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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

FCS playoff roundup: Easton Stick leads top-seed North Dakota State past Colgate

North Dakota State wide receiver Darrius Shepherd, right, celebrates with quarterback Easton Stick, left, after catching a 20-yard touchdown pass during the first half  against Northern Iowa on Oct. 6 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. (Charlie Neibergall / AP)
Associated Press

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 in Fargo, North Dakota.

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 FCS’ top defense.

The defending national champions, who have won 19 in a row, are home against league rival South Dakota State.

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.

South Dakota State 27, Kennesaw State 17: Taryn Christion threw for one touchdown and ran for another – the clincher with 2:22 to play – and the fifth-seeded Jackrabbits held off the fourth-seeded Owls in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Christion scored on a 15-yard run to cap an eight-play, 65-yard drive after the Owls had scored on consecutive possessions, cutting the lead to 20-17.