FCS Top 25: JMU runs past Maine

(STATS) - There probably hasn't been a more overlooked team in the FCS than Cal Poly this season.

No. 6 Montana knows plenty about the Mustangs.

Cal Poly, sitting two spots outside the STATS FCS Top 25 this week, knocked off Montana for the third straight season on Saturday, this time 42-41 in a back-and-forth Big Sky Conference opener in San Luis Obispo, California.

Running back Kyle Lewis was wide open when quarterback Dano Graves found him for a 39-yard touchdown pass with 4:29 remaining and Casey Sublette added the extra point, lifting Cal Poly (3-1, 1-0) from a 41-35 deficit.

"That's what you give up against a very good option team," Montana coach Bob Stitt said. "In order to stop 'em, you're going to give up some one-on-one situations."

Montana's Tom Semenza missed a 48-yard field goal attempt with 1:55 to play.

Cal Poly's Joe Protheroe entered the game with a nation-leading 437 rushing yards, but Montana held the junior in check with 90 yards on 17 carries. But Graves surprised the Grizzlies (2-1, 0-1) by completing three of his six passes for touchdowns, including a 55-yarder to Protheroe. Graves added a rushing touchdown.

The Mustangs were picked ninth in the two Big Sky preseason polls, but they have won at Missouri Valley Conference power South Dakota State and against defending Pioneer Football League co-champ San Diego in addition to Montana. Their lone defeat was at Nevada in overtime.

Montana quarterback Brady Gustafson completed a program-record 47 passes in 59 attempts for 418 yards and two touchdowns, although he threw an interception and lost a fumble. Jerry Louie-McGee had 21 receptions - another Griz record - for 155 yards and the two touchdowns.

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STATS FCS TOP 25=

No. 2 Sam Houston State (3-0, 2-0 Southland) 52, Houston Baptist (2-2, 1-2), 16

Jeremiah Briscoe completed 26 of 47 passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns, while Remus Bulmer (19 carries, 124 yards) and Javin Webb both scored twice on the ground.

The Bearkats had a 632-370 advantage in yards.

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No. 3 Jacksonville State (3-1) 48, Liberty (1-3) 19

Jacksonville State controlled the game behind All-America quarterback Eli Jenkins and running back Roc Thomas. Jenkins totaled 345 yards (224 passing, 121 rushing) and four touchdowns (two passing, two rushing), while Thomas had 180 yards from scrimmage and scored two touchdowns.

Josh Barge had a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter.

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No. 4 Eastern Washington (3-1, 1-0 Big Sky) 50, Northern Arizona (1-3, 0-1) 35

EWU quarterback Gage Gubrud rebounded from a subpar game to go 35 of 56 for 392 yards and two touchdowns with 11 carries for 95 yards and a touchdown. Cooper Kupp (11 receptions, 111 yards) returned from a shoulder injury and joined Kendrick Bourne (six receptions, 100 yards) as 100-yard receivers.

NAU quarterback Case Cookus was knocked out of the game in the fourth quarter. He passed for 245 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.

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No. 5 Chattanooga (4-0, 2-0 Southern) 41, Samford (2-1, 0-1) 21

Chattanooga held the ball for 39 minutes, 18 seconds thanks to senior Derrick Craine rushing for 222 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. The Mocs defense limited Samford to 2 of 14 on third downs.

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No. 7 Richmond (3-1) 38, No. 23 Colgate (1-2) 31

Richmond's Kyle Lauletta threw for four touchdowns and the Spiders picked off Colgate's Jake Melville three times.

Spiders freshman Xavier Goodall carried the ball 20 times for 127 yards and a touchdown, and Brian Brown had seven receptions for 148 yards and two touchdowns. He set the school's all-time receiving yardage mark with 3,178 in his four-year career.

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Elon (2-2, 1-0 CAA) 27, No. 8 William & Mary (2-2, 0-1) 10

William & Mary's seven-game home winning streak ended as quarterback Steve Cluley threw three interceptions. Elon's Malcolm Summers rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns.

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Indiana State (3-1, 1-0 Missouri Valley) 34, No. 9 Illinois State (2-2, 0-1) 31

Illinois State lost for the second straight week as Indiana State's Isaac Harker threw for two touchdowns and Roland Genesy rushed for a pair.

