Three in FCS Top 25 beat FBS

Three in FCS Top 25 beat FBS

Published Sep. 4, 2016 11:39 a.m. ET

(STATS) - Richmond football coach Danny Rocco said it best that his Spiders went to Virginia expecting to win Saturday.

The first full weekend of college football is often a time for FCS programs to steal the spotlight from bigger FBS programs, and No. 4 Richmond, No. 5 Northern Iowa and No. 14 Eastern Washington delivered with upsets.

Richmond looked in midseason form as junior quarterback Kyle Lauletta threw three touchdowns and the defense forced four turnovers in a 37-20 rout of Virginia, which spoiled the Cavaliers' coaching debut of Bronco Mendenhall.

Northern Iowa tripped Iowa State 25-20 on J'Veyon Browning's 1-yard run with 2:49 left to play - the Panthers' second win over the Cyclones in four seasons.

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Eastern Washington outgunned Washington State 45-42 as All-American wide receiver Cooper Kupp caught three touchdown passes to set the FCS career record with 59.

Richmond's posted its first win over an FBS team in five years and the second this season for a CAA Football team after Albany beat Buffalo Friday night.

The Spiders controlled the ball for 39 minutes, 46 seconds. Lauletta was 24 of 35 for 337 yards, throwing two touchdown passes to wide receiver Tyler Wilkins and one to All-American Brian Brown. Cornerback Tafon Mainsah had one of the Spiders' three fumble recoveries and intercepted a pass.

Northern Iowa's most recent FBS win was at Iowa State 28-20 to open the 2013 campaign. Saturday's was fueled by senior quarterback Aaron Bailey as he passed for 135 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 114 yards and a score.

The Panthers forced four turnovers. Charles Brown's 26-yard interception return to the Iowa State 36 in the fourth quarter set up the winning touchdown.

Kupp finished with 12 receptions for 206 yards in Eastern Washington's win - the Eagles' first since his first game in 2013 when they beat Oregon State. The 2015 STATS FCS Offensive Player of the Year caught 75- and 26-yard touchdowns from Gabe Gubrud before his record-breaking 7-yard score with 10:34 remaining in the third quarter.

Gabrud was 34 of 40 for 474 yards and five touchdowns, and rushed for 77 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

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SATURDAY, SEPT. 3=

STATS FCS TOP 25

No. 2 Sam Houston State (1-0) 59, Oklahoma Panhandle State (0-1) 21

Last year's FCS team leader in total offense cranked it up with quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe passing for 338 yards and three touchdowns. He added an 8-yard TD run.

Running back Corey Avery had 105 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns.

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No. 7 Charleston Southern (1-0) 57, Kentucky State (0-1) 7

Starting quarterback Kyle Copeland suffered a season-ending knee injury in Charleston Southern's easy win, adding to a bad week in which coach Jamey Chadwell and an assistant coach were both suspended for a future game following a minor NCAA recruiting violation on social media.

In a 405-yard ground assault, Alan Barnwell had a game-high 108 yards and a touchdown on four carries, and Mike Holloway carried the ball three times for 68 yards and two touchdowns. Kelan Fraise and Darius Hammond combined for 248 yards on seven punt returns, including Fraise's 70-yard score.

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No. 10 Illinois State (1-0) 50, Valparaiso (0-1) 13

Alejandro Rivera scored on a 27-yard interception return on the game's second play to jump-start Illinois State's win. Sophomore quarterback Jake Kolbe was 11 of 19 for 166 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a score.

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No. 11 McNeese (1-0) 33, Tarleton State (0-1) 3

McNeese limited Tarleton State to 139 yards as new coach Lance Guidry won his first game. Quarterback James Tabary threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns, and Dylan Long rushed for a pair of scores.

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No. 12 James Madison (1-0) 80, Morehead State (0-1) 7

In coach Mike Houston's first game, James Madison set a program record with 52 first-half points and pounded Morehead State with a running game that produced 498 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Quarterback Bryan Schor (129 yards, three touchdowns), Trai Sharp (110, one) and Cardon Johnson (104, two) all surpassed 100 rushing yards.

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No. 16 Coastal Carolina (1-0) 38, Lamar (0-1) 14

FCS independent Coastal Carolina scored the final 35 points after trailing 14-3 at halftime. De'Angelo Henderson scored two touchdowns in the second half and finished with 158 yards on 28 carries.

Lamar's Kade Harrington rushed for 207 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries.

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No. 17 Portland State (1-0) 43, Central Washington (0-1) 26

Sidestepping a potential upset, Portland State overcame a 26-21 deficit after three quarters.

Quarterback Alex Kuresa accounted for 345 total yards (222 passing, 123 rushing) and three touchdowns, and running back Nate Tago rushed for 136 yards and three touchdowns in the win.

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Pittsburgh (1-0) 28, No. 23 Villanova (0-1) 7

Villanova didn't score an offensive touchdown and managed only 172 yards in losing the opening game of coach Andy Talley's 32nd and final season with the Wildcats.

