Big Sky football: North Dakota State powers past Montana

John Crockett ran 28 times for 144 yards and top-ranked and defending champion North Dakota State (4-0) posted a 22-10 victory over the Montana Grizzlies (2-2) in Fargo, North Dakota.

Carson Wentz was 16 of 24 for 167 yards for the Bison and threw to Kevin Vaadeland for a 3-yard TD for North Dakota State’s only touchdown.

The Bison took the lead on their opening drive when Adam Keller made the first of his five field goals. Keller connected on three more first-half field goals to give North Dakota State a 12-10 lead at the break.

Jordan Canada scored Montana’s only touchdown on a 3-yard run early in the second quarter.

South Dakota 28, Northern Arizona 21: Ryan Saeger rushed for 108 yards and two TDs and passed for a third score to lead the Coyotes (2-2) past the Lumberjacks (2-2) in Vermillion, South Dakota.

NAU scored twice in the third quarter before the Coyotes pulled away 28-14 on a 9-yard TD pass and a two-point conversion pass from Saeger to Eric Shufford Jr.

Northern Iowa 46, Northern Colorado 7: Sawyer Kollmorgen threw a pair of TD passes, David Johnson rushed for 173 yards and a score and the Panthers (1-2) routed the Bears (1-2) in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Johnson, a preseason All-American who was bottled up for 80 yards on 31 carries this season, had a breakout game with 109 yards by halftime.

Stephen F Austin 35, Weber State 20: Gus Johnson rushed for 83 yards on 12 carries with two TDs, quarterback Zach Conque added two more scores on the ground, and the Lumberjacks (3-1) never trailed in a win over the Wildcats (0-4) in Nacogdoches, Texas.

Cal Poly 42, Portland State 14: Chris Brown rushed for 154 yards and two TDs and the Mustangs (1-2, 1-0) ran away from the Vikings (1-3, 0-1) in San Luis Obispo, California, in a conference opener.

Sacramento State 59, Menlo 14: The Hornets (3-1) – off to their best start since 1999 – passed for 278 yards, ran for 273 yards and had nine different players score in a rout over the Oaks (1-3) in Sacramento, California.

North Dakota 13, Stony Brook 3: Alex Tillman returned an interception 92 yards for a TD and Joe Mollberg hooked up with Dev Ferguson for a 68-yard score as UND (2-2) defeated the Seawolves (1-3) in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Fresno State 56, Southern Utah 16: Quarterback Brian Burrell tossed a pair of TD passes and his backups Zack Greenlee and Brandon Connette each had a scoring strike to catapult the Bulldogs (1-3) to a lopsided win over the Thunderbirds (0-4) in Fresno, California.