20
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BOZEMAN, Montana (Sept. 2, 2023) – Freshman running back Scottre Humphrey rushed for 114 yards and three touchdowns and the Montana State defense intercepted three passes as Montana State beat Utah Tech 63-20 in Bobcat Stadium on Saturday.
Arizona 38, #NR/RV Northern Arizona 3
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TUCSON, Arizona (Sept. 2, 2023) – The Northern Arizona University football team took the field for the first time in 2023 this evening at the University of Arizona where it fell 38-3.
San Diego State 36, Idaho State 28
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SAN DIEGO (Sept. 2, 2023) – The Idaho State Bengals kicked off the Cody Hawkins era with a Bang Saturday evening in San Diego, Calif. Taking on the SDSU Aztecs, the scrappy orange and black fought for four quarters and finished the game just one possession shy with a 36-28 loss to the Aztecs.
Big South / OVC
APPALACHIAN STATE 45, GARDNER-WEBB 24 | BOX SCORE
Appalachian State pulled away from #24/25 Gardner-Webb late as the Mountaineers knocked off the Runnin' Bulldogs 45-24 on Saturday, Sept. 2. GWU held a 24-21 third quarter lead before ASU jumped ahead for good. Ty French made history on Appalachian State's second drive of the game, recording a sack on third down to give him 25.0 career sacks. That mark ties Chima Uzowihe (Liberty, 2012-15) for the most career sacks in Big South history.
UNLV 44, BRYANT 14 | BOX SCORE
Bryant dropped its season opener to UNLV, 44-14, on Saturday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Bryant was opening its season with an FBS opponent for the second-straight year. Ryan Clark scored both of Bryant's touchdowns on the afternoon, while Zevi Eckhaus accounted for 319 yards of total offense. Landon Ruggieri posted 11 catches for 109 yards and Robert Crockett III picked off his first pass as a member of the Black and Gold.
AIR FORCE 42, ROBERT MORRIS 7 | BOX SCORE
Air Force ran for 374 yards and held Robert Morris to 43 yards on the ground as the Falcons won 42-7 in the season opener. The Colonials were led in offense by quarterback Anthony Chiccitt who completed 14-18 attempts (78%) for 99 yards in the air. RMU wideout Noah Robinson received for 36 yards while teammate Kimon O'Sullivan rushed for 39. Linebacker Jamar Shegog paced an RMU defensive effort that racked up 68 tackles Saturday, including 32 solo takedowns, by notching a game-high 12 stops. Seven of those takedowns were of the solo variety as Shegog picked up his first double-digit tackle performance since the 2021 campaign.
#1 GEORGIA 48, UT MARTIN 7 | BOX SCORE
UT Martin battled throughout the evening against two-time defending Football Bowl Subdivision champion Georgia before falling 48-7 in front of a sellout crowd of 92,746 fans at Sanford Stadium. The Skyhawk defense showed out in the first quarter, limiting the No. 1 ranked Bulldogs to seven points on just 59 total yards over three drives – including a pair of three-and-outs. Georgia scored 10 points in the second quarter to take a 17-0 halftime advantage. Following 21 unanswered Bulldog points, UT Martin got on the scoreboard with a touchdown with 6:39 remaining in the fourth quarter before Georgia registered 10 points over the final 2:09 to close out the contest.
#13 NOTRE DAME 56, TENNESSEE STATE 3 | BOX SCORE
After Notre Dame jumped out to a 7-0 lead, Tennessee State responded with 2:44 left in the first quarter to narrow the margin to 7-3 on a James Lowery 38-yard field goal. TSU would not score again in the game and Notre Dame tacked on 49 more points to finish off the scoring. Deveon Bryant led all TSU rushers with 29 yards in the contest, picking up 4.8 yards per carry. Jalen Rouse also added 28 yards on the ground. Da'Shon Davis hauled in one catch for 22 yards. Sammy Taylor showed finished with one fumble recovery.
#16 KANSAS STATE 45, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0 | BOX SCORE
FBS No. 16 Kansas State used a 28-point second quarter to power by FCS No. 11 Southeast Missouri, 45-0, Saturday night in the season-opener for both teams. K-State's defense held SEMO, the Ohio Valley Conference's top rushing team a year ago, to only six yards on the ground. Ryan Flournoy, who is on the Reese's Senior Bowl Watch List, caught 10 passes for 96 yards and Damoriea Vick followed with seven receptions for 52 yards. Paxton DeLaurent threw for 213 yards on 24-of-36 passes and SEMO did not turn the ball over in the game. Defensively, Christian Fuhrman and Joedrick Lewis paced the Redhawks with seven tackles each.
