Big Sky Conference

BIG SKY RECAP: League teams go 3-0 against Missouri Valley Conference on Saturday

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Call it ‘Redemption Saturday’ for the Big Sky Conference as the league earned a trio of wins over the Missouri Valley Conference a week after getting dominated by the MVC.

North Dakota perhaps saved its season with a 47-44 double overtime victory over South Dakota a week after the Coyotes outlasted Weber State 52-49 in double OT. Later on, Cal Poly put on a rushing clinic as Joe Protheroe continued to hammer the middle of opposing defenses as the Mustangs sprang a 38-31 upset of No. 9 South Dakota State in Brookings. No. 8 Eastern Washington completed the redemptive weekend as Riley Hennessey came off the bench to lead the Eagles to a 34-30 comeback win over No. 11 Northern Iowa.

Last week, Montana posted a 20-14 win at then-No. 3 UNI thanks to an electric punt return from Jerry Louie-McGee and a smothering defensive effort throughout. Weber fell in Vermillion to USD while EWU fell in overtime in Fargo 50-44 to five-time defending national champion North Dakota State. In a matchup between No. 18 and No. 19, Western Illinois thoroughly handled No. 19 Northern Arizona to give the MVC a 3-1 advantage over the Big Sky for the weekend.

BIG SKY CONFERENCE SCHEDULE SEPTEMBER 24

Montana at Cal Poly

Sacramento State at Idaho State

North Dakota at Montana State

Eastern Washington at Northern Arizona

Weber State at UC Davis

Portland State at Southern Utah

No. 8 Eastern Washington 34, No. 11 Northern Iowa 30 — Behind dual-threat quarterback Aaron Bailey and a smothering pass defense that derailed the EWU passing attack for the first time this season, the Panthers jumped out to a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 24-7 lead by the end of the first half.

Antoine Custer returned a kick 93 yards for a touchdown to spark Eastern Washington's comeback win/ EWU athletics

Antoine Custer returned a kick 93 yards for a touchdown to spark Eastern Washington’s comeback win/ EWU athletics

Antoine Custer ripped off a 93-yard kick return to begin the second half and cut the UNI lead to 24-14. EWU starting quarterback Gage Gubrud threw for 474 yards and five touchdowns in a 45-42 win over Pac 12 Washington State, then threw for 450 more yards and three more touchdowns in the loss at NDSU. Against UNI, he encountered his first speed bump, completing 13-of-26 passes for 114 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions before giving way to Hennessey.

The sophomore came off the bench and completed 21-of-29 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns while playing just the last 25 minutes of the game. The former Washington 4A Offensive Player of the Year threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Bourne, who finished with his third straight 100-yard game, to cut the lead to 24-21 with 6:42 in the third. Hennessey found Stu Stiles, playing elevated snaps because of an injury that sidelined three-time All-America wide receiver Cooper Kupp, for a seven-yard touchdown pass to give EWU its first lead, 28-24with 14:25 left.

Northern Iowa earned two Matt Easley field goals to take a 30-28 lead with 4:13 left but Hennessey again came up in the clutch as EWU head coach Beau Baldwin showed guts with his final play call.With 43 seconds left, Baldwin dialed up a fake field goal that resulted in Hennessey, EWU’s placeholder, throwing a 23-yard touchdown to backup tight end Beau Byus to lift EWU to its second win during arguably the most brutal non-conference schedule in the FCS this fall.

“It’s a huge win – I’m not into moral victories, but through this schedule, to be 2-1 is an indication we’ve done a lot of good things,” said Baldwin, whose team lost at UNI 38-35 last year in a game that featured four ties and four lead changes. “Now, we also have some things we have to continue to correct and find ways to grow as a team. We’re going to keep grinding and fighting, and I’m happy with the fact we can learn off a win against a very good ball team.”

Bourne caught 10 passes for 152 yards and the touchdown. Senior Shaq Hill added seven catches for 79 yards and Gubrud’s only touchdown passes. Bailey rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 174 yards as UNI fell to 1-2.

EWU opens Big Sky Conference play at Northern Arizona next weekend.

UND quarterback Keaton Studsrud/ by Russell Hons photography

UND quarterback Keaton Studsrud/ by Russell Hons photography

North Dakota 47, South Dakota 44, double overtime — The Fighting Hawks avoided a third straight heartbreaking loss and might have saved their season in the process.

