(SportsNetwork.com) - The longest winning streak in FCS history ended in much the same way it was built by North Dakota State.
Through dominating defense and a team pulling away in the second half.
It was just odd to see another team have the winning formula, but on Saturday 19th-ranked Northern Iowa did as they handled the top-ranked Bison, 23-3, to stop their 33-game winning streak inside the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
North Dakota State (9-1, 5-1 Missouri Valley) had not lost since falling to Indiana State, 17-14, on Oct. 13, 2012. UNI (6-4, 4-2) also ended the Bison's record Missouri Valley winning streak at 18 games and handed them their first loss away from home since the 2010 FCS playoffs (a span of 22 straight wins).
UNI outgained North Dakota State 306 yards to 175, scored 10 points off turnovers, and held the Bison to eight first downs and only an Adam Keller field goal late in the second quarter.
Running back David Johnson rushed for 133 yards and had 210 all-purpose yards, quarterback Brion Carnes and running back Darrian Miller both rushed for touchdowns, and Michael Schmadeke was 3-for-3 on field goals.
The Bison were still in striking range before Schmadeke's 36-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter extended UNI's lead to 13-3. He kicked a 42-yarder at the 9:25 mark to make it 16-3. Then after a three-and-out series by the Bison, Miller broke off a 30-yard TD run to put the win away.
North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz was held to 132 passing yards with an interception and three-time 1,000-yard running back John Crockett struggled to 41 yards on 17 carries.
UNI now has three wins over No. 1-ranked opponents. The Panthers also beat No. 1 New Hampshire, 24-21, in 2005 and No. 1 Youngstown State, 35-32, in 1997.
The loss was the first for first-year Bison coach Chris Klieman. His team fell into a first-place tie with Illinois State (8-1, 5-1), one game ahead of both UNI and Youngstown State (7-3, 4-2) with two weeks remaining in the Missouri Valley season.
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The Sports Network FCS Top 25
Thursday, Nov. 6
No. 20 Bethune-Cookman (8-2, 5-1 MEAC) 13, Norfolk State (4-6, 4-2) 7
Bethune-Cookman defensive lineman Rony Barrow was a part of two fourth-quarter safeties and the Wildcats held Norfolk State to 67 yards of offense.
Barrow and Ty're Simmons tackled NSU's Aaron Daniel in the end zone for a safety to give Bethune-Cookman an 8-7 lead early in the fourth quarter. After Ben Noboa kicked a 24-yard field goal with 10:25 left, Barrow and David Perry combined on a safety of quarterback Terrance Ervin at the 1:21 mark.
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Friday, Nov. 7
No. 9 Fordham (9-1, 5-0 Patriot) 30, Bucknell (7-2, 3-1) 27, OT
Fordham clinched at least a share of the Patriot League title as well as the league's automatic FCS playoff bid. The Rams had last won the conference title in 2007.
Quarterback Peter Maetzold's 10-yard touchdown pass to Tebucky Jones Jr. ended the overtime after Derek Mauer's 44-yard field goal gave Bucknell a 27-24 lead.
Chase Edmonds scored on a pair of short runs, including a 4-yarder with 2:05 left in the fourth quarter to force overtime. He finished with 103 yards on 21 carries.
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Saturday, Nov. 8
No. 2 New Hampshire (8-1, 6-0 CAA) 41, Rhode Island (0-10, 0-6) 14
UNH quarterback Sean Goldrich, playing for the first time since being injured on Sept. 20 at Richmond, completed 25-of-33 pass attempts for 330 yards and two touchdowns to R.J. Harris, who caught 11 passes for a career-high 210 yards.
Nico Steriti also rushed for two touchdowns for the CAA Football leaders.
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No. 3 Coastal Carolina (9-0, 3-0 Big South) 59, Charlotte (3-6) 34
Stepping out of conference, Coastal Carolina became the first Big South program to win at least 10 games in consecutive seasons.
Quarterback Alex Ross had 426 yards of total offense (370 passing, 56 rushing) to tie his own school record and scored two of the Chanticleers' seven rushing touchdowns. Osharmar Abercrombie also rushed for a pair of scores as well as a team-high 62 yards on 13 carries.
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No. 4 Jacksonville State (8-1, 6-0 OVC) 20,
No. 16 Eastern Kentucky (8-2, 5-2) 6
Ohio Valley Conference-leading Jacksonville State won a key game as DaMarcus James rushed for 170 yards and a touchdown.
In a matchup of the conference's top rushing offense, JSU posted a 357-100 advantage on the ground.
Next up for the Gamecocks is a home game next Saturday against Eastern Illinois, which is 5-1 in the conference.
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No. 5 Eastern Washington (9-2, 6-1 Big Sky) 36,
No. 11 Montana (6-4, 4-2) 26
He's baaack. Oh, how ever.
Eastern Washington quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. returned to the lineup for the first time since breaking his right foot on Oct. 3, passing for 399 yards and four touchdowns as the Eagles gained sole possession of first place in the Big Sky.
With the redshirt junior again guiding the Eagles' high-powered offense, they built a 33-10 lead midway through the third quarter. Just like last year's matchup at Montana, the Grizzlies rallied back into the game, pulling within 33-26 before EWU put the win away on Tyler McNannay's 34-yard field goal with 28 seconds left.
Adams completed 24-of-36 pass attempts. Cooper Kupp (eight receptions, 134 yards), Shaq Hill (seven receptions, 103 yards), Nic Sblendorio and Kendrick Bourne all caught receptions.
Linebacker Ronnie Hamlin had nine tackles to give him 440 in his career, a new EWU record.
