Big Sky
FARMINGTON, Utah (Sept. 10, 2023) — Weber State won a ranked showdown at Northern Iowa, while Idaho picked up the Big Sky's seventh win over an FBS foe since 2021 to highlight Week 2 action in Big Sky football.
One of the biggest wins for the Big Sky in Week 2 came in Cedar Falls, Iowa after Mickey Mental's Wildcats won a 34-17 decision on the road. Weber State's defense forced six turnovers and racked up nearly 400 yards of total offense in the Top 25 win,
highlighted by Damon Bankston's 144 yards on the ground and three scores.
Idaho picked up the other big win for the league, as the Vandals hardly broke a sweat to win 33-6 at FBS foe Nevada on Saturday afternoon. The win over Nevada was the first for Idaho in 18 years and its first victory against an FBS opponent since transitioning back to the FCS in 2018. Gevani McCoy
impressed with his 313 yards passing and two touchdowns as the sophomore QB led the Vandals to their first 2-0 start since 1998.
Elsewhere, Montana and Sacramento State improved to 2-0 on the year after their blowout wins on Saturday. The Grizzlies mauled Utah Tech 43-13 on the road, while the Hornets stung Texas A&M-Commerce 34-6 at home.
Two Big Sky squads had heart-breaking losses on Saturday, as Montana State lost by a
mere inches at defending national champion South Dakota State and Eastern Washington dropped a
double-overtime decision at 2022 Mountain West Conference champion Fresno State.
Big Sky Football Week 2 Scores
Big Sky teams in BOLD
FCS Rankings: Stats Perform/AFCA
Wyoming 31,
Portland State 17
Read Full Portland State Recap
San Jose State 59,
Cal Poly 3
Read Full Cal Poly Recap
#10/10 Incarnate Word 42,
Northern Colorado 7
Read Full UNC Recap
#17/15 North Dakota 37,
Northern Arizona 22
Read Full NAU Recap
#12/9 Weber State 34, #17/20 Northern Iowa 17
Read Full Weber State Recap
#7/12 Idaho 33, Nevada 6
Read Full Idaho Recap
#1/1 South Dakota State 20,
#3/3 Montana State 16
Read Full MSU Recap
Utah State 78,
Idaho State 28
Read Full Idaho State Recap
Fresno State 34,
Eastern Washington 31 (2OT)
Read Full EWU Recap
Oregon State 55,
#15/14 UC Davis 7
Read Full UC Davis Recap
#13/13 Montana 43, Utah Tech 13
Read Full Montana Recap
#9/8 Sacramento State 34, Texas A&M-Commerce 6
Read Full Sacramento State Recap
Big South / OVC
Every Big South-OVC team was in action on Saturday, including the first Conference matchup of the season as Southeast Missouri topped Lindenwood. In addition, the Association went 5-0 in non-conference FCS match-ups. Scroll down below for recaps and box scores of each contest.
#14/16 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 45, LINDENWOOD 7 | BOX SCORE
Paxton DeLaurent threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns, Geno Hess ran for 115 yards and two scores and Damoriea Vick had 101 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead #14 Southeast Missouri (1-1, 1-0) to a 45-7 rout of Lindenwood (1-1, 0-1) Saturday night at Houck Field. It marked the first Conference game for the Big South-OVC Football Association.
GARDNER-WEBB 34, ELON 27 | BOX SCORE
A touchdown from Ephraim Floyd and an interception by Jimmy Bowdry in the final minute of the game pushed Gardner-Webb over Elon 34-27. Narii Gaither rushed for 95 yards, moving past Frank Taylor for the fifth-most career rushing yards in Gardner-Webb history. Gaither has now rushed for 2,612 yards in his GWU career. With a half sack in the fourth quarter, Ty French set the new Big South record for career sacks, passing Chima Uzowie of Liberty (2012-15) with 25.5 sacks in his career. French is 3.5 sacks away from tying Gabe Wilkins for the Gardner-Webb sack record (29.0)
UT MARTIN 38, MISSOURI STATE 31 | BOX SCORE
Sam Franklin ran for 259 yards and three touchdowns, the last coming with 1:45 to play, as UT Martin topped Missouri State 38-31. Franklin scored on an 81-yard run ont he first play from scrimmage and also scored from 49 yards out in the fourth quarter. QB Kinkead Dent threw a pair of touchdown passes for the Skyhawks. Aidan Laros continued the spectacular start to his Skyhawk career as the redshirt sophomore from Cape Town, South Africa booted four punts to a 44.5-yard average and made a 29-yard field goal. He also split the uprights on all five PAT attempts.