North Dakota began its season 0-2 due to crunch-time losses at Stony Brook and at FBS Bowling Green. The Seawolves blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown to flip a 9-7 UND lead into a 13-9 Stony Brook victory. The next week, North Dakota went toe to toe with Bowling Green, scoring a touchdown with 13 seconds to play to cut the lead to 27-26. Head coach Bubba Schweigert elected to go for two and the win. Stetson Carr dropped Keaton Studsrud’s two-point pass and North Dakota fell to 0-2.

On Saturday in their home opener in Grand Forks, South Dakota scored 24 second quarter points to take a 27-14 lead into halftime, then extended the lead to 34-14 on Trevor Bouma’s four-yard touchdown run with 10 minutes, 25 seconds left in the third quarter. Then North Dakota began its rally in the 50th Potato Bowl.

UND scored 20 unanswered points, including two Reid Taubenheim field goals, a seven-yard touchdown reception by sophomore running back John Santiago and a 33-yard interception return for a touchdown by junior cornerback Deion Harris to knot the game 34-34 with 3:28 remaining in regulation.

In overtime, Santiago and South Dakota’s Shamar Jackson traded 25-yard touchdowns to push the game into double-OT. South Dakota, fresh off a 52-49 double overtime win over Weber State last week, got a 37-yard field goal from Miles Bergner to begin the second extra frame. North Dakota answered as Studsrud scored on a one-yard run to give UND its first win of the season and its 30th straight win in a home opener.

“Our guys stuck with it and came away with a positive result,” Schweigert said in a UND press release. “I was proud of the resolve we showed.

“We had a stretch their in the second quarter that was not how we want to play football and they came out and really put us in a hole with that opening drive after halftime, but we found a way to make some plays down the stretch and do just enough to get it into overtime.”

UND is no stranger to rallying against the Coyotes, having mustered a 21-point, fourth-quarter rally the last time these two squads met in 2011. The script was eerily similar to that 38-37 win five seasons ago for the Fighting Hawks.

The receiving touchdown was the first of Santiago’s career, but his impressive stretch continued as he surpassed 100 yards for the 11th time in 14 college starts. He finished with 140 yards on 22 carries. Studsrud completed 12-of-25 passes for 177 yards and rushed 13 times for 48 yards and the game-winning score.

Harris’ pick-six was his second defensive touchdown in as many weeks, giving him three total interceptions already this season. Junior safety Cole Reyes had a 33-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter to give UND an early 7-3 lead. The touchdown was the first of Reyes’ career.

South Dakota quarterback Chris Streveler threw for 215 yards and three touchdowns and rushed 19 times for 90 yards as USD fell to 1-2.

UND will open Big Sky play next Saturday at Montana State.

Cal Poly 38, No. 9 South Dakota State 31 — Protheroe, Cal Poly’s junior fullback, rushed for a career-high 217 yards and two touchdowns, senior quarterback Dano Graves passed for 161 yards and one touchdown and sophomore safety Aaryn Bouzos intercepted a pass with 1:55 to play as Cal Poly upset No. 9 South Dakota State before 16,887 in Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

Protheroe, who carried the ball 27 times, scored on runs of 76 and 13 yards in the fourth quarter, Graves hit Kyle Lewis with a 33-yard scoring pass and Kori Garcia added 82 yards on 10 carries as head coach Tim Walsh’s Mustangs accumulated 601 yards in total offense, including 440 rushing to improved to 2-1 on the season. South Dakota State dropped to 1-2.

South Dakota State held leads of 7-0 and 10-7 in the first 16 minutes of the game. Cal Poly grabbed the lead at 14-10 on a 21-yard touchdown run by Garcia with 10:11 to go in the second quarter and the Mustangs never trailed the rest of the way though the game was tied at 17-17, 24-24 and 31-31.

Protheroe’s 13-yard scoring run with 2:28 to go gave Cal Poly a 38-31 lead and Bouzos intercepted Taryn Christion on third down with 1:55 to play. Cal Poly was able to pick up one first down and run out the clock.

Cal Poly compiled advantages of 27-21 in first downs, 601-336 in total offense and 35:43 to 24:17 in time of possession. The interception by Bouzos was the first turnover forced by the Mustang defense this season.

Josh Letuligasenoa and Jerek Rosales both made six tackles for Cal Poly and the Mustang defense accumulated six tackles for lost yardage, including sacks by Chris Santini and Augustino Eliasaia.

