Eastern Washington shocks UC Davis 34-29
CHENEY, Wash. — Eric Barriere accounted for four touchdowns and Sam McPherson scored on a 35-yard run with 26 seconds left to lift third-seeded Eastern Washington to a 34-29 win over sixth-seeded UC Davis on Saturday in the FCS quarterfinals.
The Aggies (10-3) had taken a 29-28 lead in this Big Sky Conference rematch with 1:13 to play on Jake Maier’s second touchdown pass and 2-point PAT pitch.
The Eagles then went 75 yards in four plays, kick-started by Barriere’s 29-yard run to the UC Davis 46 when it appeared he was going to be sacked. McPherson, who rushed for 143 yards, took a handoff up the middle and then cut to the left sideline.
Eastern (11-2) is home against seventh-seeded Maine, which upset second-seeded Weber State on Friday, next weekend. Weber State tied with EWU and UC Davis for the Big Sky title.
Barriere’s third TD pass, to Nsimba Webster, put the Eagles up 28-21 midway through the fourth quarter. Maier and Gilliam connected on a 3-yard score, then Maier had a forward pitch to Namane Modise, running right to left behind the line, for the conversion.
Maier threw for 234 yards with Keelan Doss catching nine passes for 143 yards. Gilliam ran for 132 yards.
› North Dakota State 35, Colgate 0
FARGO, N.D. — Easton Stick threw for three touchdowns, Bruce Anderson ran for 124 yards with a touchdown and top-seeded North Dakota State advanced to the FCS semifinals for the eighth straight year with a 35-0 win over eighth-seeded Colgate on Saturday.
Stick was 14 of 19 for 205 yards as the Bison (13-0) piled up 443 yards against the Raiders (10-2), who had the top defense in FCS.
The defending national champions, who have won 19 in a row, are home against league rival South Dakota State, the fifth-seed they beat 21-17 in September, next weekend.
Ty Brooks scored on a 26-yard run to cap a four-play, 96-yard drive on NDSU’s first possession. A 2-yard pass to Ben Ellefson made it 14-0 in the second quarter. The Bison then went 70 yards on eight plays to open the second half, capped by a 10-yard pass to Darrius Shepherd, who moved into second on the NDSU career list with 179 receptions.
That was more than enough for the Bison, who limited Colgate to 157 yards. The Raiders had tied the FCS record with five shutouts this season and only allowed nine touchdowns in 11 games.
Stick is now 47-3 as a starting quarterback, tying former Bison QB Brock Jensen, who went 47-5 in his career, for the most wins by a starting FCS QB. NDSU kicker Cam Pedersen has converted 91 straight extra points and 251 in his career.
› South Dakota State 27, Kennesaw State 17 KENNESAW, Ga. — Taryn Christion threw for one touchdown and ran for another — the clincher with 2:22 to play — and fifth-seeded South Dakota State held off fourth-seeded Kennesaw State.
The Jackrabbits (10-2) play at top-seeded North Dakota State, the defending national champion, next weekend.
Christion scored on a 15-yard run to cap an eight-play, 65-yard drive after the Owls (11-2) had scored on consecutive possessions to close within 20-17.
The game ended at almost the exact same time as the SDSU women’s basketball upset No. 21 Drake 80-71 at home.
South Dakota State scored on three straight possessions to take a 17-3 lead at halftime. Christion connected with Adam Anderson for a 5-yard score and Pierre Strong had a 9-yard run. Chase Vinatieri kicked his second short field goal to make it 20-3 entering the fourth quarter.
Daniel David, who took over for injured started Chandler Burks, directed two scoring drives. His 19-yard pass to Jake McKenzie capped a 73-yard drive and was just the second passing TD of the season for Daniel. Then he scored on a 1-yard run to finish a 91-yard drive.