Only one undefeated Dakota remains. Deion Sanders has a winner in Jackson. James Madison survives a scare. And more.
Games That Happened
Thursday
North Dakota 21, South Dakota 10
The one undefeated Dakota remaining is North Dakota, which leaned heavily on Otis Weah, who rushed for two touchdowns in the third quarter to turn this into a low-scoring runaway. The Fighting Hawks had a balanced attack and outgained South Dakota 489-328.
Friday
Albany 24, New Hampshire 20
Football is back in New England and check out this name: Jeff Undercuffler threw for three touchdowns for Albany in a big season opening win.
Saturday
James Madison 20, Elon 17
Newly minted No. 1 JMU had their hands full with Elon, needing a ferocious comeback in the final 20 minutes to dig themselves out of a 17-3 halftime hole. It helps when you have a back like Percy Agyei-Obese, who totaled 132 yards and a touchdown, including the game winner.
Jackson State 33, Grambling 28
Deion Sanders has the Tigers in good shape. Jalon Jones threw three touchdown passes and rushed for another. Tyson Alexander rushed for 184 yards on 17 carries and also scored a touchdown. Grambling played a solid game, racking up 182 yards and three touchdowns on the ground while Geremy Hickbottom passed for 237 yards and a touchdown. He also led the team in rushing with 81 and a score. But it was Jackson State who shined, ending a 12-game winning streak by Grambling.
North Dakota State 25, Missouri State 0
Back to normal?
South Dakota State 45, Western Illinois 10
Mark Gronowski passed for 197 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns on, let me look, four carries. Wow. Isaiah Davis also topped 100 yards on fewer than 10 carries for the Jackrabbits.
Gardner-Webb 31, Presbyterian 24
This one started off wild when Narii Gaither opened the scoring with a 96-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The last seven minutes and change of the fourth quarter featured three lead changes, with Gardner-Webb tying it on a field goal as regulation expired. Gaither caught a touchdown pass in overtime for the win.
Chattanooga 25, The Citadel 24
The two-point conversion is a beautiful thing. After coming back from down 17-7 at halftime with a touchdown pass in the final 45 seconds of regulation (one of six passes all game for the Citadel), the Bulldogs lost because the Mocs dared to try a two-pointer after scoring a touchdown in overtime. That risk paid off. Even if it fails, there’s no shame in it.
Furman 44, Samford 37
Samford led 24-7 after the first quarter and lost in overtime. You might be wondering: Just how did they score those 24 points in the first quarter? In virtually every phase of the game. Chris Edmonds had a pick-six and then, five minutes later, a punt return for a touchdown.
Idaho State 26, Southern Utah 24
Another wild finish as a Bengals field goal with five seconds left gave them the win on the road. Tyler Vander Waal threw three touchdown passes to outduel Justin Miller’s two.
Arkansas Pine Bluff 33, Southern 30
Southern scored 13 in the fourth but it wasn’t enough to overtime the lead the Lions had built, including 23 points in the second quarter. Skyler Perry threw for a pair of scores and rushed for a pair.
Villanova 16, Stony Brook 13
The Wildcats held off a Stony Brook comeback attempt in the fourth quarter. This is the joy of football: When the margins are that small, all it takes is a play or two to go your way to get back in the game.
Prairie View A&M 20, Texas Southern 19
Ah, yes, the Labor Day Classic, in March. The Panthers went ahead on a Kristian Mosely touchdown with 1:40 to go. Next up: The State Fair Classic, also played in March.
Southern Illinois 30, Youngstown State 22
The Salukis came out a little flat and let Youngstown State go up 12-0 in the first quarter but the comeback was on in the third and SIU pulled away to avoid a letdown after beating NDSU.
Richmond 21, William & Mary 14
John Fitzgerald caught a touchdown pass from Joe Mancuso with six minutes and change left in the fourth to give the Spiders the lead. Aaron Dykes had two touchdowns for the Spiders, while Hollis Mathis rushed for a score and passed for another for the Tribe.
UC Davis 27, Idaho 17
The Aggies had a better trip to Moscow than Napoleon did. Hunter Rodrigues threw three touchdown passes and Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. rushed for 145 yards. The Aggies also came back from being down 17-14 to start the fourth quarter.
Northern Iowa 20, Illinois State 10
The Panthers scored 10 in the first quarter, the Redbirds scored 10 in the second and the Panthers scored 10 in the fourth. Illinois State got its only touchdown with UNI’s offense on the field: an interception that Kenton Wilhoit returned for six.