South Dakota State, which amassed 265 passing yards but was held to just 71 yards on the ground, was paced by Isaac Wallace and Brady Mengarelli, each with 40 rushing yards. Christion completed 20 of 33 passes for 252 yards and three scores. All-American receiver Jake Wieneke caught nine passes for 114 yards.

Cal Poly opens Big Sky Conference play next Saturday against Montana at noon inside Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

Weber State 14, Sacramento State 7 — In a non-conference clash between two Big Sky Conference teams, Weber State senior quarterback Jadrian Clark threw for 375 yards and a second-quarter touchdown and added 71 yards rushing on 12 carries, including a 10-yard scoring burst with 1:42 remaining to lift the Wildcats to their first win this season.

Sacramento State mustered just 270 yards of total offense with backup quarterback Kolney Cassell operating the offense. He finished just 14-of-32 for 116 yards. Isiah Hennie caught eight passes for 92 yards. No other Sac completion Saturday went for more than six yards. Demetrius Warren rushed for 81 yards on 16 carries, including a nine-yard touchdown in the second quarter that served as Sac’s only score.

Weber moved the ball up and down the field, totaling 515 yards of total offense and notching 23 first downs but three turnovers held the Wildcats in check.

Cameron Livingston caught six passes for 108 yards and Andrew Vollert added five catches for 101 yards as the Wildcats won their home opener.

Weber State opens its Big Sky slate at UC Davis next week.

Portland State quarterback Alex Kuresa/ contributed

Portland State quarterback Alex Kuresa/ contributed

No. 8 Washington 41, No. 19 Portland State 3 — Last season, Portland State posted a pair of FBS wins including a win at Pac 12 Washington State. On Saturday, the Vikings sealed their first losing streak to FBS squads after its second straight loss to the upper division.

Jake Browning threw four touchdowns in just 12 completions, Myles Gaskin rushed for 93 yards and a touchdown as the Huskies averaged 6.1 yards per rush and the Washington defense stuffed Portland State to the tune of 34 rushing yards on 42 carries as UW continued to roll.

Portland State managed just 182 yards and averaged 0.8 yards per rush against Washington’s fearsome defense. The rout could’ve been worse if not for PSU’s 33:42 in time of possession. In last week’s 66-35 loss to San Jose State, the Vikings turned the ball over six times. On Saturday in Seattle, PSU turned the ball over four times, including two that led directly to Washington scores.

“We are giving away points on turnovers and we are costing ourselves points. That has to be cleaned up,” Viking head coach Bruce Barnum said.

Browning completed 12-of-19 passes for 163 yards and four scores. PSU senior quarterback Alex Kuresa completed 11-of-17 passes for 148 yards and an interception. Linebacker Anthony McNichols notched 13 tackles for PSU. Freshman defensive end Kenton Bartlett recovered a fumble in the second quarter for PSU’s first takeaway of the season.

Bozeman product Will Dissly caught a 27-yard touchdown to cap the scoring.

Portland State is 1-2 entering Big Sky Conference play. The Vikings play at Southern Utah next week.

UNC junior Hakeem Deggs/ by Rob Trubis

UNC junior Hakeem Deggs/ by Rob Trubis

Colorado State 47, Northern Colorado 21 — Northern Colorado fell behind 38-0 in the first half in losing for the first time this season. The 21 points mark the highest total by the Bears against an FBS opponent, besting the 14 points UNC scored at CSU in 2011.

Collin Hill threw four touchdown passes and ran in a fifth during the first-half onslaught by the hosts. Hill finished with 315 yards passes and 56 yards rushing, including 51 yards on a scoring run that gave CSU a 14-0 lead with 3:23 left in the first quarter. CSU piled up 324 yards passing, 245 yards rushing and 29 first downs. The Rams averaged 8.0 yards per play in the rout.

“The biggest positive was that our kids just didn’t lay down at halftime. I challenged them at the half to come out and battle – it’s easy when one side of the ball is clicking and you’re in the game, you fight. It’s easier to give up when you’re down,” UNC head coach Earnest Collins Jr. said. “When you get punched in the mouth in the first half, you can throw out the white flag, but we didn’t do that and I appreciated that.”

