SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Isaiah Davis had 19 carries for 108 yards and two touchdowns, Pierre Strong added 73 yards rushing and a score, and South Dakota State beat No. 4 seed Sacramento State 24-19 on Saturday night in the second round of the FCS playoffs.
Un-seeded South Dakota State (10-3), ranked No. 11 in the most recent FCS coaches poll, plays No. 5 seed Villanova in next weekend’s quarterfinals.
The Hornets (9-3) had their program-record eight-game win streak snapped.
After Sacramento State (9-3) went three-and-out on the game’s opening drive, Chris Oladokun hit Jadon Janke for a 29-yard game on third-and-3 before Strong capped an eight-play, 73-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run and the Jackrabbits led the rest of the way.
Cole Frahm kicked a 45-yard field goal to make it 10-0 late in the first quarter and Davis capped a seven-play 88 yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run about 5 minutes into the second quarter. The Hornets moved to the SDSU 35 before Cade Terveer picked off a pass at the 23 and returned it 4 yards and Davis added a 6-yard scoring run to make it 24-0 with 1:43 to play in the first half.
Kyle Sentkowski sandwiched field goals of 44 — as time in the second quarter expired — and 48 yards early in the fourth around a 3-yard touchdown pass from Jake Dunniway to Pierre Williams. Back-up quarterback Asher O’Hara threw a 1-yard TD pass to Isaiah Gable to cap the scoring with 2:33 to play.
Sacramento State — which did not play the spring season due to the COVID-19 pandemic — made its first FCS playoff appearance in 2019. The Hornets earned first-round byes and lost in the second round each year.