ROBERT MORRIS 31, SAINT FRANCIS 21 | BOX SCORE
The RMU football team opened the home portion of its 2023 slate Saturday at Joe Walton Stadium, garnering a 31-21 victory over in-state rival Saint Francis in front of 3,412 fans. The Colonials evened their overall record during the 2023 season at 1-1 (.500), and snapped a 12-game losing streak dating back to last season. Trailing, 14-10, in the second quarter after Cole Doyle hit Casey McKinney for a 53-yard touchdown pass with 6:51 left before halftime, the Colonials rattled off 21 consecutive points to open up a 31-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.
BRYANT 21, LONG ISLAND 10 | BOX SCORE
Zevi Eckhaus passed for 274 yards and two touchdowns as Bryant scored a touchdown in each of the first three quarters to top Long Island 21-10. Robert Crockett III picked up his second interception in as many games. Kenny Dyson Jr. had two sacks, 2.5 TFL, and one forced fumble. Chris Yates also had a FF. Darnel Shillingford and Michael Otty both tallied one sack. The Bulldog defense forced three turnovers.
TENNESSEE STATE 24, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 14 | BOX SCORE
James Green returned a block field goal attempt 92 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter as Tennessee State topped Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the 34th annual Southern Heritage Classic at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. Jalen Rouse led all Tigers rushers with 91 yards in the contest, picking up 5.4 yards per carry. Deveon Bryant also added 80 yards on the ground, averaging 8 yards per carry.
BOWLING GREEN 38, EASTERN ILLINOIS 15 | BOX SCORE
Bowling Green went up two scores midway through the second quarter and kept Eastern Illinois at a distance the remainder of the game during a 38-15 win. Both teams moved to 1-1 on the season as EIU returns home next weekend for its home opener against Illinois State in the Mid-America Classic. EIU ended the day with 325 yards of offense. Kevin Daniels rushed for 78 yards. Smith had four catches for 83 yards.
NEW MEXICO 56, TENNESSEE TECH 10 | BOX SCORE
The early going was positive for the Tennessee Tech football team on Saturday night. The Golden Eagles forced turnovers, moved the ball and ended the first stanza all square at 7-7.
That changed in the second quarter as New Mexico outscored Tech 21-3 before the half, then scored 28 unanswered points in the second half as the Lobos out of the Football Bowl Subdivision Mountain West Conference defeated the Golden Eagles 56-10. Ethan Roberts took a few shots, but stayed strong in the pocket, throwing for 164 yards on 17-of-29 passing with a six-yard touchdown pass to Metrius Fleming in the first quarter. Hayden Olsen extended his Tech-record PAT streak, then added a 37-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
(#25/21) CLEMSON 66, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 17 | BOX SCORE
Charleston Southern football made its first ever trip to Death Valley Saturday afternoon, falling to the 25th-ranked Tigers 66-17. The Bucs led 14-7 late in the first, but Clemson answered the call down the stretch. JD Moore had the main number in CSU backfield today, using just nine total yards to find pay dirt as the lone offensive touchdown. Tyree Taylor stood as the longest reception throught he air, catching one pass for 23 yards.
CAA
Monmouth 42, Towson 23
Box Score
Monmouth (1-1, 1-0 CAA) scored 21 fourth-quarter points and pulled away for a 42-23 victory at Towson (0-2, 0-1 CAA) in the conference opener for both teams. The Hawks used a balanced offensive attack to pile up 437 total yards. MU’s Jaden Shirden ran for 145 yards and a TD, while Sone Ntoh added 76 yards and 3 TD’s. Marquez McCray was 21-of-30 passing for 237 yards, including a pair of scores to Assanti Kearney.
Towson took a 10-0 first-quarter lead on a 27-yard TD pass from Nathan Kent to D’Kendall James and a 25-yard Keegan Vaughan field goal. Monmouth responded with three unanswered touchdowns as Ntoh broke loose for a 66-yard run, Shirden scored from 6 yards out and Kearney caught a 36-yard strike early in the third quarter. The Tigers rallied within 28-23 on a 12-yard touchdown catch Daniel Thompson IV with 7:37 to go, but MU’s Jake Brown forced a fumble on a sack deep in Towson territory and Ntoh followed with a 4-yard TD run two plays later to make it 35-23 with 4:42 remaining.
