Cal Poly knocks off Montana for first time in 11 games

James Noble rushed for 188 yards and scored a touchdown in each quarter to lead Cal Poly to a 35-21 victory over Montana on Saturday in Missoula.

The No. 10 Mustangs (9-3) beat the ninth-ranked Grizzlies (8-4) for the first time in 11 tries and avenged a 36-27 loss to the Grizzlies on Oct. 22.

Noble, a freshman, had touchdown runs of 3, 4, 5 and 35 yards for Cal Poly, which advances to a second-round game next Saturday at No. 4 Texas State (10-2).

Matt Brennan passed for 130 yards and a 38-yard touchdown to Ramses Barden.

Lex Hilliard rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns and turned a shovel pass into a 66-yard score for Montana, which ended its season with two straight losses.

Next up for Cal Poly is Texas State.

New Hampshire 55, Colgate 21

Ricky Santos threw three touchdowns passes to David Ball and John McCoy ran for three more scores as the top-ranked Wildcats (11-1) routed the Raiders (8-4) in Durham, N.H.

Santos connected with Ball on scoring plays of 27 and 48 yards as the Wildcats took a 34-0 halftime lead. They combined on one other score from 18 yards in the fourth quarter to make it 55-14.

New Hampshire hosts Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals.

Furman 14, Nicholls State 12

Ingle Martin ran for a 1-yard touchdown with 8:06 left to lead the Paladins (10-2) over the Colonels (6-4) in Greenville, S.C.

The Paladins came into the game averaging more than 38 points, but managed only a couple of touchdowns. The game was in doubt until the middle of the fourth quarter. Trailing by two, the Colonels drove to the Furman 39, but Joseph Tobias was stopped short on fourth-and-two with 4:52 remaining.

Next up for the Paladins is Richmond.

Richmond 38, Hampton 10

Tim Hightower and David Freeman each ran for two touchdowns as the Spiders (9-3) beat the Pirates (11-1) in Hampton, Va.

Freeman carried the ball 21 times for 117 yards, including two 2-yard touchdown runs. Hightower scored from 3 yards and 8 yards, with a total of 73 yards on 15 carries.

Stacy Tutt passed for 102 yards and ran for a TD for Richmond. Onrea Jones caught a 7-yard pass for a touchdown for Hampton. Jones had 192 receiving yards for Hampton.

Southern Illinois 21, Eastern Illinois 6

Arkee Whitlock ran for three touchdowns and the Salukis (9-3) cruised past the Panthers (9-3) in Charleston, Ill.

The Salukis are making their third straight appearance in the playoffs, and Saturday’s outcome was strikingly different from a year ago when they were ranked No. 1 and then upset in the opening round by Eastern Washington.

Whitlock scored on a 6-yard run in the first quarter to cap a 70-yard drive after Eastern Illinois’ Zach Yates opened the scoring with a 32-yard field goal.

Southern Illinois moves on to face Appalachian State.

Appalachian State 34, Lafayette 23

Richie Williams threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Daniel Bettis, leading the Mountaineers (9-3) over the Leopards (8-4) in Boone, N.C.

Williams, who also threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Dexter Jackson in the third quarter, completed 10 of 17 for 151 yards and ran for 32 yards for the Mountaineers.

Texas State 50, Georgia Southern 35

Barrick Nealy passed for 400 yards and four touchdowns, and the Bobcats (10-2) scored 27 points in the fourth quarter to come from behind and beat the Eagles (8-4) in San Marcos, Texas.

Texas State trailed 35-23 at the end of the third quarter before Nealy threw two touchdowns in the final quarter to key the comeback.

Georgia Southern was led by Jayson Foster, who ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns