BOZEMAN, Mont. — Hunter Poncius blocked Casey Kautzman’s PAT in overtime, and North Dakota State University escaped with a 35-34 win over sixth-seeded Montana State on Saturday in the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
The Bison (10-3) eliminated the Bobcats (8-4) for the fourth time in five seasons, including the 2021 national championship game. The win was their FCS-record 46th in the postseason, breaking a tie with Georgia Southern, which now competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
It sets up NDSU’s 14th straight trip to the quarterfinals, where the Bison will face Missouri Valley Football Conference rival South Dakota for the second time this season. The Coyotes won the first meeting 24-19 on Sept. 30, with the Bison hosting that day.
On Saturday, the Bison ended Montana State’s 26-game home winning streak in only the fourth road game nine-time FCS national champ NDSU has had in the playoffs, not counting title games on neutral fields. The Bison reached the final last season before losing.
Of the eight seeds in the 24-team field when the playoffs began, Montana State is the only one that failed to reach the quarterfinals.
The Bison ran the ball five times in overtime, with Cam Miller scoring on a 3-yard quarterback keeper.
Montana State responded with a 25-yard run by Scottre Humphrey around the right end. However, Poncius, a 6-foot-8, 315-pound backup offensive tackle, became a special teams star as he got enough push and his hands up to win the game.
The Bison went 89 yards in nine plays late in regulation, tying the game on a 29-yard run by TK Marshall with 2:33 to play.
Montana State got to the NDSU 36 behind backup quarterback Sean Chambers — he replaced Tommy Mellott, who was injured on a third-down run on the previous possession. The threat ended when Chambers, playing on an injured ankle himself, was sacked on consecutive plays, NDSU’s only sacks in the game.
Mellott was 13-of-17 passing for 204 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 151 yards and two scores.
TaMerik Williams ran for a career-high 162 yards and two touchdowns for the Bison.
Williams scored on a 75-yard run on the first play of the second half to put the Bison up 21-17, and two plays later, Mellott scored on a 76-yard run. The Bobcats took the lead on Mellott’s 9-yard pass to Clevan Thomas Jr. after Chambers took the snap midway through the third quarter.
Kautzman missed field-goal attempts from 33 and 49 yards on Montana State’s first two possessions of the game.
Montana 49, Delaware 19
MISSOULA, Mont. — Clifton McDowell threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, and No. 2 seed Montana (11-1) cruised past Delaware (9-4) on a snowy night.
The Grizzlies have won eight games in a row and will host No. 7 seed Furman (9-2) in the quarterfinals — a rematch of the 2001 title game that Montana won 13-6 at Finley Stadium.
Montana took 7:30 off the clock on its first possession, capping a 16-play, 54-yard drive with Nico Ramos’ 43-yard field goal. Delaware went three-and-out on its first two possessions, and the Grizzlies blocked and recovered the second punt at the Delaware 27-yard line. Xavier Harris scored on a first-down run, and Montana took a 10-0 lead.
The Grizzlies led 16-0 nine seconds into the second quarter after Nick Ostmo scored on a 35-yard run and the 2-point conversion attempt failed. Delaware got on the scoreboard when Ryan O’Connor threw a 44-yard strike to Chandler Harvin.
Ramos followed with a field goal, Clifton McDowell teamed up with Keelan White for a 55-yard touchdown, and the Grizzlies recovered a botched punt in the end zone for a 28-6 advantage with 5:31 left. McDowell added a 20-yard touchdown run before O’Connor and Harvin hooked up for a 13-yard score, and Montana led 35-12 at halftime.
Jaxon Lee returned a fumble 56 yards for a score, McDowell hit Evan Shafer for a 25-yard touchdown, and the Grizzlies led 49-12 with 6:36 left in the third quarter, allowing the hosts to coast to the victory.
South Dakota 34, Sacramento State 24
VERMILLION, S.D. — Aidan Bouman threw two touchdown passes, Charles Pierre rushed for 123 yards, and No. 3 seed South Dakota (10-2) defeated Sacramento State (8-5) with the help of three quick-strike touchdowns in the second quarter.
First, Josiah Ganues intercepted a Kaiden Bennett pass, setting up the Coyotes at the Hornets’ 33-yard line. Three plays later, Bouman threw to Javion Phelps for an 18-yard touchdown. Two plays after that, Mi’Quise Grace scooped a fumble by Bennett and raced 56 yards for another touchdown. On the second play after a Sacramento State touchdown drive, Bouman connected with JJ Galbreath on a 75-yard touchdown pass.
Marcus Fulcher’s second 2-yard touchdown run of the second quarter got the Hornets within 24-14 at halftime. Travis Theis added a 3-yard touchdown run for South Dakota in the third quarter for a 31-14 lead. The teams exchanged field goals in the fourth quarter before Sacramento State wrapped up the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Carson Camp to Jared Gipson.
Bouman was 11-of-16 passing for 174 yards as the Coyotes racked up 368 yards of total offense.
Camp was 14-of-23 passing for 168 yards as the Hornets had 350 total.
South Dakota State University 41, Mercer 0
BROOKINGS, S.D. — Isaiah Davis ran for three touchdowns, including a 42-yard dash to open the second half, and top-seeded SDSU (12-0) turned in a dominant performance to end Mercer’s first appearances in the FCS playoffs in the second round.