Brown finished with seven tackles and two sacks to lead the MU defense. For Towson, Kent was 16-of-27 passing for 200 yards and 2 TD’s and Lukkas Londono had six catches for 92 yards. Xavier Terry made eight stops for the Tigers’ defense.
Campbell 56, The Citadel 7
Box Score
Hajj-Malik Williams completed 24-of-32 passes for 341 yards and 3 TD’s and added 45 yards and two TD’s rushing as Campbell (1-1, 0-1 CAA) cruised to a 56-7 road win at The Citadel. The Camels sprinted out to a 21-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes of the game as Williams hit VJ Wilkins with a 14-yard TD pass and then scored himself on a 10-yard run. Up 21-7, Williams found the end zone on a 3-yard run and followed with scoring passes of 12 yards to Ezeriah Anderson and 18 yards to Chaney Fitzgerald to put Campbell ahead 42-7 early in the third quarter. The Camels finished with 611 yards of total offense. Marquez Casey made a team-high five tackles for a Campbell defense that held the Bulldogs to one score.
William & Mary 23, Wofford 6
Box Score
William & Mary’s defense held Wofford to 156 yards and a pair of field goals as the 4th-ranked Tribe (2-0, 1-0 CAA) topped Wofford, 23-6. Kevin Jarrell tallied a team-high 14 tackles, 2.0 TFL’s and a sack, while All-American John Pius added 3.5 TFL’s and two sacks. W&M also got three field goals (40, 42 and 30 yards) from Caden Bonoffski.
The Tribe took a 7-0 first-quarter lead on a 2-yard Bronson Yoder touchdown run. A 2-yard scoring toss from Darius Wilson to JT Mayo increased W&M’s advantage to 17-6 late in the second quarter. That was all that was needed for the Tribe defense, which pitched a second-half shutout. Wilson threw for 185 yards in the contest, while Malachi Imoh ran for a team-best 90 yards on 10 attempts.
Villanova 42, Colgate 19
Box Score
Quarterback Connor Watkins passed for 310 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for two TD’s as Villanova (2-0, 0-0) downed Colgate, 42-19. The Wildcats had a pair of 100-yard receivers as Rayjoun Pringle caught three passes for 168 yards and a TD and Jaylan Sanchez had two receptions for 128 yards.
The Wildcats led just 14-0 midway through the second quarter, but a 68-yard pass to Sanchez set up a 1-yard Watkins TD run. On VU’s next possession, Pringle caught a 67-yard scoring pass that resulted in a 28-10 halftime lead. The Wildcats took firm control of the contest early in the third period as Watkins hit Sanchez with a 60-yard pass to set up a 1-yard TD toss to Antonio Johnson. Shane Hartzell had eight tackles and 1.5 sacks to pace the VU defense.
Central Michigan 45, New Hampshire 42
Box Score
Despite record-setting offensive performances from Dylan Laube and Max Brosmer, New Hampshire (1-1, 0-0 CAA) was edged 45-42 at Central Michigan on a 47-yard field goal as time expired. Laube finished with 371 all-purpose yards, making 12 receptions for a school-record 295 yards and 2 TD’s and adding 30 yards and a TD on the ground. The 295 receiving yards were the 4th-most in CAA history. Brosmer completed 32-of-50 passes for a career-high 493 yards and 4 TD’s.
Brosmer threw scoring passes to Logan Tomlinson (8 yards), Laube (80 yards) and Caleb Burke (21 yards) in the first half as the Wildcats trailed 28-21 at the break. Down 42-28 midway through the fourth quarter, UNH pulled even as Laube capped a 75-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run with 5:58 to go and then took a short pass 71 yards to the end zone for the game-tying score with 3:14 left. CMU converted a fourth down on their final drive to set up the game-winning field goal.
Gardner-Webb 34, Elon 27
Box Score
Elon (0-2, 0-0 CAA) erased a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit, but Gardner-Webb rallied for a game-winning touchdown with 14 seconds to go to defeat the Phoenix, 34-27. Down 27-13 with under four minutes to play, Elon quarterback Matthew Downing hit Jamarien Dalton with a 9-yard TD pass. On the next GWU possession, EU’s Jaidyn Denis forced his second fumble of the night, which was recovered by Brandon Tyson. On 4th-and-goal, Dalton dove into the end zone on a 3-yard reception to tie the game at 27-27 with 1:25 remaining. However, the Bulldogs were able to drive 69 yards for the winning score.
Downing finished 17-of-25 passing for 199 yards and 3 TD’s. Denis paced the Phoenix defense with 10 tackles, two forced fumbles and 1.5 TFL’s.
Norfolk State 31, Hampton 23
Box Score
Hampton (1-1, 0-1 CAA) rolled up 435 yards of offense but was hurt by four turnovers in a 31-23 loss to Norfolk State. Pirates’ quarterback Chris Zellous passed for 211 yards and two TD’s, but was picked off twice, including one with 1:54 left. Elijah Burris rushed for 137 yards on 12 carries.
A 28-yard TD pass from Zellous to TK Paisant put Hampton ahead 9-7 midway through the second quarter. The Spartans reeled off 17 unanswered points, but Zellous and Paisant hooked up again from 18 yards out to cut the deficit 24-16 late in the third period. After another NSU score, Butts sprinted for a 53-yard TD to pull Hampton within eight with 8:11 remaining, but it could get no closer. Qwahsin Townsel recorded 12 tackles and Ze’marion Harrell added 10.
North Carolina Central 30, North Carolina A&T 16
Box Score
North Carolina A&T (0-2, 0-0 CAA) scored 16 second-quarter points to take the lead over 18th-ranked North Carolina Central, but dropped a 30-16 decision in the Eagle-Aggie Clash. A&T went down 14-3 midway through the second quarter, but Taymon Cooke returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown to trim the deficit to five. On their next possession, A&T’s Wesley Graves had a 47-yard TD run to put the Aggies up 16-14. NCCU got a field goal to take the halftime advantage and then kept A&T off the scoreboard over the final 30 minutes. Kenji Christian ran for a team-high 98 yards on 12 carries to pace the A&T offense. BJ Turner recorded 10 tackles for the Aggies’ defense.
Penn State 63, Delaware 7
Box Score
Marcus Yarns rushed for 86 yards on only six carries, including a 66-yard touchdown run, as Delaware (1-1, 1-0 CAA) was beaten 63-7 at Big The power Penn State. The Nittany Lions took an early 14-0 lead, but the Blue Hens cut the deficit in half when Yarns broke loose for his long scoring run late in the first quarter. PSU controlled the game the rest of the way, piling up 541 yards of offense and limiting Delaware to 140. Jackson Taylor made a team-high 10 tackles for Delaware and Nic Ware had nine stops.
North Dakota State 44, Maine 7
Box Score
Maine’s defense turned in a strong first-half effort, but the Black Bears (0-2) dropped a 44-7 decision at No. 2 ranked North Dakota State. The Black Bears forced the Bison to kick field goals on three first-half drives and came up with a fourth-down stop on another to trail just 16-0 at the break. NDSU was able to pull away in the second half as Maine got on the board with 6:06 remaining on a 13-yard TD run by John Yag. Tristen Kenan ran for a team-high 53 yards on 14 carries for Maine, while Buggs Brown and Darius McKenzie each made nine tackles defensively.
Michigan State 45, Richmond 14
Box Score
Aaron Banks recorded eight tackles and returned a fumble 47 yards for a touchdown, but it was not enough as Richmond (0-2) was beaten 45-14 at Big Ten member Michigan State. The Spiders fell behind 38-0 after three quarters but got on the board twice in the final period on Banks’ scoop and score and a 5-yard TD pass from Jackson Hardy to Sean Clarke. UR quarterback Kyle Wickersham was 16-of-22 passing for 102 yards. Linebacker Tristan Wheeler recorded a team-high 13 tackles for the Spiders.
Hawaii 31, UAlbany 20
Box Score
UAlbany’s defense forced three turnovers, including a 35-yard pick six by Larry Walker, Jr., but lost a tight 31-20 decision at Hawaii. The Great Danes took a 7-3 lead midway through the first quarter on a 41-yard TD run by quarterback Reese Poffenbarger. Walker’s pick six in the second period put the Danes ahead 14-10 and a 46-yard John Opalko field goal on the last play of the half tied the contest at 17-17. UAlbany trailed by just four in the fourth quarter, but a turnover in Hawaii territory with six minutes to go ended the rally. Dylan Kelly paced the Danes defense with 13 tackles and an interception, while Jahlil Johnson and Anton Juncaj each recorded a pair of sacks.
