Football Roundup - Nov. 1
Six Big Sky Conference football teams can now lay claim to first place in the league standings.
Cal Poly handed No. 8 Montana State its first league loss, downing the Bobcats 35-27 in San Luis Obispo. Cal Poly has won five straight games, and has back-to-back wins over top-10 teams.
Cal Poly and Eastern Washington are now 5-1 in confence action. No. 6 Eastern Washington beat North Dakota 54-3 in Cheney on Saturday.
Northern Arizona picked up its third consecutive victory, rallying from a 22-0 first-quarter deficit to beat Weber State 29-22.
Idaho State earned its fourth consecutive win, downing Portland State 31-13 on the road. The Bengals have won six games in a season for the first time since 2003. Idaho State has won four in a row for the first time since 2002.
Montana rebounded from last week's loss to Cal Poly with a 31-13 home win over Sacramento State.
Idaho State, Montana, Montana State and Northern Arizona are all 4-1 in conference.
In other Saturday action, Northern Colorado held on for a 27-21 road win over UC Davis. It was the Bears' first road win since 2012.
Next Saturday's schedule features two games featuring two teams with one league-loss. Montana travels to Eastern Washington, while Idaho State plays host to Cal Poly. Northern Arizona is at home against UC Davis. Montana State plays host to Portland State. In other games next Saturday, Weber State travels to Northern Colorado and Southern Utah is at Sacramento State.
Cal Poly 35, No. 8 Montana State 27: Quarterback Chris Brown scored his second rushing touchdown of the night to cap a 17 play drive with 2:38 to play as the Mustangs remained undefeated at home.
Cal Poly rushed for 376 yards and four touchdowns. Kori Garcia rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown.
Montana State had a chance to tie the game with a touchdown and 2-point conversion, but Cal Poly slammed the door when Karlton Dennis intercepted Dakota Prukop at the 2-yard line on a fourth-down play.
Prukop rushed for 129 yards and threw for 167. MSU led 17-14 at the half, and 24-21 in the third quarter thanks to a 4-yard Anthony Knight run. Cal Poly took the lead for good when Brandon Howe scored on a 24-yard run with 6:24 to play in the third quarter.
Cal Poly linebacker Nick Dzubnar, the nation's top tackler, was credited with 18.
No. 6 Eastern Washington 54, North Dakota 3: Jordan West threw for a career-high 314 yards and two touchdowns as the Eagles cruised to the home victory.
Eastern Washington exploded for 31 second-quarter points and led 38-3 at halftime. Quincy Forte rushed for 55 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Cooper Kupp had nine catches for 111 yards and a touchdown.
North Dakota started true freshman QB Keaton Studsrud because of injuries to Joe Mollberg and Ryan Bartels. Studsrud was intercepted three times, one that was returned 26 yards for a touchdown by Moe Roberts.
EWU's defense held North Dakota to 126 yards of total offense.
Idaho State 31, Portland State 13: Senior quarterback Justin Arias threw for 319 yards and two touchdowns and the Bengal defense forced six turnovers.
Idaho State, which snapped a 48-game road losing streak last week, has now won back-to-back road games. Arias tossed TD passes of 6 yards to KW Williams and 3 yards to CJ Hatchett. Xavier Finney scored on rushes of 5 and 18 yards. Idaho State amassed 430 yards of total offense.
Portland State's Kasey Closs caught nine passes for 139 yards, including a 16-yard TD catch in the second quarter that cut ISU's lead to 14-7.
Idaho State's defense picked off five passes and recovered a fumble. Erik Collins intercepted two passes.
Northern Colorado 27, UC Davis 21: Sean Rubalcaba threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 74 yards and a score as the Bears held on for the road win.
Northern Colorado led 24-7 before the Aggies mounted a comeback. Ramon Vargas caught an 18-yard TD with nine minutes to play, and Gabe Manzanares scored on a 1-yard run with 5:10 remaining to cut the lead to 24-21.
Northern Colorado's Trevor Douglass secured the win with an interception in the end zone with four seconds to play.
Ben Scott threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. Vargas caught nine pases for 122 yards and two touchdowns.
Northern Arizona 29, Weber State 22: Junior Jordan Perry, making his first career start at quarterback, threw for 239 yards and a pair of second-quarter touchdown passes at Northern Arizona rallied for the win.
Perry's 15-yard TD pass to Beau Gardner with 14 seconds left in the first half pulled NAU to within 22-20. The Lumberjacks converted the 2-point conversion on a pass to Gardner.
Nick Butier scored on a 1-yard run with 6:12 left in the third quarter, capping a 15-play, 79-yard drive to put the Lumberjacks up for good, 29-22.
Weber State drove inside the NAU 20-yard line in the final seconds, but was turned away. Weber State, which had scored 14 first-quarter points in its first seven games, exploded for 22 points in the first quarter. Quarterback Jadrian Clark, who rushed for 120 yards on 11 carries, scored on runs of 7 and 20 yards. Bo Bolen scored on an 8-yard run.
No. 12 Montana 31, Sacramento State 12: Jordan Canada rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Grizzlies to the home victory.
Canada broke free for a 68-yard touchdown early in the third quarter to give the Grizzlies a 24-6 lead.
Junior linebacker Kendrick Van Ackeren tallied nine tackles and intercepted a pass that he returned 59 yards
Sacramento State senior QB Garrett Safron scored on a 1-yard run with 32 seconds to play for the Hornets' only touchdown. Safron threw for 262 yards and rushed for 43 in the loss.