Big Sky football roundup: No. 1 North Dakota State beats No. 4 UC Davis

Trey Lance rushed for a pair of touchdowns, and two fourth-quarter interceptions boosted FCS top-ranked North Dakota State to a 27-16 victory over fourth-ranked UC Davis on Saturday in Fargo, North Dakota, extending the Bison’s win streak to 25 games.

Michael Tutsie intercepted Jake Maier at the Bison 2 on a third-and goal with 6:44 remaining. UC Davis (2-2) got the ball back about three minutes later but Maier’s pass was deflected by lineman Derrek Tuszka into the hands of teammate Cole Karcz to put the Bison at the Aggies 18. Three plays later, Lance ran over a defender to score on a 9-yard keeper.

Lance gave the Bison (4-0) the lead for good midway at 14-10 through the second quarter on a 1-yard run. A 50-yard punt return by Trevor Heit helped set up a 2-yard run by Adam Cofield and Griffin Crosa kicked two field goals. Ty Brooks rushed for 104 yards on 11 carries.

Montana 47, Monmouth 27: Dalton Sneed threw for 334 yards and four touchdowns, Marcus Knight ran for 148 yards and another score and the Grizzlies (3-1) beat the Hawks (2-2) in Missoula.

Sneed threw two touchdown passes to Bryson Deming and one each to Colin Bingham and Jerry Louie-McGee.

Montana State 56, Norfolk State 21: Tucker Rovig, a last-minute substitution at quarterback, threw for 221 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Bobcats (3-1) to a win over the Spartans (1-3) in Bozeman.

Montana State had three players rush for more than 100 yards. Logan Jones had 104, all in the first half. Lane Sumner had 113 and Shane Perry added 111.

Fresno State 34, Sacramento State 20: Josh Hokit scored three times, including a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown runs, and the Bulldogs (1-2) pulled away in the closing minutes to beat the Hornets (2-2) in Fresno, California.

Hokit finished with 12 carries for 72 yards and his 14-yard TD reception in the first quarter opened the scoring. Jorge Reyna was 26-of-39 passing for 312 yards and two touchdowns for Fresno State.

Kevin Thomson was 22-of-41 passing for 233 yards and three touchdowns for Sacramento State.

South Dakota 14, Northern Colorado 6: Austin Simmons passed for 185 yards and a touchdown on Saturday and the Coyotes (1-3) beat the Bears (0-4).

Simmons also ran 17 times for 63 yards for South Dakota. Kai Henry added 60 yards rushing on nine carries.

Portland State 59, Eastern Oregon 9: Davis Alexander threw for a career-high five touchdowns as the Vikings (2-2) closed out their nonconference schedule by thumping the NAIA Mountaineers (1-3) in Portland.

Alexander was 25-of-34 passing for 366 yards for Portland State.

Northern Iowa 13, Idaho State 6: Will McElvain passed 17 yards to Isaiah Weston for the game’s only touchdown early in the fourth quarter and lifted the Panthers (2-1) to a victory over the Bengals (1-2) in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Austin Evans and Bryce Flater picked off passes later in the quarter to thwart the Bengals. Omar Brown also had an interception for the FCS No. 8 Panthers, and Elerson Smith collected three sacks, including one on Idaho State’s final possession.

South Dakota State 43, Southern Utah 7: Pierre Strong scored two touchdowns and the South Dakota State special teams blocked three kicks as the Jackrabbits (3-1) beat the Thunderbirds (1-3) in Brookings, South Dakota.

Strong had 11 carries for 85 yards and a score and added a 45-yard touchdown catch. J’Bore Gibbs completed 15 of 24 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions for South Dakota State.

Illinois State 40, Northern Arizona 27: Brady Davis passed for a career-high 419 yards and two touchdowns to Andrew Edgar, who finished with a career-high 228 yards on 12 catches, to propel the Redbirds (3-1) to a victory over the Lumberjacks (2-2) in Normal, Illinois.

The Redbirds took control of the game in the third quarter, scoring on James Robinson’s 20-yard run and Davis’ 53-yard scoring strike to Edgar.