Coastal Athletic Conference
William & Mary 34, Campbell 24
Box Score
Bronson Yoder ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 4 William & Mary past Campbell, 34-24, in the Camels’ debut in the CAA. The Tribe finished with 270 yards rushing and 452 yards overall. Quarterback Darius Wilson threw for 182 yards and two TD’s and added 57 yards on the ground.
Campbell got a strong performance from quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams, who was 22-of-26 passing for 226 yards and a TD. CJ Tillman registered 19 tackles for the Camels defensively.
Both teams were clicking on all cylinders offensively in the first half. Campbell took a quick 7-0 lead as Lamagea McDowell capped a 13-play, 78-yard opening drive with a 1-yard run. W&M responded with a 13-play drive of its own that ended with a 7-yard scoring toss from Wilson to DreSean Kendrick. A muffed punt by the Camels set up Yoder’s first score of the night, but Campbell answered with a 14-yard TD pass from Williams to VJ Wilkins to tie the game at 14-14. A 2-yard TD run by Yoder with 2:59 left until half and a 37-yard Caden Bonoffski field goal put the Tribe up 24-14 at the break.
The teams traded field goals in the second half before W&M sealed the win on a 27-yard pass from Wilson to Martin Lucas with 8:11 left that made it 34-17.
Delaware 37, Stony Brook 13
Box Score
Delaware piled up 559 yards of total offense and pulled away for a 37-13 triumph at Stony Brook. Quarterback Ryan O’Connor passed for 346 yards and a TD for the No. 21 Blue Hens and Marcus Yarns ran for 107 yards and 2 TD’s on just 11 carries.
Delaware led by just seven late in the first half before Yarns scored from five yards out to make it 17-3 at intermission. A 53-yard TD burst by Yarns early in the third quarter extended the Hens’ advantage, but Stony Brook closed within 24-13 after three quarters following a Roland Dempster 1-yard scoring run and a 25-yard Spencer Biscoe field goal. Delaware regained the momentum with two TD’s in a 1:25 span as Kyron Cumby scored from 13 yards out and Ty Davis had a 50-yard pick six.
Tyron Herring had eight tackles and an interception for Delaware defensively, while Nick Chimienti picked off a pair of passes for the Seawolves.
Georgia State 42, Rhode Island 35
Box Score
Quarterback Kasim Hill passed for a career-high 408 yards and four touchdowns, and also ran for a score as Rhode Island suffered a narrow 42-35 setback at Georgia State.
The Rams fell behind 21-7 early in the second quarter, but a 15-yard TD pass from Hill to Gabe Sloat trimmed the deficit to seven at halftime. URI struck quickly in the third quarter as Hill connected on a 63-yard game-tying strike to Darius Savedge and then hit Marquis Buchanan with a 28-yard TD pass to go ahead 28-21 with 8:02 left in the period.
GSU responded with 21 unanswered points, but Hill connected on a 73-yard pass to Buchanan and then scored on a 5-yard run to cut the gap to seven with 6:27 to play.
Buchanan finished with two catches for 101 yards and Kahtero Summers had seven grabs for 99 yards.
Wake Forest 37, Elon 17
Box Score
Elon turned in a strong second-half effort but fell 37-17 at ACC foe Wake Forest.
The Phoenix was down 27-0 early in the third quarter when Jalen Hampton broke loose for a 49-yard touchdown run. Elon trimmed the deficit to 27-14 after a 50-yard pick six by Caleb Curtain with 4:24 left in the third quarter but could get no closer.
Hampton finished with 89 yards rushing on only 15 carries and Jordan Bonner made seven catches for 58 yards. Nick Veloz and Bo Sanders each made nine stops for the Elon defense.
UAB 35, North Carolina A&T 6
Box Score
North Carolina A&T gave UAB a battle early before dropping a 35-6 decision. The Aggies fell behind 7-0 midway through the first quarter but got a 37-yard field goal from Owen Daffer to make it 7-3. The Blazers responded with 21 unanswered points before Daffer added a 33-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
A&T rushed for 147 yards in the game with Wesley Graves picking up a team-high 58 yards on 16 carries and Kenji Christian adding 45 yards on 8 attempts. BJ Turner had a big night defensively with 14 tackles and 2.5 TFL’s.
Hampton 35, Grambling State 31
Box Score
Quarterback Christopher Zellous accounted for 269 yards of offense and four touchdowns as Hampton edged Grambling State, 35-31, in the Brick City Classic in Harrison, N.J. Zellous was 14-of-21 passing for 155 yards and 2 TD’s and added a team-high 114 yards and 2 TD’s rushing on 15 attempts.
The Pirates took a 7-6 lead midway through the first quarter on a 40-yard TD run by Darran Butts, who finished with 103 yards on 14 carries. Zellous fired TD passes of 41 yards to TK Paisant and 16 yards to Evan King to take a 21-9 halftime advantage. Grambling twice pulled within one score in the second half, but Zellous answered both times, reaching the end zone on a 22-yard run in the third quarter and following with an 11-yard TD run with 3:08 to go that made it 35-25. Qwahsin Townsel recorded a team-high 12 tackles for the Pirates defense.
Villanova 38, Lehigh 10
Box Score
Villanova sprinted out to a 31-3 halftime lead and cruised to a 38-10 triumph at Lehigh. The Wildcats piled up 412 yards of offense, with 284 coming on the ground, while their defense forced three turnovers that turned into points.
Jalen Jackson rushed for a team-high 144 yards and two TD’s on just eight carries, while DeeWil Barlee added 102 yards and a TD on 11 attempts. Jackson is the first VU player since 1947 to run for at least 140 yards on eight or fewer carries. Connor Watkins threw for 119 yards and a pair of scores.
Jackson’s 1-yard TD run put VU up 7-0 late in the first quarter. After forcing a Lehigh fumble, Watkins hit Rayjoun Pringle with a 28-yard scoring strike just two minutes later. A Ty Trinh interception late in the second quarter set up a 7-yard TD catch by Pringle and the Wildcats took a commanding 31-3 halftime advantage when Jackson scored from 46 yards out following a Tyrell Mims interception.
New Hampshire 51, Stonehill 17
Box Score
Quarterback Max Brosmer passed for 284 yards and a career-high five touchdowns as New Hampshire rolled over Stonehill. The five TD tosses went to five different receivers. All-American Dylan Laube contributed touchdowns on a punt return, reception and rush, all of which came in the first quarter.
After going up 7-0 on a Colby Ramshaw scoring catch, Laube tallied three TD’s in less than eight minutes. The senior returned a punt 58 yards for a score, caught a 23-yard TD pass and found the end zone on an 11-yard run that made it 27-0. Brosmer followed with a 69-yard strike to Heron Maurisseau early in the second quarter to put the contest away. The UNH special teams recovered a muffed punt and blocked two kicks.
Maryland 38, Towson 6
Box Score
Towson dropped a 38-6 decision at Big Ten foe Maryland. The Tigers fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter but held the Terps to 17 points the rest of the way.
Making his first career start, Towson quarterback Nathan Kent passed for 128 yards and picked up 41 yards on the ground. Devin Matthews ran for a team-high 48 yards and D’Kendall James caught four passes for 49 yards. Trailing 21-0, the Tigers put together a nine-play, 57-yard drive that was capped by a 36-yard Keegan Vaughan field goal. Vaughan tacked on a 38-yard field goal late in the third quarter after a 16-play Towson drive. Linebacker Mason Woods topped Towson defensively with eight tackles.
Marshall 21, UAlbany 17
Box Score
UAlbany led Marshall for more than three quarters, but was edged 21-17. The Great Danes’ defense posted a shutout in the first half and took a 3-0 lead into intermission on a 46-yard field goal by John Opalko. UAlbany extended its advantage to 10 midway through the third quarter on a 19-yard TD pass from Reese Poffenbarger to Jackson Parker.
The Thundering Herd cut the gap to three, but Poffenbarger broke loose for a 54-yard scoring run on 4th-and-1 to put UAlbany up 17-7 with 3:31 left in third period. Marshall responded with a pair of TD’s to go up by four with 12:53 remaining. The Great Danes drove to the Herd 38-yard line in the final minute, but was unable to score. Poffenbarger finished with 194 yards passing and 37 yards rushing. Dylan Kelly had 12 tackles for the Great Danes’ defense.
FIU 14, Maine 12
Box Score
Maine turned in a stellar effort defensively but was beaten 14-12 at FIU. The Black Bears limited the Panthers to 14 first downs and 20 yards rushing.
Maine trailed 7-0 early, but field goals of 48 and 28 yards from Cody Williams closed the deficit to 7-6. Down by eight in the third quarter, the Black Bears got a 5-yard TD run from Tristen Kenan but were unable to convert the two-point conversion. Maine got a big fourth-down stop and drove to the FIU 38-yard line in the waning minutes, but was unable to score. Quarterback Derek Robertson passed for 209 yards, while Kenan ran for 108 yards on 24 carries, which was the most for a Maine freshman since 2018.
Morgan State 17, Richmond 10
Box Score
Richmond was hurt by four turnovers and suffered a 17-10 setback to Morgan State. The Spiders got off to a fast start, as quarterback Kyle Wickersham scored on a 1-yard sneak to cap a 12-play, 75-yard season-opening drive. After the Bears pulled even in the first period, the two defenses took over.
After Richmond’s Marlem Louis recorded a sack and forced a fumble, the Spiders went up 10-7 on a 28-yard field goal by Andrew Lopez late in the third quarter. The Bears tied the game at 10-10 and then took advantage of a UR fumble to score the game-winning touchdown with 6:24 to play. Wickersham finished with 169 yards passing and 39 rushing. All-America linebacker Tristan Wheeler recorded a team-best 17 tackles and 3.0 TFL’s for the Spiders’ defense, which held MSU to 213 total yards.