Montana quarterback Jordan Johnson was 29-for-50 for 447 yards and three interceptions and two interceptions. Jamal Jones caught nine passes for 139 yards and a touchdown.
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Stephen F. Austin (7-3, 4-2 Southland) 31,
No. 6 McNeese State (6-3, 4-2) 16
Stephen F. Austin quarterback Zach Conque was 21-for-23 for 201 yards and three touchdowns in knocking McNeese State from first place in the Southland Conference.
McNeese QB Daniel Sams threw an interception in his only pass attempt and was limited to 48 yards on five carries.
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No. 7 Villanova (8-2, 5-1 CAA) 42, Towson (4-6, 2-4) 14
After a supbar game against Richmond, Villanova quarterback John Robertson was back to his usual outstanding self. He was 16-for-21 for 182 yards and three touchdowns, and carried the ball 20 times for 107 yards and a touchdown.
Safety Joe Sarnese scored on a 48-yard interception return.
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Maine (4-5, 3-3) 33, No. 8 Richmond (7-3, 4-2) 20
One week after beating Villanova, Richmond turned in a sloppy performance at 2013 CAA champion Maine.
Maine's Trevor Bates scored on a 23-yard interception return, Benjamin Davis fell on his blocked a punt for a touchdown and Maine forced five turnovers, including four interceptions of Richmond quarterback Michael Rocco.
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No. 12 Illinois State (8-1, 5-1) 35, No. 10 Youngstown State (7-3, 4-2) 21
Illinois State rebounded from its first loss by outscoring Youngstown State 21-0 in the second half.
Quarterback Tre Roberson finished with three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) and running back Marshaun Coprich went over 100 yards for the ninth straight game to open the season, finishing with 144 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.
YSU wide receiver Andrew Williams caught six passes for 158 yards and a touchdown.
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No. 13 Chattanooga (7-3, 6-0 Southern) 31, Wofford (5-4, 3-2) 13
Chattanooga clinched at least a share of its second straight Southern Conference title as well as the automatic playoff bid, putting the Mocs in the postseason for the first time since 1984.
Keon Williams rushed for 91 yards and three touchdowns. Defensive end Davis Tull had a half sack to tie Josh Jeffries (Appalachian State, 1999-2002) for the SoCon record with 36.5 in his career.
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No. 14 Southeastern Louisiana (7-3, 5-1 Southland) 76,
Houston Baptist (2-8, 1-6) 7
Southeastern Louisiana racked up a school-record 806 yards and scored 11 touchdowns in routing Houston Baptist. Jordan Bennett passed for 233 yards and three touchdowns and Bryan Bennett threw for a pair of touchdowns as the Lions had 444 passing yards.
Eugene Bethea rushed 125 yards, Kody Sutton had 109 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, and D'Shaie Landor rushed for a pair of scores.
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No. 15 Montana State (7-3, 5-1) 29, Portland State (3-7, 2-4) 22
Quarterback Dakota Prukop and running back Gunnar Brekke both ran for two touchdowns, and Montana State had 329 yards on the ground.
Portland State closed within 29-22 on Thomas Carter's 50-yard touchdown reception with 45 seconds left, but Montana State recovered the Vikings' ensuing onside kick.
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No. 22 South Dakota State (6-4, 3-3 Missouri Valley) 32,
No. 17 Indiana State (6-4, 3-3) 17
Zach Zenner rushed for a 94-yard touchdown and wide receiver Jake Wieneke turned a slant pattern into a 91-yard touchdown from Austin Sumner, tying the longest pass play in SDSU history.
Zenner, the Missouri Valley's all-time leading rusher, finished with 193 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. Wieneke, a freshman, had six receptions for 172 yards and two touchdowns.
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No. 18 Harvard (8-0, 5-0 Ivy) 45, Columbia (0-8, 0-5) 0
Ivy League-leading Harvard shut out Columbia for the third straight season. The margin over that time is 148-0.
The Crimson scored three times on interception returns, Connor Sheehan from 48 and 49 yards out and Matt Koran on a 34-yarder.
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Idaho State (7-3, 5-1 Big Sky) 30, No. 21 Cal Poly (6-4, 5-2) 28
Idaho State extended its winning streak to five and stopped Cal Poly's at five.
In a terrific dual of quarterbacks, Idaho State's Justin Arias was 22-for-40 for 292 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions, while Cal Poly's Chris Brown carried the ball 39 times for 195 yards and three touchdowns, with another 101 yards and a score through the air.
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No. 23 Bryant (8-1, 4-0 NEC) 20, Duquesne (5-5, 1-3) 17
Running back Ricardo McCray had 192 yards from scrimmage and broke a 14-14 tie with a 23-yard touchdown pass from Dalton Easton with 10:57 remaining in the fourth qaurter.
Easton threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns for the Northeast Conference leaders.
Duquesne had a chance to force overtime, but place-kicker Austin Crimmins missed a 28-yard field goal attempt with 58 seconds left.
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No. 24 William & Mary (6-4, 3-3) 17, Elon (1-9, 0-6) 7
Mikal Abdul-Saboor carried the ball 30 times for 189 yards and a touchdown to power William & Mary, which had lost three of its previous four games.
Ivan Tagoe and Airek Green both had interceptions for the Tribe.
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No. 25 Northern Arizona (7-3, 5-1 Big Sky) 23, UC Davis (1-8, 0-6) 21
Northern Arizona built a 23-7 halftime lead and held on for its fourth straight victory.
Lumberjacks quarterback Jordan Perry went 23-for-36 for 208 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. Ryan Hawkins kicked three field goals.
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