Sunday, October 30, 2016
N. Dakota State 24, Northern Iowa 20
CEDAR FALLS, IOWA
Lance Dunn ran for 118 yards and North Dakota State forced four interceptions to beat Northern Iowa in a rematch of last season’s Football Championship Series quarterfinals. Chase Morlock and King Frazier added short-yardage touchdown runs, and Easton Stick threw a 31-yard scoring strike to Jeff Illies for North Dakota State (7-1, 4-1). The Bison, which beat the Panthers 23-13 in the playoffs last season, are tied with Youngstown State and South Dakota State atop the Missouri Valley Conference. Eli Dunne threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Briley Moore to pull Northern Iowa (3-5, 2-3) to 24-20 early in the fourth quarter. The Panthers later drove to the Bison 22, but the drive stalled when Matt Plank picked off Dunne’s tipped pass with 3:19 remaining. The Bison had just one first down on their next series before punting to the Panthers 23-yard line with 11 second left, but Dunne threw his fourth interception deep down field on the next play to end it.
Western Illinois 35, South Dakota 34
VERMILLION, S.D.
Sean McGuire found Joey Borsellino for a 2-yard TD pass on third-and-goal with 32 seconds left and Western Illinois battled back from a 31-14 halftime deficit. McGuire’s game-winner capped an 11-play, 80-yard drive that included a 28-yard completion to Jaelon Acklin on fourth-and-10. Leading 34-28, South Dakota was driving to ice the game when Trevor Bouma fumbled on third-and-goal from the 1 with 4:35 left, setting up the Leathernecks final possession.
Illinois State 38, South Dakota State 21
NORMAL, ILL.
Jake Kolbe threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Illinois State delivered South Dakota State its first conference loss. Kolbe had 138 yards passing for the Redbirds (4-5, 2-4 Missouri Valley Conference). Jamal Towns ran for 136 yards and a score. Kolbe ran for an 18-yard TD and threw two scoring passes to Anthony Warrum in the first half to give Illinois State a 28-14 advantage at halftime. The Jackrabbits (5-3, 4-1) cut the Redbirds lead to 28-21 on a 30-yard scoring pass by Taryn Christion with 11:39 left in the third quarter.
Missouri State 38, Southern Illinois 35
SPRINGFIELD, MO.
Zach Drake kicked a 32-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the game to cap Missouri State’s come-from-behind win over Southern Illinois. Trailing 21-7 at the break, Missouri State (4-4, 2-3 Missouri Valley Conference) dominated the second half. The Bears closed to 28-21 going into the final quarter. Deion Holliman returned a punt 57 yards to tie with 10:46 remaining. The Salukis (2-6, 0-5) answered when Josh Straughan hit Israel Lamprakes on a 54-yard scoring strike on the next series. That held up until Lambert passed to Zac Hoover for a score from the 36 to tie it up.
Associated Press