FCS Top 25 Roundup - Week 5
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(SportsNetwork.com) - With the spotlight off, Delaware football hopes it's ready to shine again.
A November collapse brought a bitter end to coach Dave Brock's first season last year and then the Blue Hens opened this season with their worst loss (62-0 to Pittsburgh) since 1921.
But Delaware quietly slipped into The Sports Network FCS Top 25 this past week and the 25th-ranked Blue Hens made themselves much more noticeable by beating James Madison, 30-23, in overtime Saturday to open their CAA Football schedule in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It was the second-biggest win of the Brock era - Delaware won at eventual national runner-up Towson last season - and perhaps the most riveting.
Quarterback Trent Hurley connected on a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jerel Harrison to open the overtime and give the Blue Hens (3-1, 1-0) a 30-23 lead. JMU then pushed the ball to the 1-yard line on their possession, but running back Taylor Woods was stopped by David Mackall, Roman Tatum and several other UD defenders just inches from the end zone on 4th-and-goal, ending the game.
"We are thrilled to be able to come down here in a great atmosphere and find a way to win," Brock said. "I could not be more proud of the way our guys responded. This was a tough week, but they came out focused. It's a testament to their strength and character. We are growing up slowly but surely."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hurley passed for 295 yards and three touchdowns (including for 75 and 86 yards) with an interception in a duel with JMU quarterback Vad Lee, who had 338 total yards and three total touchdowns. Lee's 2-yard scoring run with 20 seconds left in a furious fourth quarter helped tie the game at 23-23 and force overtime.
Harrison caught four passes, including two touchdowns, for 127 yards. Wes Hills carried the ball 17 times for 136 yards.
Delaware, which lost its last three games a year ago to finish 7-5 and miss out on an FCS playoff bid, is on a three-game winning streak. The Blue Hens next have a three-game homestand, so they might be on to something big.
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The Sports Network FCS Top 25
No. 1 North Dakota State (4-0), Idle
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No. 2 Eastern Washington (4-1, 1-0 Big Sky) 37, UC Davis (1-3, 0-1) 14
EWU quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 23-of-28 pass attempts for 303 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for a touchdown.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cooper Kupp had game highs with seven receptions and 94 receiving yards, catching one touchdown.
The Eagles have won 11 straight Big Sky Conference games.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No. 3 Coastal Carolina (5-0) 31, Elon (1-3) 3
Coastal Carolina surrendered a mere field goal for the third straight game and quarterback Alex Ross supplied the offense, completing a school-record 34 passes for 338 yards and two touchdowns with 88 yards and another score on the ground.
Running back De'Angelo Henderson (156 yards from scrimmage) and wide receiver Bruce Mapp (two touchdowns) caught eight passes each.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}All-American linebacker Quinn Backus recorded 13 tackles, including 2.5 for loss and one sack, along with two pass breakups. He became the Chanticleers' all-time leading tackler, finishing the game with 365 career stops.
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No. 4 New Hampshire (3-1) 52, Dartmouth (1-1) 19
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In his first start this season, New Hampshire quarterback Andy Vailas passed for 219 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns. He capped the Wildcats' first possession of the game with a 69-yard TD run.
Wide receiver R.J. Harris and running back Jimmy Owens also scored two touchdowns each for UNH, which extended its winning streak against intrastate rival Dartmouth to 13 games.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No. 5 McNeese State (2-1) 61, Arkansas Tech (2-2) 7
McNeese State emptied the bench in rolling to an easy win. The visiting Wonder Boys managed only 92 yards and didn't reach McNeese territory until the third quarter.
Cowboys true freshman Ryan Ross had 17 carries for 66 yards and three touchdowns. Coach Matt Viator won his 64th career game, tying him with Jack Doland at No. 2 on McNeese's all-time career wins list.
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No. 6 Villanova (3-1) 41, Penn (0-2) 7
Villanova scored all of its points in the first half to help coach Andy Talley improve to 13-0 all-time against Penn.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Quarterback John Robertson was 15-for-21 for 230 yards and four touchdowns - all to different receivers. Gary Underwood needed only six carries to rack up 93 yards and two touchdowns, including a 54-yarder.
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No. 7 Montana (3-2, 1-0 Big Sky) 38, Northern Colorado (1-3, 0-1) 13
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Senior quarterback Jordan Johnson threw for three first-half touchdowns as Montana built a 35-10 halftime advantage en route to its 13th straight win over the Bears.
Travon Van rushed for a 71-yard touchdown and finished with 127 yards on nine carries. Jordan Canada added 51 yards on the ground, surpassing the 2,500-yard mark in his career.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No. 8 Jacksonville State (3-1, 1-0 OVC) 52, Murray State (1-3, 0-1) 28
Jacksonville State quarterback Eli Jenkins was dominating. He rushed for 149 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries, while completing 15-of-20 pass attempts for 180 yards and one touchdown with one interception.
Running back DaMarcus James added 148 yards and three touchdowns as the Gamecocks rushed for 382 yards and collected 628 yards of offense.
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No. 9 South Dakota State (3-1), Idle
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No. 10 Northern Iowa (2-2) 50, Tennessee Tech (1-3) 7
Northern Iowa's 1-2 offensive knockout punch was at it again as quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen fired three touchdown passes and running back David Johnson gained 142 yards on the ground despite both playing just the first half.
