In the first Association game of the season, Lindenwood overcame at 21-0 deficit to top Charleston Southern 35-28. In other action, Tennessee Tech set a modern era record with 72 points against Davidson, while Gardner-Webb topped The Citadel and Western Illinois upended Valparaiso.
SCORES
Lindenwood 35, @Charleston Southern 28
@#15/16 Tennessee Tech 72, Davidson 14
#4/7 Illinois State 42,
@Eastern Illinois 30
@#1/1 North Dakota State 41,
Southeast Missouri 14
Alabama A&M 23,
@Tennessee State 21
#14/17 Southern Illinois 37,
@UT Martin 10
@Western Illinois 51, Valparaiso 30
@Gardner-Webb 23, The Citadel 13
LINDENWOOD 35, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 28 | BOX SCORE
The Lindenwood football team completed a 21-point comeback and defeated Charleston Southern by a score of 35-28 on Saturday in Charleston, S.C. CSU scored three first half touchdowns to go ahead 21-0 before the Lions scored right before the break. Lindenwood eventually ted the game after Nate Glantz tallied his third rushing touchdown of the game, knotting the score at 21 apiece with 12:23 left in the final frame. LU would grab the lead on an eight-play 80 yard drive, finished off by a 12-yard strike from Glantz to Rico Bond, putting Lindenwood ahead for the first time in the game, 28-21. Glantz finished the game 20-of-34 for 246 yards and four total touchdowns (1 passing, 3 rushing).
#15/16 TENNESSEE TECH 72, DAVIDSON 14 | BOX SCORE
Tennessee Tech rolled to a 72-14 win over Davidson on Saturday at Tucker Stadium. Golden Eagles start season 3-0 for the first time since 1977, and set single-game modern program record with 72 points. Kekoa Visperas completed 23-of-32 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 59 yards and an additional two touchdowns to finish with five total touchdowns. Quintell Quinn was dominant in the run game, rushing for 122 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 13.6 yards per carry on nine carries. In all, the Golden Eagles rushed for five touchdowns and a season-high 308 yards. The passing game, led by Visperas, threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns. Theron Gaines stepped in front of a pass and took it 60 yards to the house for a touchdown with one second left in the first half; he finished the game with four tackles.
#4/7 ILLINOIS STATE 42, EASTERN ILLINOIS 30 | BOX SCORE
Connor Wolf passed for an Eastern Illinois freshman school record 411 yards and four touchdowns on Saturday, but it was not enough as the fourth-ranked Illinois State Redbirds claimed a 42-30 win over EIU in the 113th playing of the Mid-America Classic. Wolf was 28-of-44 with two interceptions. Nelson had seven catches for 194 yards and the two scores. ISU was able to maintain EIU's run game limiting the Panthers to just 35 yards on the ground. Rittenhouse passed for 299 yards and three scores. His top target was Mailander with five catches for 109 yards. Ja'Wuan Nickson had 12 tackles to lead EIU with Tylan Foster adding 11.
#1/1 NORTH DAKOTA STATE 41, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 14 | BOX SCORE
Kalvin Gilbert and Payton Brown each scored their first touchdowns of the season as Southeast Missouri (1-2) fell to No. 1 North Dakota State (3-0), 41-14, Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 17,354 at the Fargodome. SEMO played NDSU for the first time and faced its first #1 Football Championship Subdivision opponent since 2021 (Sam Houston). Jax Leatherwood completed 12-of-23 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown and ran for 20 yards on 10 carries. Gilbert, in his first career start, caught two passes for 67 yards, while Cam Pedro added four receptions for 53 yards. SEMO's defense held NDSU to 2-of-10 on third down. Landon Sylvie led the Redhawks with nine tackles. Sylvie finished as SEMO's leading tackler every game thus far.
ALABAMA A&M 23, TENNESSEE STATE 21 | BOX SCORE
Tennessee State fell to Alabama A&M, 23-12, in the inaugural Legacy Series contest at Nissan Stadium. Kendric Rhymes paced the Tigers' offense, rushing for 111 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries (4.6 yards per attempt). He also added 64 receiving yards and another score through the air. Zack Simmons-Brown provided a strong complement on the ground, picking up 75 yards and a touchdown while averaging 8.3 yards per carry. On defense, Epoki Fakaosi made his presence felt with four tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss, one sack, and a forced fumble. Bryce Gray also notched a sack, while Kaiki Baker anchored the unit with a team-high 11 tackles.
#14/17 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 37, UT MARTIN 10 | BOX SCORE
After trailing by 10 points at halftime, UT Martin managed only three second half points in falling to nationally ranked Southern Illinois on Saturday in its home opener. A Jase Bauer to Drake Martinez two-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter cut the lead to 14-7 with 2:43 to play. But SIU added a field goal before halftime and did not look back. Bauer passed for 173 yards and also rushed for a team-high 52 yards. Josh Hastings had 13 tackles for UTM.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 51, VALPARAISO 30 | BOX SCORE
Western Illinois scored 28 first half points and cruised to a 51-30 victory in its home opener on Saturday. Chris Irvin completed 13-of-20 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for another score. Markell Holman added a team-best 74 rushing yards for WIU.
GARDNER-WEBB 23, THE CITADEL 13 | BOX SCORE
Graduate quarterback Nate Hampton connected on 13-of-22 passes for 206 and a pair of scores, while junior kicker Charlie Viorel knocked in three field goals as Gardner-Webb (2-1) football took care of The Citadel (1-2) by the final of 23-13 on Saturday evening at Spangler Stadium. Running back Quasean Holmes led the ground game for the Dawgs, chewing up a team-high 90 yards on 17 carries. Carson Gresock added tough yards up the middle, posting 33 yards on just six carries. Chris Lofton finished the contest with 90 yards receiving on three catches, including a 67-yard strike while Anthony Lowe hauled in a game-high four passes. The defense was anchored by Cahari Haynes, who collected nine tackles, including seven solos. Robert Holtz tallied a sack to go along with two tackles for loss.