Southeast Louisiana 25, McNeese 20
Chaos Quarterback Cody Orgeron strikes again, this time by throwing two picks and losing a fumble. Cole Kelley of SELA, meanwhile, had 301 yards and a touchdown passing, while Morgan Ellison added 127 yards and a score on the ground.
Nicholls 31, Northwestern State 24
Think back to the last time you saw someone have 36 rushing attempts in a game. Julien Gums did for Nicholls, racking up 156 yards and a touchdown. Lindsey Scott Jr. had 299 yards and three touchdowns passing to go with an interception and 91 rushing yards of his own. NW State, meanwhile, managed 67 yards passing on 30 attempts, which, boy, that’s something.
Tarleton 39, Mississippi College 14
Mississippi College scored two touchdowns despite completing one pass, which is pretty good.
VMI 30, Western Carolina 7
The Catamounts are 0-6.
Incarnate Word 42, Lamar 20
Cameron Ward threw for 341 yards, four touchdowns and two picks and rushed for a score, and Kevin Brown rushed for 196 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, also catching a touchdown pass.
Eastern Washington 45, Northern Arizona 13
The Eagles left no doubt this time: Eric Barriere passed for 413 yards, three touchdowns and a pick and EWU made sure this thing was over at halftime.
Delaware 37, Maine 0
Delaware was unable to stop Maine from amassing 112 yards of offense.
Sunday
Murray State 24, SEMO 21
Down 17-7 entering the fourth quarter, SEMO scored on Zion Custis’s second touchdown run of the day and a pick-six by Shabari Davis within less than a minute of each other to take the lead. Four minutes later, however, Murray State retook it for good on a Preston Rice touchdown run. Rice also had a touchdown pass in the first quarter, and Marcis Floyd had a pick-six of his own for Murray State. More touchdown passes went to defenses in this game than offenses, and yet most of the five interceptions didn’t go for scores.
Duquesne 30, Sacred Heart 27
The Dukes held off a comeback attempt by Sacred Heart, who scored a touchdown and a two-pointer with 15 seconds to go only to fail to recover the onside kick.
Long Island 24, Bryant 19
LIU put up 21 in the second quarter to take a big lead, including a pick-six by Ricco Aaron Jr.
UT Martin 28, Eastern Illinois 15
John Bachus III, who with a name like that must throw a good party, had three touchdown passes for UT Martin, who also got a pick-six from John Ford, who went 50 yards without a Stagecoach.
Jacksonville State 38, Tennessee State 16
Half of JSU’s points came in the fourth quarter. Zion Webb totaled three touchdowns and 280 yards to lead the Gamecocks. Uriah West racked up 40 yards and a touchdown on the ground and 85 and a score receiving.
Games That Might Happen
Saturday
Albany at Maine, noon ET
Valparaiso at Butler, noon ET
Stony Brook at Delaware, noon ET
Morehead State at Presbyterian, noon ET
Monmouth at Robert Morris, noon ET
Holy Cross at Lehigh, noon ET
Wofford at Samford, 1 p.m. ET
Davidson at Stetson, 1 p.m. ET
Charleston Southern at Kennesaw State, 1 p.m. ET
The Citadel at Western Carolina, 1 p.m. ET
Rhode Island at Villanova, 1 p.m. ET
Northern Iowa at Southern Illinois, 1 p.m. ET
North Dakota at Western Illinois, 1 p.m. ET
Nicholls at Sam Houston State, 1 p.m. ET
Lamar at McNeese, 1 p.m. ET
Furman at ETSU, 1 p.m. ET
Richmond at Elon, 1 p.m. ET
Mercer at VMI, 1:30 p.m. ET
Missouri State at South Dakota, 2 p.m. ET
San Diego at Drake, 2 p.m. ET
Delaware State at SC State, 2 p.m. ET
Idaho at Northern Arizona, 3 p.m. ET
Southern Utah at Cal Poly, 3 p.m. ET
UC Davis at Weber State, 3 p.m. ET
Youngstown State at South Dakota State, 3 p.m. ET
Colgate at Lafayette, 3:30 p.m.
Illinois State at North Dakota State, 3:30 p.m. ET
William & Mary at James Madison, 4 p.m. ET
Prairie View A&M vs. Grambling State, 4 p.m. ET
Eastern Washington at Idaho State 6 p.m. ET
Northwestern State at Southeastern Louisiana, 7 p.m. ET
Tarleton State at Dixie State 9 p.m. ET