Weber State Picks Up First Road Win At Montana Since 1987, Big Sky Recaps
Portland State dominates FBS North Texas 66-7
Jon Oglesby, Football Communications Director
OGDEN, UTAH (October 10, 2015)- Before Saturday, the Weber State Wildcats hadn’t won in Missoula in 28 seasons.
Well, second-year head coach Jay Hill and the 2015 Wildcats changed that theme, as Weber State used a 27-yard field goal by Josh Kealamakia to pick up a 24-21 overtime victory over ranked Montana.
The Wildcats scored first in the game, as Eric Wilkes scored on a three-yard run. The Grizzlies scored two consecutive touchdowns to take a 14-7 lead, but then Weber found some momentum in the second quarter.
First, Wildcats quarterback Jadrian Clark found Cameron Livingston for a 15-yard touchdown, and then Cordero Dixon intercepted a Chad Chalich pass, returning it 30 yards for a touchdown that gave Weber State a 21-14 halftime lead.
Montana tied the game in the fourth quarter as Makena Simis found Ben Roberts on a 44-yard pass.
The Grizzlies initially had the ball in the overtime period, but a Simis fumble was recovered by Filipe Sitake to set the Wildcats up.
IDAHO STATE 37, NORTH DAKOTA 31- On the back end of a four-game road trip, the Idaho State Bengals weren’t expected to close out the journey with a win over a nationally-ranked North Dakota team.
Thankfully for the Bengals, expectations don’t always come true, as the Bengals used a second-half surge to pick up a 37-31 victory over North Dakota at the Alerus Center.
Idaho State scored the last 21 points of the game, as Bengals quarterback Michael Sanders threw two touchdown passes in the series, and Jakori Ford scored on receiving and rushing touchdowns.
North Dakota held a 31-15 lead with 1:21 to go in the third quarter, after a 27-yard touchdown run by John Santiago. UND had held a 21-15 halftime lead.
Santiago rushed for 155 yards and two scores. Idaho State running back Xavier Finney didn’t have gaudy rushing numbers- just 17 carries for 36 yards- but he passed the 3000-yard mark for his career in the game.
Sanders completed 32-of-49 passes for 427 yards and four touchdowns.
EASTERN WASHINGTON 42, CAL POLY 41- The other overtime game in Big Sky football came down to a clash of one of the nation’s top passing offenses and its best rushing offense.
Eastern Washington’s passing offense allowed the Eagles to overcome a massive 503-yard rushing performance by the Mustangs, earning an overtime victory that lifts Eastern Washington 2-0 in conference play.
On his fourth touchdown pass of the day, Eastern Washington quarterback Jordan West found Kendrick Bourne for a 25-yard touchdown pass in overtime. Cal Poly came back to score on a Chris Brown run, but the two-point conversion failed.
Cal Poly held a 28-13 lead after Joe Protheroe scored on a six-yard run with 1:30 left in the third quarter, but Eastern Washington went on a 21-7 run in the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime. The last touchdown came on a 16-yard pass from West to Nic Splendorio.
Bourne finished with 10 catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns.
PORTLAND STATE 66, NORTH TEXAS 7- Getting one FBS upset in a season is a reason for celebration, but getting two in one season?
Portland State is having to deal with the success, as the Vikings dominated the Mean Green in a record-setting way.
Yes, the Vikings set the record for largest margin of victory of an FCS team over an FBS team.
Alex Kuresa completed 11-of-19 passes for 269 yards and three touchdowns, while David Jones rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries.
The Vikings held a 45-0 lead at halftime, and didn’t allow a score until there was 1:02 remaining in the game.
Portland State is the third different FCS team to register two wins over FBS opponents in a season, and the first since North Dakota State did it in 2007.
MONTANA STATE 35, SACRAMENTO STATE 13- Montana State registered 511 yards of offense in a Big Sky win.
Bobcats quarterback Dakota Prukop completed 12-of-22 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 69 yards and two touchdowns.
Prukop opened the game by finding Mitchell Herbert for a 79-yard touchdown less than a minute into the game. After a Justin Paige touchdown run, MSU held a 14-0 lead.
However, Sacramento State responded with a touchdown and a field goal to trail 14-10. A Prukop touchdown run gave Montana State a 21-10 halftime lead.
UC DAVIS 38, NORTHERN ARIZONA 24- UC Davis earned its first victory of the season by overcoming a rough start.
Northern Arizona led 7-0 after quarterback Case Cookus found found R. J. Rickert for a touchdown, but the Aggies responded with two touchdowns to take a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Cookus would tie the game at 17-17 on a touchdown late in the second quarter to Emmanuel Butler, but UC Davis scored 21 straight points in the second half to put the game out of reach.
UC Davis quarterback Ben Scott completed 20-of-35 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns, while running back Manusamoa Luuga rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns.