Richmond beats Tribe for piece of CAA title, The Citadel stuns South Carolina

Nov 22, 2015 - 3:31 AM (STATS) - Share the wealth.

Better yet, go take some of it.

The No. 14 Richmond Spiders did just that Saturday, beating No. 7 William & Mary 20-9 to claim a share of the CAA title and secure the conference's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.

Richmond (8-3, 6-2) ended a two-game losing streak and finished in a three-way tie for first place with William & Mary (8-3, 6-2), which would have claimed an outright title with a victory, and James Madison (9-2, 6-2). Richmond beat both of those teams, including William & Mary in the 125th meeting of the "Oldest Rivalry in the South."

"We earned our way into the postseason," said Richmond coach Danny Rocco, who has a 25-7 career record in November.

Spiders senior Jacobi Green carried the ball 36 times for 217 yards and one touchdown, surpassing William & Mary's Kendell Anderson for the CAA rushing lead after the junior managed just 47 yards.

Sophomore quarterback Kyle Lauletta was 14 of 23 for 171 yards and two touchdowns, while Richmond intercepted William & Mary quarterback Steve Cluley three times in ending the Tribe's six-game winning streak.

The 24-team playoff field will be announced Sunday morning. It will include Southern Conference co-champion The Citadel (8-3), which stunned South Carolina 23-22, giving the FCS its ninth victory over FBS teams this season.

The 10 teams to clinch automatic playoff bids through conference championships are Southern Utah (Big Sky), Charleston Southern (Big South), Richmond (CAA), North Dakota State (Missouri Valley), Duquesne (Northeast), Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley), Colgate (Patriot), Dayton (Pioneer), Chattanooga (Southern) and McNeese State (Southland).

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STATS FCS TOP 25=

SATURDAY, NOV. 20=

No. 1 Jacksonville State (10-1, 8-0 OVC) 42, Murray State (3-8, 2-6) 20

Jacksonville State quarterback Eli Jenkins accounted for 342 yards (212 passing, 130 rushing) and five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing), sparking the top-ranked Gamecocks to their ninth straight win and perhaps the No. 1 playoff seed.

Murray State's KD Humphries, the FCS leader in passing yards, was 22 of 45 for 286 yards and a touchdown with one interception.

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No. 2 North Dakota State (9-2, 7-1 Missouri Valley) 55, Missouri State (1-10, 0-8) 0

Four-time defending FCS champion North Dakota State earned a share of its fifth straight Missouri Valley title as well as the conference's automatic bid to the playoffs.

Freshman quarterback Easton Stick completed 15 of 20 passes for 189 yards and four touchdowns.The Bison outgained Missouri State 601 yards to 171, forcing four turnovers.

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No. 3 McNeese State (10-0, 9-0 Southland) 20, Lamar (5-6, 4-5) 14

McNeese State finished the regular season as the only unbeaten team in the FCS, gaining three 100-yard rushers - Derrick Milton (138), Ryan Ross (126) and quarterback Daniel Sames (104) - in a 406-yard ground assault. Ryan and Sams also scored touchdowns.

Lamar's Kade Harrington had only 70 yards on 17 carries to finish his junior season with an FCS-high 2,092 yards.

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Western Illinois (6-5, 5-3 Missouri Valley) 30, No. 5 South Dakota State (8-3, 5-3) 24

Western Illinois quarterback Sean McGuire scored on a 7-yard run in the second overtime to stop South Dakota State's three-game winning streak.

Jackrabbits quarterback Zach Lujan threw for 246 yards and a touchdown to Jake Wieneke, but was intercepted three times.

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No. 6 Illinois State (9-2, 7-1 Missouri Valley) 46, South Dakota (5-6,3-5)

Running back Marshaun Coprich's 251 yards and a career-best four touchdowns on the ground helped Illinois State weather a snowstorm while clinching a share of its second straight Missouri Valley title.

Quarterback Tre Roberson scored on an 80-yard run and also threw for a touchdown.

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Florida State (9-2) 52, No. 8 Chattanooga (8-3) 13

Chattanooga was no match for Florida State as star quarterback Jacob Huesman was limited to 94 passing yards and 21 rushing yards, including a 3-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Sema'je Kendall led the Mocs defense with seven tackles and a pass breakup.

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Alabama (10-1) 56, No. 9 Charleston Southern (9-2) 6

Quarterback Kyle Copeland's 3-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter gave Charleston Southern its only points.

The Buccaneers, whose only two losses are against FBS teams (also 44-16 to Troy), allowed two punt return TDs to Alabama's Cyrus Jones.

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No. 10 Sam Houston State (8-3, 7-2 Southland) 42, Central Arkansas (7-4, 7-2) 13

Quarterback Jared Johnson threw for two touchdowns and running backs Corey Avery and Jalen Overstreet both rushed for a pair as Sam Houston State likely clinched a playoff bid for the fifth straight season.

Cornerback Mikell Everette had a pair of interceptions.

