SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Lindsey Scott Jr. threw four touchdown passes to break a Football Championship Subdivision record and ran for two scores as seventh-seeded Incarnate Word rallied to upset second-seeded Sacramento State 66-63 in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs on Friday night.
It was the highest-scoring FCS playoff game in history, and Scott, who set a FCS record with his 59th touchdown pass of the season, was the difference as the Cardinals (12-1) handed the Hornets (12-1) their first loss.
Sacramento State scored with 4:57 remaining in the game when Jake Dunniway hit Pierre Williams for a 10-yard touchdown. Then a successful a two-point run by Marcus Fulcher made the score 59-56 in favor of Incarnate World.
On the ensuing kickoff, Sacramento State successfully recovered their second onside kick of the quarter to set up another score as Marshel Martin ran a tight end around from 4-yards out to give the Hornets a 63-59 lead with 1:43 remaining.
Scott engineered one final drive, that culminated when he connected with Taylor Grimes for a 21-yard touchdown and a 66-63 lead with just 27 seconds left.
Dunniway's Hail Mary pass to the end zone fell incomplete on the final play of the game.
Scott finished the game 19-of 31 for 219 yards and also ran for 166 yards to go along with his 6 total scores.
Sacramento State piled up 738 yards of offense, while UIW gained 579 yards.
Incarnate Word will take a nine-game winning streak on its road trip to play No. 3 seed North Dakota State in the semifinals next weekend.
North Dakota State 27, Samford 9
FARGO, N.D. — No. 3 seed North Dakota State defeated sixth-seeded Samford 27-9 on Friday at the Fargodome to advance to the FCS semifinals.
NDSU broke the scoreless tie in the second quarter when tight end Joe Stoffel caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Cam Miller. The Bison extended their lead to 10-0 with a 44-yard field goal from Griffin Crosa as time of expired take a 10-0 lead at intermission.
The Bison took complete control during the third quarter with a seven-play, 82-yard drive on their opening drive of the half. They capped the drive off with a 7-yard touchdown run by TK Marshall to take a 17-0 lead, and then stretched it to 24-0 late in the third with a 1-yard rushing score by Miller.
Kobe Johnson led seven Bison ball carriers with 48 yards on 15 carries and Marshall finished with 11 rushes for 47 yards. RaJa Nelson caught four passes for 39 yards and Miller was 15 of 18 passing for 194 yards.
Michael Hiers went 22-for-30 passing for 227 yards, all of which came in the second half for the Bulldogs. Chandler Smith hauled in six catches for 120 yards and a touchdown to lead Samford's receiving corps.
Montana State 55, William & Mary 7
BOZEMAN, Mon. — Despite a slow start, the No. 4 seed Montana State Bobcats' offense caught fire en route to a 55-7 victory over the No. 5 seed William & Mary Tribe in the FCS quarterfinals Friday night at Bobcat Stadium.
The Bobcats finished the game with 473 yards of offense, punt Returner Taco Dowler and kickoff returner Marqui Johnson accumulated 230 return yards.
Bobcat running back Isaiah Ifanse finished with 162 rushing yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns. His 68-yard rushing score was a historic one, as he broke the Montana State career rushing yards record, surpassing Ryan Johnson who set the record in 2002 (3,646 yards).
MSU (12-1) move on to the FCS semifinals for the third time since 2019, to face No. 1 seed South Dakota State.
South Dakota State 42, Holy Cross 21
BROOKINGS, S.D. — The No. 1 South Dakota State Jackrabbits defeated a tough Holy Cross 42-21 to advance to the FCS semifinals on Saturday.
A pair of fourth quarter touchdowns of 18-yards – a pass from Mark Gronowski to Jaxon Janke and a rushing score from Gronowski – allowed the Jackrabbits (12-1) to pull away late after trailing 14-6 at one point in the game.
Holy Cross (12-1) managed to give fits to nation's top team thanks to quarterback Matthew Sluka. The signal-caller juked, dodged, ducked and sprinted his way to an impressive 213 rushing yards against the No. 1 rushing defense in the nation.
However, the Jackrabbit defense made the stops when it counted and the offense took advantage.
Gronowski finished the game with 177 yards through the air and ran for 47.
Saiveon Williamson led the Jackrabbits with nine tackles, while All-American middle linebacker Adam Bock returned to action after a long absence to make four tackles off the bench.
Holy Cross outgained SDSU 413-393, which included 296 yards on the ground. SDSU had been allowing 70 rushing yards per game coming in.
South Dakota State will now host Montana State in a rematch of last season's semifinal.
Comments