FAU 42, Monmouth 20
Box Score
Marquez McCray passed for 249 yards and two touchdowns in his Monmouth debut, but the Hawks were beaten 42-20 at FAU. Monmouth fell behind 14-0, but cut the deficit in half on a 2-yard TD run by Sone Ntoh late in the first quarter. The Owls pushed their lead to 28-7 before McCray hit Asante Kearney with a 27-yard scoring strike just before halftime.
FAU tacked on 14 more points in the third quarter to take control. Dre Tucker caught a 16-yard TD pass from McCray with 7:19 remaining. Jaden Shirden ran for a team-high 66 yards on 24 carries and Dymere Miller had 10 catches for 78 yards. Defensively, Ryan Moran made 13 tackles for the Hawks.
MEAC
Morgan State 17, No. 16/18 Richmond 10
RICHMOND, Va. -- Morgan State ran for 114 yards and the defense accounted for four turnovers Saturday evening, as the Bears defeated No. 16/18 Richmond 17-10 at Robins Stadium in the season opener for both teams.
The win, Morgan's first ever over the Bears, marked Richmond's first home-opening defeat since 2005.
Jabriel Johnson's 10-yard run with 6:24 left in the contest gave the Bears a 17-10 lead; the score came immediately after Erick Hunter sacked Richmond quarterback Kyle Wickersham, forcing a fumble that Noah Washington recovered.
The Spiders threatened late, but the Bears forced a punt and recovered the loose ball after the kick was muffed.
Box Score | Recap
No. 19/19 North Carolina Central 47, Winston-Salem State 21
DURHAM, N.C. -- With 9,330 people in attendance, No. 19/19 North Carolina Central put up 448 yards on 60 attempts and scored six touchdowns in the home-opening 47-21 victory against Winston-Salem State Saturday evening inside O'Kelly-Riddick Stadium.
The reigning HBCU national champions had a lead of 37-0 at the half. During the first half, punt returner Brandon Codrington returned a punt of 81 yards for a touchdown, resulting in the fourth-longest punt return in Eagles history.
NCCU senior quarterback Davius Richard, the reigning MEAC Offensive Player of the Year, completed 15 of 22 passes for 236 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 42 yards on five attempts for a touchdown, totaling four total scores.
Box Score | Recap
Bowie State 22, Delaware State 11
DOVER, Del. -- Quarterback Marqui Adams connected with wide receiver Khyheem Waleed for one touchdown late in the fourth quarter, adding to Nathan Wilson's 31-yard field goal, but it was not enough for Delaware State on Saturday afternoon, as Bowie State defeated the Hornets 22-11.
Adams, who started in the second half for the Hornets, completed eight of 16 passes for 99 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked once.
The Hornets finished with 21 total rushing yards out of 115.
Box Score | Recap
Virginia State 33, Norfolk State 24
NORFOLK, Va. -- Norfolk State had two opportunities in the final minutes to upend Virginia State in the annual Labor Day Classic on Saturday afternoon. However, both opportunities fell just short as the Trojans escaped with a 33-24 victory at William "Dick" Price Stadium.
The Spartans burned their final two timeouts and with six seconds remaining, VSU called a timeout. Instead of punting the football, the Trojans elected to try to run out of the clock as Bailey was stopped short of the first down marker with 1 second left, turning the ball back over to the Spartans with an opportunity to potentially tie the game.
But just when it appeared the game was headed to overtime, the snap of the field goal attempt was high as Dante Clark picked up the loose ball and sprinted 77 yards into the end zone as time expired.
Box Score | Recap
Charlotte 24, South Carolina State 3
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- South Carolina State was held to 168 yards of total offense Saturday evening at Jerry Richardson Stadium, as Charlotte defeated the Bulldogs 24-3.
S.C. State fell to 0-2 on the season.
The Bulldogs' lone score of the game came with 13:53 left in the second quarter, when Gavyn Zimmerman capped a 6-play, 3-yard drive with a 42-yard field goal. The drive came after S.C. State picked off the 49ers on the previous possession.
Box Score | Recap
Eastern Michigan 33, Howard 23 (Friday)
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- Howard University spotted Eastern Michigan a 30-9 halftime lead and then rallied to make it a one-possession game before falling, 33-23, in a non-conference showdown at Rynearson Stadium Friday evening.
Quarterback Quinton Williams threw two touchdown passes, ging 16-for-33 in the air for 194 yards. Running back Eden James added 96 rushing yards on nine carries, and Jamarr Ebron caught two passes for 79 yards -- including a 69-yard score in the second quarter.