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No. 11 Portland State (9-2, 6-2 Big Sky) 34, No. 18 Eastern Washington (6-5, 5-3) 31

David Jones rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries and Alex Kuresa threw a pair of TDs to help hand Eastern Washington its third straight loss.

EWU junior wide receiver Cooper Kupp, considered a candidate for early entry into the 2016 NFL Draft, caught eight passes for 136 yards and one touchdown. He set the Big Sky single-season record with 114 receptions, surpassing Idaho State's Rodrick Rumble, who had 112 in 2011.

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No. 12 James Madison (9-2, 6-2 CAA) 38, Villanova (6-5, 5-3) 9

James Madison won to claim a three-way share of the CAA title with Richmond and William & Mary, scoring three touchdowns on returns: Brandon Ravenel going 98 yards on the game's opening kickoff, Jordan Brown racing 45 yards off an interception and Taylor Reynolds dashing 77 yards following a fumble recovery.

Villanova freshman quarterback Zack Bednarczyk rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns, but threw two interceptions.

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No. 15 Northern Iowa (7-4, 5-3 Missouri Valley) 49, Southern Illinois (3-8, 2-6) 28

UNI likely clinched an at-large bid to the playoffs after earning its fifth straight conference win.

Quarterback Aaron Bailey rushed for 131 yards and three touchdowns and threw for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Tyvis Smith gained 166 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.

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North Carolina Central (8-3, 7-1 MEAC) 21, No. 16 North Carolina A&T (9-2, 7-1) 16

North Carolina Central earned a share of its second straight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title, ending North Carolina A&T's eight-game winning streak behind freshman Dorrel McClain's career-high 167 rushing yards and one touchdown.

The Aggies also earned a share of the title, as did Bethune-Cookman with a win over Florida A&M. A&T most likely will win the tiebreaker and be the MEAC's representative in the inaugural Celebration Bowl next month.

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No. 17 Montana (7-4, 6-2 Big Sky) 54, Montana State (5-6, 3-5) 35

Montana quarterback Brady Gustafson passed for 353 yards and threw three of his four touchdown passes to Jamaal Jones (nine receptions, 132 yards). Linebacker Kendrick Van Ackeren had 13 tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack and an interception.

Quarterback Dakota Prukop's four total touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) failed to keep Montana State from finishing with a losing record.

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No. 19 Harvard (9-1, 6-1 Ivy) 38, Yale (6-4, 3-4) 19

Senior Scott Hosch threw for 320 yards and four touchdowns, freshman Justice Shelton-Mosley scored three touchdowns and Harvard beat Yale for a series-record ninth straight time to claim a three-way share of the Ivy League title with Dartmouth and Penn.

The title was the third straight for the Crimson, a first in program history. Their senior class went 36-4 in their careers.

No. 20 Southern Utah (8-3, 7-1) 49, No. 24 Northern Arizona (7-4, 5-3) 41

Southern Utah won an outright Big Sky title as quarterback Ammon Olsen was 33 of 59 for 430 yards and five touchdowns, including three to Mike Sharp (eight receptions, 169 yards).

Northern Arizona quarterback Case Cookus was 33 of 56 for 350 yards and four touchdowns with two interceptions. His Hail Mary attempt on the game's final play was intercepted by Tyler Collet just outside the SUU goalline.

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No. 21 Dartmouth (9-1, 6-1 Ivy) 17, Princeton (5-5, 2-5) 10

Kyle Bramble scored on a 12-yard screen pass from Dalyn Williams with 24 seconds left to give Dartmouth a share of its first Ivy League title since 1996 and a league-record 18th overall.

Williams was 31 of 45 for 262 yards with one interception. He was sacked seven times, matching the most in his career.

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Eastern Illinois (7-4, 7-1 OVC) 21, No. 23 Eastern Kentucky (6-5, 5-3) 7

EIU forced seven turnovers and didn't commit any in a win which the Panthers hope pushed them into the playoffs with an at-large bid.

Jourdan Wickliffe and Bradley Dewberry had two interceptions apiece, while linebacker Nick Horne scored on a 62-yard fumble return in the third quarter.

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No. 25 The Citadel (8-3) 23, South Carolina (3-8) 22

The Citadel's Tyler Renew scored on a 56-yard run with 6:07 left for the go-ahead touchdown, and the Bulldogs made the 23-22 lead stand up for their first win over an FBS team since 1992.

Renew finished with 174 yards and two touchdowns, and Cam Jackson added 106 yards and a score as the Bulldogs' triple option offense had 350 rushing yards.

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THURSDAY, NOV. 19

Liberty (6-5, 3-3 Big South) 24, No. 4 Coastal Carolina (9-2, 4-2) 21

Despite its disappointing record, Liberty earned a 10th straight winning season by upsetting rival Coastal Carolina. Josh Woodruw threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to B.J. Farrow with 1:27 left for the winning margin.

Coastal's De'Angelo Henderson scored on a pair of runs, giving him a touchdown in an FCS-record 25 consecutive games.

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IDLE=

No. 13 Fordham (9-2, 5-1 Patriot)

No. 22 Grambling State (8-2, 8-0 SWAC)