FARGO, N.D. — Brock Jensen accounted for three touchdowns and North Dakota State clamped down on the leading rusher in the division to defeat South Dakota State 28-3 on Saturday in the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
The defending FCS champions spotted the Jackrabbits a field goal late in the first quarter and then dominated the final three quarters. The Bison held Zach Zenner to 46 yards rushing on 15 carries, more than 120 yards below his FCS-leading average.
The victory came three weeks after North Dakota State held off the Jackrabbits 20-17 in a regularseason matchup.
“Our guys are vets in the playoffs. There’s just a different look in their eye,” North Dakota State Coach Craig Bohl said. “Once we get to postseason play they’re kicking it into a different gear.”
The Bison advance to next week’s quarterfinal game at home against Wofford.
“North Dakota State is a great football team,” said South Dakota State linebacker Ross Shafrath, who finished with a game-high 18 tackles. “They’ve got a great offense and a great defense. I expect that they’ll go pretty far in this tournament.”
Jensen, a junior from Waupaca, Wis., threw two touchdown passes to tight end Garrett Bruhn, who had not played since Oct. 6 because of a high ankle sprain. Bruhn had one catch for 23 yards this season and only one touchdown in his career before hauling in passes of 12 and 9 yards from Jensen.
The Bison (11-1) added a trick play for good measure when diminutive wide receiver Ryan Smith took a handoff from Jensen, took cover behind one of his offensive linemen and ran 32 yards untouched on an endaround in the second quarter. Most of the South Dakota State defenders and the 18,482 fans inside the Fargodome had their eyes on Jensen.
“Ryan stood there with the ball for a couple seconds. He took off and there was no one within 40 yards of him,” Jensen said. “All 11 guys for South Dakota State thought I had the ball.”
The Jackrabbits (9-4) scored first on a 26-yard field goal by Justin Syrovatka late in the first quarter. The Bison responded with a six-play, 75-yard drive, capped by the 12-yard touchdown pass from Jensen to Bruhn, to take the lead.
Smith’s run polished off a 53-yard drive midway through the second quarter, and Jensen added a 2-yard touchdown run to finish off a 52-yard drive and make it 21-3 at halftime.
The Bison, who led the nation in total defense, held Zenner to 15 yards rushing in the first half. His longest run was 17 yards at the start of the third quarter. Zenner said he made some mistakes with his reads but added, “I guess I would credit them for tackling well.”
North Dakota State’s John Crockett rushed for 90 yards on 11 carries. The Bison stayed on the ground for most of the second half but scored the only touchdown on a 9-yard pass from Jensen to Bruhn.
OLD DOMINION 63,
COASTAL CAROLINA 35
NORFOLK, Va. — Taylor Heinicke threw for six touchdowns and rushed for two more while leading Old Dominion over Coastal Carolina.
Heinicke completed 32 of 44 passes for 497 yards and rushed 7 times for 45 yards. His six touchdown passes tied an FCS playoff record and his 542 yards of total offense established another mark.
The sophomore’s 4,655 passing yards in 2012 are the second-highest single-season total in FCS history.
Heinicke threw for touchdowns on three consecutive possessions after Coastal Carolina (8-5) tied the game at 35-35 late in the third quarter. Larry Pinkard caught three touchdown passes for Old Dominion (11-1).
Aramis Hillary passed for 352 yards and three touchdowns for the Chanticleers.
ILLINOIS STATE 38, APPALACHIAN STATE 37
BOONE, N.C. — Matt Brown threw for five touchdowns and 322 yards and Illinois State blocked the game-tying extra-point attempt in overtime to beat Appalachian State. Brown was 20-of-32 passing for the Redbirds, who made their first playoff appearance since 2006 and handed Appalachian State (8-4) its third consecutive postseason loss.
Illinois State (9-3) entered the fourth quarter with a 28-17 lead but Appalachian State outscored the Redbirds 14-3 in the quarter to send the game into overtime. After Brown threw his fifth touchdown pass — a 25-yarder to J. O’Shaughnessy that gave Illinois State a 38-31 overtime lead — Jamal Jackson and Appalachian State answered three plays later with a touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 38-37.
However, Illinois State blocked the ensuing kick.
SAM HOUSTON STATE 18,
CAL POLY 16
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Tim Flanders rushed for 101 yards and Vincent Dotson blocked a punt to help led Sam Houston State past Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
The Bearkats (9-3) were outgained 387 yards to 241 but forced three turnovers. Sam Houston State senior Vincent Dotson blocked a Cal Poly punt early in the second quarter, and the ball bounced through the end zone for a safety. Miguel Antonio tacked on field goals of 20 and 32 yards before the end of the first half and the Bearkats led 8-0 at the break.
The Mustangs (9-3) closed the gap on two field goals by Bobby Zalud in the third quarter. Sam Houston quarterback Brian Bell then threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Keshawn Hill late in the third quarter. Antonio kicked a 26-yard field goal with 3:23 left to put the Bearkats up 18-9. Cal Poly receiver Ryan Taylor threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Willie Tucker with 1:34 left, but Sam Houston State recovered the ensuing onside kick and held on.
WOFFORD 23, NEW HAMPSHIRE 7
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Eric Breitenstein ran for three touchdowns and 247 yards as Wofford opened the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs with a victory over New Hampshire.
Breitenstein broke free for a 54-yard touchdown run on the Terriers’ first possession and Wofford’s defense kept the Wildcats (8-4) of the Colonial Athletic Association out of sync throughout. Breitenstein also scored on a 6-yard run right before halftime and a 26-yard burst in the third quarter that sealed things for the Terriers (9-3) of the Southern Conference. The Terriers (9-3) came in as the country’s second-best FCS rushing team at more than 348 yards a game. They had surpassed that total in the third quarter and ended with 454 yards on the ground.
New Hampshire lost its opening playoff game for the second consecutive season.
EASTERN WASHINGTON 29,
WAGNER 19
CHENEY, Wash. — Kyle Padron threw for 327 yards and Demitrius Bronson rushed for two touchdowns as Eastern Washington beat Wagner.
Brandon Kaufman had 10 catches for 174 yards for the Eagles (10-2).
Wagner (9-4), which saw its nine-game winning streak snapped, got 60 yards rushing and a touchdown from Dominique Williams. But the Seahawks had to settle for field goals from David Lopez on four other scoring drives, and a fifth resulted in a blocked field-goal attempt.
Padron, making his first start since Sept. 8, completed 26 of 36 passes, including a 21-yard scoring toss to Ryan Seto in the first quarter. Kaufman’s 1,432 receiving yards are just 21 short of Eastern Washington’s single-season record.
MONTANA STATE 16, STONY BROOK 10
BOZEMAN, Mont. — Montana State defensive end Caleb Schreibeis forced the last of three lost Stony Brook fumbles with 45 seconds to play to preserve its secondround FCS playoff victory. The No. 3-seeded Bobcats (11-1) got a 69-yard touchdown pass from DeNarius McGhee to Tanner Bleskin in the first quarter and never trailed. McGhee finished 12 of 22 passing for 208 yards and ran for 73 yards. Miguel Maysonet ran 19 times for 83 yards and Marcus Coker had 56 yards on 12 carries for the Seawolves (10-3).
Sports, Pages 35 on 12/02/2012