(STATS) – To recognize the eight best teams will be playing in the FCS quarterfinals, just go to the seeds.
One, two, three … all the way to eight, the seeded teams enjoyed the home cooking on Saturday as they advanced out of the second round.
It’s still North Dakota State versus the field, but the 24-team bracket has been cut to the heavy hitters. 1/4n
Here’s a review of each second-round games and a lookahead to the quarterfinals:
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No. 7 seed Maine (9-3) 55, Jacksonville State (9-4) 27
Story Line: Maine flexed its CAA championship muscle by overwhelming Jacksonville State with 42 first-half points – the Black Bears’ season high for an entire game. Chris Ferguson threw for four of his five touchdown passes and Earnest Edwards scored on three of his four touches in the half. Ramon Jefferson finished with 186 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.
Game Ball: Ferguson was knocked from Maine’s final regular-season game on Nov. 17 due to a recurring shoulder injury, but he was on target in his return. He threw for 159 yards.
Key Stat: Maine was 6 of 14 converting third downs and 2 of 2 on fourth downs. Jacksonville State was 1 of 14 and 2 of 6, respectively.
Up Next: Maine will travel to No. 2 seed Weber State for the quarterfinals Friday night. It’s a first-time meeting and would be the first of two trips to the Big Sky if the Black Bears pull a road upset. Both defenses were top-ranked in their conference during the regular season.
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No. 8 seed Colgate (10-1) 23, James Madison (9-4) 20
Story Line: Chris Puzzi kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired and Colgate eliminated James Madison in the second round for the second time in four seasons.
Game Ball: Let’s go with two from Colgate: Puzzi was 3-for-3 on field goals, including the game-winner that was his school-record 15th this season. A healthier quarterback Grant Breneman played for the first time in a month and was gritty with both a touchdown pass and run in the third quarter when the Raiders gained their first lead.
Key Stat: The Raiders intercepted JMU’s Ben DiNucci five times, including safety Tyler Castillo with two picks. Coming into the game, DiNucci had only seven interceptions.
Up Next: Colgate will travel to top-seeded and defending champion North Dakota State for the quarterfinals next Saturday. The Raiders rank No. 1 in the FCS in scoring defense, while the Bison are tied for No. 2. The two programs have never met before.
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No. 4 seed Kennesaw State (11-1) 13, Wofford (9-4) 10
Story Line: In a rain-filled game, Kennesaw State escaped in a defensive struggle between triple option offenses on Justin Thompson’s 30-yard field goal with 1:52 remaining. Owls star quarterback Chandler Burks was knocked out of the game late with an injury.
Game Ball: Senior linebacker Anthony Gore Jr., the Big South defensive player of the year, camped out in the Wofford backfield, gaining six tackles for a loss for 35 yards among his 12 tackles. The biggest play was his sack of Joe Newman that forced a fumble and was recovered by Andrew Butcher at the Terriers’ 21 to set up the winning field goal.
Key Stat: The Owls produced a program-record 13 tackles for loss in limiting Wofford to 74 rushing yards.
Up Next: Kennesaw State has a 15-game home winning streak heading into its quarterfinal against No. 5 seed South Dakota State on Saturday. The Owls’ fourth-year program has never played a team from the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
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No. 5 seed South Dakota State (9-2) 51, Duquesne (9-4) 6
Story Line: In snow-covered Brookings, the playoff-veteran Jackrabbits nearly doubled the yards (470 to 244) of a Duquesne team that was coming off its first all-time FCS playoff win. Mikey Daniel and Isaiah Hill both rushed for two touchdowns.
Game Ball: The SDSU offensive line paved the way for a 326-yard ground assault on 8.2 yards per carry.
Key Stat: Duquesne running back A.J. Hines had gained over 200 yards from scrimmage five times in a six-game winning streak, but he only had 21 yards on 10 carries.
Up Next: South Dakota State has a date at No. 4 seed Kennesaw State in the quarterfinals on Saturday. The Jackrabbits, who are 2-2 on the road, will likely be the favorite. Taryn Christion versus Burks is a terrific matchup of different-style quarterbacks.
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No. 1 seed North Dakota State (12-0), Montana State (8-5) 10
Story Line: Talk about an opening statement in the playoffs, NDSU’s FCS dynasty scored on their first six possessions in the first half, including Lance Dunn with four touchdowns, as they began their hunt for a record seventh FCS title.
Game Ball: Dunn can thank his offensive linemen, but the senior made it look effortless, scoring on runs of 1, 11, 1 and 46 yards. He tied D.J. McNorton’s school record for TD runs in a playoff game.
Key Stat: North Dakota State had three running backs go over 100 yards for the first time since 1996: Dunn (127), Bruce Anderson (118) and Ty Brooks (103).
Up Next: The Bison next host No. 8 seed Colgate in a quarterfinal on Saturday, looking to build on a 22-1 record at the Fargodome this decade. They have advanced to the final eight in nine straight years.
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No. 2 seed Weber State (10-2) 48, Southeast Missouri (9-4) 23
Story Line: Quarterback Jake Constantine (five total touchdowns) threw for four touchdowns and the Wildcats defense picked off four passes. They so controlled the game that they converted two fake punts into first downs.
Game Ball: The Wildcats reeled off 34 straight points as Constantine threw his four TD passes in the second quarter and then capped the opening drive of the third quarter with a 10-yard scoring run.
Key Stat: The visitors from the Ohio Valley Conference entered the game with an FCS-leading plus-27 turnover margin, but was minus-3 in the loss. Safety Jordan Preator had two of Weber State’s four interceptions, the first leading to a touchdown two plays later and the second a 52-yard pick-six.
Up Next: The Big Sky’s automatic qualifier, which is 6-0 at Stewart Stadium, will host No. 7 seed Maine in the quarterfinals Friday night. Both teams posted their season-high point total in the second round.
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No. 3 seed Eastern Washington (10-2) 42, Nicholls (9-4) 21
Story Line: Trailing 14-3, Eastern Washington ripped off 39 straight points, starting with Dylan Ledbetter’s blocked field goal that Kedrick Johnson scooped up and returned 55 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the first half. From there, the Eagles scored on five of their first six possessions of the second half.
Game Ball: Eagles running back Sam McPherson rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns, caught three passes for 35 yards and completed a 32-yard pass.
Key Stat: Nicholls quarterback Chase Fourcade was held without a touchdown pass after he threw 13 in the Southland Conference co-champ’s five-game winning streak entering the game.
Up Next: It will be an All-Big Sky quarterfinal when Eastern Washington hosts No. 6 seed UC Davis in the quarterfinals next Saturday. The Eagles racked up 669 offensive yards when they routed the Aggies 59-20 on Nov. 10.
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No. 6 seed UC Davis (10-2) 23, UNI (7-6) 16
Story Line: In a fairly even game statistically, the Aggies held on to win their first-ever FCS playoff game after building a 23-6 lead midway through the third quarter. As usual, they spread around the offensive contributions, with quarterback Jake Maier passing for 310 yards and a touchdown as well as two interceptions.
Game Ball: The Aggies defense bared down at the right times, keeping UNI to five field goal attempts. The Panthers scored only one touchdown in four trips to the Aggies’ red zone.
Key Stat: UC Davis kept UNI from controlling the game with the run, allowing just 93 net rushing yards on 31 carries. UNI leading rushers Trevor Allen and Marcus Weymiller had just 51 yards combined.
Up Next: UC Davis takes an 0-7 series record against No. 3 seed Eastern Washington into their quarterfinal next Saturday. The Eagles have handed the Aggies their only FCS loss.
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