The UNI defense also delivered a knockout punch, holding Tennessee Tech to two first downs and 92 yards while stopping the Golden Eagles on all 12 of their third-down attempts.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Place-kicker Michael Schmadeke was 5-for-5 on field goals.
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No. 11 Southeastern Louisiana (3-2, 1-0 Southland) 63,
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Incarnate Word (0-5, 0-2) 7
Quarterback Bryan Bennett had 301 total yards and four touchdowns (two passing, two rushing) to help Southeastern Louisiana end a two-game losing streak.
Kody Sutton rushed for 104 yards and one of the Lions' seven touchdowns on the ground. It was the most points they have ever scored against a Southland Conference opponent.
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No. 12 William & Mary (4-1, 1-0 CAA) 27, Stony Brook (1-4, 0-1) 21
Mikal Abdul-Saboor scored on a 13-yard run for his second touchdown of the game, capping overtime and William & Mary's fourth straight win.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Stony Brook failed to score on its possession to open overtime as William & Mary's Stephen Sinnott blocked Popek Przemyslaw's 36-yard field goal attempt.
The fourth quarter had a terrific ending. Stony Brook went ahead 21-14 on Stacey Bedell's 33-yard touchdown run with 1:12 left before William & Mary forced overtime on Steve Cluley's 52-yard TD pass to Sean Ballard with 25 seconds remaining.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No. 13 Montana State (3-2, 1-0 Big Sky) 29, North Dakota (2-3, 0-1) 18
Khari Garcia's 45-yard interception return for a touchdown helped Montana State build a 26-7 lead by halftime.
Bobcats sophomore quarterback Dakota Prukop passed for 269 yards and one touchdown, while Shawn Johnson rushed for 75 yards and one touchdown.
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No. 14 Chattanooga (2-2, 1-0 Southern) 38, Samford (2-2, 1-1) 24
Chattanooga won a matchup of two of last year's tri-champions of the Southern Conference. Running back Keon Williams rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns, and quarterback Jacob Huesman added 86 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
The Mocs forced three turnovers in the win.
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No. 15 Bethune-Cookman (3-1) 34, Florida Tech (3-1) 33
Senior linebacker Donald Smith's interception on Florida Tech's two-point conversion attempt with 19 seconds left kept the Wildcats from possibly falling to their Division II opponent.
Quentin Williams' 67-yard touchdown pass to Frank Brown with 1:25 to go put Bethune ahead, 34-27. Florida Tech came back to pull within 34-33 on Mark Cato's 43-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Bass, and the visiting Panthers went for the win instead of a PAT.
Williams passed for 222 yards and two touchdowns and added 31 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
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Fordham (4-1, 1-0 Patriot) 45, Holy Cross (2-3, 0-1) 16
Eligible for the Patriot League title for the first time since 2009, Fordham rolled in its league opener behind senior quarterback Michael Nebrich's five total touchdowns.
Nebrich completed 32-of-42 pass attempts for 315 yards and four touchdowns, including two to Brian Wetzel. He also rushed for one touchdown.
Fordham (4-1, 1-0) controlled the game clock for a whopping 42 minutes, 10 seconds. Freshman Chase Edmonds rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.
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No. 17 Southern Illinois (4-1, 1-0 Missouri Valley) 34,
Western Illinois (2-3, 0-1) 17
All-American tight end MyCole Pruitt caught nine passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns from Mark Iannotti, keeping Missouri Valley teams unbeaten at home this season (22-0).
Mika'il McCall and Malcolm Agnew both rushed for touchdowns.
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No. 18 Youngstown State (3-1), Idle
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No. 19 Eastern Kentucky (4-0), Idle
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No. 20 Richmond (2-2), Idle
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No. 21 Tennessee State (4-1) 27, Florida A&M (0-4) 7
Tennessee State scored a pair of defensive touchdowns - Terrell Bonds' 43-yard interception return and Samquan Evans' 12-yard fumble return - and limited Florida A&M to 224 yards.
Telvin Hooks rushed for 56 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries.
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Indiana State (3-1) 38, No. 22 Liberty (3-2) 19
Indiana State continued its turnaround from a 1-11 season a year ago by stopping Liberty behind quarterback Mike Perish's four total touchdowns (three passing, one rushing).
Perish, who had a school-record 39 completions on 51 attempts for 340 yards, connected on a 14-yard score to Robert Tonyan Jr. with 10 seconds left in the second quarter to stake the Sycamores to a 24-13 halftime lead. He then scored from one yard out to increase their lead to 31-13 at the 6:10 mark of the third quarter.
Connor Underwood led Indiana State's defense with eight tackles, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and two quarterback hurries.
For Liberty, Darrin Peterson had 11 receptions for 104 yards, including one of quarterback Josh Woodrum's two touchdown passes.
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No. 23 Illinois State (3-0) 55, Austin Peay (0-4) 6
Illinois State quarterback Tre Roberson threw four touchdowns in the third quarter, including two to Lechein Neblett.
Marshaun Coprich went over 100 rushing yards with two touchdowns for the third time in as many games. He finished with 144 yards on 12 carries.
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No. 24 Albany (4-0) 42, Columbia (0-2) 7
Albany forced five turnovers while improving to 4-0 for the first time since 2001.
Omar Osbourne rushed for 193 yards and two touchdowns, while Will Fiacchi threw three scores on only six completions.