It helped overcome Jake Kolbe's three touchdown passes in the loss. All-America wide receiver Anthony Warrum (10 receptions, 151 yards) caught two of the touchdowns.

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No. 11 James Madison (3-1, 1-0 CAA) 31, Maine (0-3, 0-1) 20

Khladi Abdullah carried the ball 22 times for a career-high 172 yards and two touchdowns, including an 85-yarder, and Cardon Johnson finished with 110 yards on 13 carries, including a 52-yard TD. Johnson's score came on the fourth-quarter play following a Raven Greene interception - JMU's third of the second half against Maine quarterback Dan Collins.

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No. 12 Charleston Southern (2-2, 1-0 Big South) 35, Monmouth (2-2, 0-1) 7

Running back Mike Holloway scored on two long touchdowns to spark the visiting Buccaneers as they began defense of last year's Big South title. He scored on a 75-yard run and finished with 151 yards on 11 carries, and caught a 63-yard touchdown from Steve Bucenell.

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No. 13 Western Illinois (3-0) 28, Northern Illinois (0-4) 23

Western Illinois built a 28-7 lead after three quarters and held on to end a 15-game losing streak against FBS opponents. Five of the Leathernecks' seven all-time FBS wins are against Northern Illinois.

Leathernecks quarterback Sean McGuire passed for 315 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for a score.

The win marked the fourth straight week in which a Missouri Valley Conference team defeated an FBS opponent, joining Northern Iowa (Iowa State), Illinois State (Northwestern) and North Dakota State (Iowa). That's a single-season record for the MVFC.

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No. 17 Coastal Carolina (3-1) 41, Furman (0-4) 14

Coastal scored touchdowns off a blocked field goal (Kenneth Daniels, 60 yards), a punt return (Ky'Jon Tyler, 80 yards) and an interception (Alex Scearce, 31 yards).

Running back De'Angelo Henderson (20 carries, 185 yards) scored on an 8-yard reception to extend his Division I record for consecutive games with a touchdown to 30.

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No. 18 Eastern Illinois (3-1, 1-0 OVC) 56, Austin Peay (0-3, 0-2) 35

Eastern Illinois racked up 641 yards of offense as Devin Church and Christopher Anderson rushed for 139 and 129 yards, respectively, and scored two touchdowns each. Austin Green completed passes to 11 different receivers and was 24 of 30 for 263 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.

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No. 19 Villanova (3-1) 31, Lafayette (1-3) 14

Villanova forced four turnovers, with defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon scoring off a 25-yard fumble return on the game's first play and linebacker Jeff Steeb off a 45-yard interception return.

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Sacred Heart (4-0) 38, No. 20 Stony Brook (2-2) 10

Northeast Conference member Sacred Heart earned a surprising win just one week after Stony Brook beat then-No. 2 Richmond 42-14.

Three Stony Brook turnovers led to 17 Sacred Heart points. Pioneers quarterback R.J Noel had 260 total yards and three total touchdowns.

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No. 22 Albany (4-0) 20, Saint Francis (1-3) 9

Albany scored 20 unanswered points in the second half after falling behind 9-0 on Saint Francis place-kicker Lance Geesey's three second-quarter field goals. Great Danes running back Elijah Ibitokun-Hanks worked to get 90 yards on 22 carries.

The Great Danes are plus-13 in turnover margin after forcing four more against the Red Flash.

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No. 24 McNeese (2-2, 1-1 Southland) 42, Incarnate Word (1-3, 1-2) 35

Defending Southland Conference champion McNeese built a 42-14 lead through three quarters in ending a two-game losing streak.

Quarterback James Tabary set a school record with his fourth straight 200-yard passing game to start a season. He completed 14 of 20 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns.

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Southern Utah (2-1, 1-0 Big Sky) 45, No. 25 Portland State (1-3, 0-1) 31

Portland State continued to unravel as its loss to defending Big Sky champion Southern Utah was its third straight.

SUU forced five turnovers, including four interceptions of Vikings quarterback Alex Kuresa. Malik Brown rushed for 173 yards and a touchdown in the win.

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IDLE=

No. 1 North Dakota State, No. 10 The Citadel, No. 14 Northern Iowa, No. 15 South Dakota State, No. 16 Youngstown State and No. 21 North Carolina A&T