The reigning national champions, ranked No. 1 the entire season, had a first-round bye before pushing past the Bears (9-4), who finished second in the SoCon standings, received an at-large berth in the 24-team playoff field and beat Gardner-Webb in the opening round last week.
The Jackrabbits advance to face Villanova in the quarterfinals.
SDSU took the opening kick and drove 56 yards in 10 plays to set up Hunter Dustman’s 26-yard field goal and had touchdowns on its next three possessions of the half to take a 24-0 lead. Davis scored from the 4 to open the second quarter to cap a 13-play, 74-yard drive that used more than seven minutes of the first quarter. Mark Gronowski found Jaxon Janke with a 7-yard touchdown pass, and Davis capped a six-play, 66-yard drive with a 6-yard run with 21 seconds left in the half.
Meanwhile, the Jackrabbits limited Mercer to 62 yards of total offense in the first half, holding the Bears without a first down gained until midway through the second quarter on a drive that stopped on downs at the SDSU 32-yard line.
Mercer had just six first downs in the game and was just 1-of-10 on third-down conversions while being held to 151 total yards of offense. The Jackrabbits rolled to 571 yards on offense.
Bears quarterback Carter Peevy was 14-of-22 for 75 yards with two interceptions.
Villanova 45, Youngstown State 28
PHILADELPHIA — Connor Watkins and Jalen Jackson both ran for two touchdowns, and eighth-seeded Villanova (10-2) defeated Youngstown State (8-5).
Watkins scored on a 1-yard plunge and connected with Jaylan Sanchez on a 64-yard score before Jackson found the end zone on a 4-yard run as the Wildcats turned a 10-7 deficit early in the second quarter into a 28-10 lead early in the third.
Watkins was 12-of-21 passing for 275 yards and picked up 56 yards on the ground. Jackson had 81 yards on 11 carries. The Wildcats piled up 466 yards, 191 on the ground against one of the top run defenses in the FCS.
Mitch Davidson was 27-of-44 for 287 yards and three touchdowns for the Penguins, but he threw two interceptions, both of which Villanova converted into touchdowns.
Christian Sapp picked off Davidson on the opening drive of the third quarter, which led to Jackson’s second touchdown. Isas Waxter had the second interception, midway through the fourth, and four plays later DeeWil Barlee burst up the middle for a 22-yard touchdown that made the score 45-21.
Idaho 20, Southern Illinois 17 (OT)
MOSCOW, Idaho — Jermaine Jackson returned a punt 86 yards for a touchdown, and Ricardo Chavez kicked a 29-yard field goal in overtime as No. 4 seed Idaho (9-3) got past Southern Illinois (8-5)
The Vandals move on to face Albany in the quarterfinals.
Idaho’s Marcus Harris tackled Ro Elliott for 3-yard loss on the first play of overtime, Nic Baker was pressured into an incomplete pass on the second and then Harris picked off a pass from Baker to end the Salukis’ drive. Anthony Woods ran for a 16-yard gain on the next play from scrimmage, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Turon Ivy Jr. after the play backed up the Vandals to the 24. Woods then had consecutive carries for 6, 5, 0 and 4 yards to set up the winning field goal by Chavez.
The Vandals played their first FCS postseason game at the Kibbie Dome since they beat Boston University 21-14 in a second-round matchup on Dec. 4, 1993.
Elliott took the handoff, worked outside the left tackle, cut back to the right and raced untouched for a 38-yard touchdown to cap a seven-play, 88-yard drive and open the scoring with 13:06 left in the second quarter. On the next play, Peyton Reese recovered a fumble to give the Salukis possession at the Idaho 17, and Baumgarte kicked a 36-yard field goal to make it 10-0 just more than a minute later.
Chavez kicked a 40-yard field goal as time in the first half expired to get Idaho on the scoreboard.
Jackson’s long punt return made it 10-all with some five minutes left in the third quarter, but Southern Illinois immediately responded with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that culminated when Elliott scored on a 1-yard run with 14:20 remaining in regulation.
Later, the Vandals moved downfield to set up first-and-goal from the 1 but nearly came away with nothing. Gevani McCoy’s throw intended for Terez Taylor on fourth-and-goal was incomplete, but a flag for defensive pass interference gave Idaho a fresh set of downs and Woods scored on the next play from a yard out to make it 17-all with 4:17 left.
Baumgarte, who went into the game 2-of-6 on field-goal attempts, had a 41-yard try blocked by Xe’ree Alexander as time expired. Alexander, a 6-foot-3, 215 pound freshman, finished with a game-high 11 tackles with a forced fumble.
Albany 41, Richmond 13
ALBANY, N.Y. — Reese Poffenbarger threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more as fifth-seeded Albany (10-3) mostly went unchallenged in beating Richmond (9-4).
Albany took a 27-0 lead with less than four minutes remaining in the second quarter, but the Spiders finally got on the board when Camden Coleman completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Nick DeGennaro as time expired. Coleman threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns.
Albany shared the Coastal Athletic Association title with Richmond and automatic playoff qualifier Villanova. The three each finished atop the CAA with 7-1 records. Albany and Richmond did not meet during the regular season.
Richmond, led by former UTC coach Russ Huesman, entered on a seven-game winning streak after a 2-3 start.