Sunday, November 18, 2018
North Dakota State 65, Southern Illinois 17
FARGO, N.D.
Easton Stick threw for three touchdowns and North Dakota State completed a perfect regular season with a victory over Southern Illinois. The Bison (11-0, 8-0 Missouri Valley Football Conference), ranked No. 1 in the coaches poll, extended the longest active winning streak in the FCS to 17 games. Stick was 16 of 21 for 302 yards with an interception and the senior went over 10,000 total yards of offense for his career. The teams were tied at 14-all after Matt DeSomer connected with Raphael Leonard on a 59-yard pass play for the Salukis (2-9, 1-7) with 8:36 left in the first quarter. But Stick threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to Nate Jenson and after Southern Illinois fumbled on its first play after the ensuing kickoff, Stick and Ben Ellefson combined for a 22-yard score for a 28-14 first-quarter lead.
Indiana State 15, Western Illinois 13
MACOMB, ILL.
Jerry Nunez delivered a 27-yard field goal as time expired to give Indiana State its fifth straight win in the final Missouri Valley Conference game of the season. The Sycamores finished the regular season 7-4 and ranked No. 23 in the Football Championship Subdivision and now await an at-large postseason berth. Nunez kicked three field goals for Indiana State, hitting from 26-yards out in the first quarter and from 18 midway through the third quarter. Sam Crosa kicked a 35-yard field goal with 5:10 left in the third quarter to put Western Illinois up, 13-12. Ryan Boyle drove the Sycamores 71 yards on the final drive to the Western Illinois 9 with :04 second left to set up Nunez’s game winner.
South Dakota State 49, South Dakota 27
BROOKINGS, S.D.
Freshman Pierre Strong Jr. ran for 253 yards and three touchdowns on just 17 carries and Taryn Christion had three TD passes and ran for a score to propel South Dakota State to a victory over South Dakota. Strong had three rushing TDs for a second straight game and is averaging more than 10 yards per carry this season. The Jackrabbits (8-2, 6-2 Missouri Valley Football Conference), ranked fifth in the FCS coaches poll, will find out Sunday if they are one of eight teams chosen to host a first-round playoff game. SDSU beat the Coyotes (4-7, 3-5) for a 10th straight time.
Northern Iowa 37, Missouri State 0
CEDAR FALLS,IOWA
Eli Dunne passed for 227 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Korby Sander had two takeaways as Northern Iowa ended its season with a shutout of Missouri State. Sander, who led with 13 tackles, headed a defense that held Missouri State to nine first downs and 222 yards of total offense in Northern Iowa’s (6-5, 5-3 Missouri Valley Conference) third shutout of the season. Elerson Smith preserved the shutout with a fourth-down sack on Missouri State’s final drive. It was the first time the Panthers had a season with three shutouts since 1971. The Bears (4-7, 2-6) end the season with five straight losses. Peyton Huslig was 4-of-14 passing for 72 yards with two interceptions. Dunne fired a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jaylin James as Northern Iowa took a 10-0 lead after the first quarter, and the Panthers added 10 more points by halftime.
Associated Press