UNC running back Trae Riek paced the Bears with 87 yards rushing and a touchdown. A week after throwing six touchdowns and earning FCS Offensive Player of the Week honors, Kyle Sloter threw for 318 yards and two touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Stephen Miller finished with 102 yards receiving. Senior defensive back Thomas Singleton had seven tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble as UNC fell to 2-1 this season and 0-9 all-time against FBS teams. The Bears have a bye next week.

Oregon State 37, Idaho State 7 — Last season, two consecutive beat downs at the hands of FBS teams derailed Idaho State’s season. A week after losing 56-7 at Colorado, Idaho State head coach Mike Kramer said he wanted to see a confident mentality and a solid effort as his team took on Oregon State, it’s second straight Pac 12 opponent, with Big Sky play on the horizon.

On Saturday, Kramer saw exactly what he wanted in front of 38,052 at Reser Stadium. The 37 points given up to the Beavers were the least the Bengals have given up to a team from a Power 5 conference. The 363 total yards gained by the ISU offense marked the third-most in 10 games against Power 5 schools. The Bengals

The 37 points was the fewest points the Bengals have given up against a team from a Power 5 conference. The 363 total yards by the ISU offense was the third most in 10 games against a Power 5 school. Idaho State held OSU to 4-of-16 on third downs and equaled the Beavers in first downs with 17 each.

“I don’t think I have ever lost 37-7 and been more excited about a game in my life,” Kramer said. “Having played two back-to-back Pac 12 games, which is nobody’s idea of fun and happiness. Number one we wanted to win. Number two we gave ourselves a chance to be competitive, which is the first time we have ever done it in one of these Pac 12 deals.

“I know that we played better. We did not shiver in pregame. We played 1,000 times better because we have been through it. It doesn’t mean we will beat somebody from the Pac 12 next week but we have been through it. Now we can get on to what our level is about.”

Sophomore quarterback Tanner Gueller threw for 227 yards, completing 28 passes on 46 attempts. He was picked off four times. Jakori Ford carried the ball eight times for 122 yards and broke off a 75-yard touchdown run in the third quarter for ISU’s only score. Josh Cook caught six passes for 78 yards. KW Williams and Jakori Ford also caught six passes.

Mario Jenkins led the Idaho State defense with 11 tackles, two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. Joe Martin and Taison Manu each had eight tackles. Chance Salutregui had one sack and one tackle for loss. As a team, the ISU defense had three sacks and 10 tackles for loss.

Idaho State opens Big Sky Conference play on Saturday in Holt Arena against Sacramento State.

Wyoming 45, UC Davis 22 — Brian Hill rushed for 207 yards and two touchdowns, marking the sixth 200-yard game of his three-year career as he continues to move up Wyoming’s career rushing list.

“If I can give them what they need, they can give what I need,” Hill said of the offensive line after his performance on Saturday. Hill averaged 8.3 yards per carry on 25 totes as the Cowboys gashed the Aggies for 274 rushing yards.

Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen threw for 198 yards and three touchdowns, needing just 15 pass attempts and 11 competions to do it as the Cowboys jolted out to a 35-9 lead and never looked back.

UC Davis senior quarterback Ben Scott threw for 178 yards and a touchdown but left the game in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a serious leg injury. Scott missed the last four games of the season last fall with a leg injury as well.

Davis mustered just 74 yards rushing on 26 carries, averaging 2.8 yards per carry. Keelan Doss caught seven passes for 104 yards and a touchdown for Davis, who fell to 1-2.

Northern Arizona 73, New Mexico Highlands 3 — Sophomore Case Cookus threw completed 14 passes, including seven for touchdowns in leading NAU to its first win after a rough 0-2 start for the preseason Big Sky favorites.

Cookus completed 14-of-25 passes for 296 yards, including touchdown passes on NAU’s first five possessions. Cookus hit Emmanuel Butler for touchdowns of 13, three, 13 and 51 yards before halftime. He also found Elijah Marks for a 43-yard score as NAU build a 49-3 halftime lead over their mismatched Division II opponent.

Cookus’ seventh TD pass was a four-yard scoring strike on the first possession of the third quarter before the duo took a seat. Marks finished with five catches for 143 yards while Butler chipped in six catches for 99 yards. True freshman Joe Logan rushed nine times for 173 yards and two touchdowns and Kendyl Taylor had 10 carries for 97 yards as NAU piled up 390 yards rushing, averaged 9.5 yards per carry and totaled 686 yards of offense.

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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