Rob Rolle scored on a 3-yard fumble return off a Drew Wiley sack in the third quarter after Villanova trailed 21-0.

Sophomore quarterback Zack Bednarczyk completed 16 of 31 passes for 119 yards and an interception. Ryan Bell caught six passes for 52 yards.

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South Florida (1-0) 56, No. 24 Towson (0-1) 20

Towson held the ball for 37:40 yet committed four turnovers and lost by 36 points. Senior running back Darius Victor became the fourth Tiger to surpass 3,000 career rushing yards as he carried the ball 23 times for 70 yards and two touchdowns.

Redshirt freshman Shane Simpson set a program single-game record with 229 return yards on eight kickoff returns.

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No. 25 North Carolina A&T (1-0) 62, St. Augustine's (0-1) 0

A&T quarterback Lamar Raynard was 17 of 21 for 170 yards and two touchdowns, adding a 1-yard TD run. Many Aggies got offensive touches, with All-America running back Tarik Cohen rushing for two touchdowns on eight carries.

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No. 5 Northern Iowa (0-0) at Iowa State (0-0), (n)

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No. 8 South Dakota State (0-0) at TCU (0-0), (n)

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No. 14 Eastern Washington (0-0) at Washington State (0-0), (n)

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No. 22 New Hampshire (0-0) at San Diego State (0-0), (n)

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Saint Francis (0-0) at No. 13 Montana (0-0), (n)

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No. 18 Northern Arizona (0-0) at Arizona State (0-0), (n)

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FRIDAY, SEPT. 2=

Syracuse (1-0) 33, No. 21 Colgate (0-1) 7

Jake Melville's 19-yard touchdown pass to Owen Rockett opened the scoring six minutes into the game, but Colgate surrendered the final 33 points. The defending Patriot League champion was outgained 554-143 in yards.

Melville completed 10 of 22 passes for 82 yards. Syracuse quarterbacks completed 40 passes.

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THURSDAY, SEPT. 1=

No. 3 Jacksonville State (1-0) 31, North Alabama (0-1) 12

Jacksonville State quarterback Eli Jenkins picked up where he left off in earning first-team All-America honors for the FCS runner-up last season. The senior gained 331 total yards, rushing for 101 yards and a touchdown and passing for 230 yards.

Auburn transfer Roc Thomas carried the ball 20 times for 71 yards and three touchdowns. He also had four receptions for 53 yards.

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No. 6 Chattanooga (1-0) 66, Shorter (0-1) 0

New starting quarterback Alejandro Bennifield was lifted from the game in the second quarter, but not before he threw touchdowns to four different receivers while Chattanooga built a 45-0 halftime lead. The junior finished 8 of 11 for 135 yards with an interception.

Backup quarterback Tyler Roberson totaled three touchdowns - two runs and a 9-yard reception from Bennifield.

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North Carolina State (1-0) 48, No. 9 William & Mary (0-1) 14

The visiting Tribe allowed 21 unanswered points in the second quarter while falling behind 28-7 at halftime. N.C. State finished with 521 offensive yards.

Tribe quarterback Steve Cluley passed for only 99 yards with two interceptions, but he accounted for both touchdowns on a 10-yard run and a 16-yard pass to DeVonte Dedmon.

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No. 15 The Citadel (1-0, 1-0 Southern) 24, Mercer (0-1, 0-1) 23

The Citadel has beaten Mercer in three straight seasons by a combined five points. The difference in this year's Southern Conference opener was Middle Tennessee State graduate transfer Cody Clark's 35-yard field goal with 2:20 left.

The Bulldogs, playing on the road without suspended quarterback Dominique Allen, scored on their first three possessions, including Tyler Renew (27 carries, 146 yards) going 70 yards on the game's second play, for a 21-3 lead in the first quarter. But a pair of touchdown runs by quarterback John Russ helped Mercer to 20 unanswered points and a 23-21 lead.

Clark's winning field goal capped a 15-play drive for the defending co-SoCon champion, whose new coach, Brent Thompson, won his debut.

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Stony Brook (1-0) 13, No. 19 North Dakota (0-1) 9

In an intersectional game in which the two teams combined for only 398 yards (Stony Brook 221, UND 177), the host Seawolves made the game's decisive play on special teams. They erased a 9-7 deficit when Gavin Heslop blocked a Dussold Austin punt and Kye Morgan picked up the ball at UND's 7-yard line and raced into the end zone with 8:52 to play.

UND standout John Santiago scored on a 16-yard run, but was held to 52 yards on 16 carries. Safety Cole Reyes was the Fighting Hawks' defensive standout, scoring on a safety in the third quarter and totaling two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble, eight tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.

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No. 20 Western Illinois (1-0) 38, Eastern Illinois (0-1) 21

Charlie Fisher won his Western Illinois coaching debut on the road as sophomore Steve McShane rushed for 207 yards and two touchdowns, including a 70-yarder, on 28 carries.

Quarterback Mitch Kimble's 323 passing yards and three total touchdowns weren't enough for Eastern Illinois as third-year coach Kim Dameron fell to 0-9 in non-conference games.

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