DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Drew Lauer had 28 carries for 140 yards and two touchdowns to lead Drake to a 28-17 win against Dayton on Saturday. Drake (4-2, 3-1 Pioneer Football League) has won four of its last five, and the Bulldogs defense has surrendered just 13.4 points a contest over that stretch.

Richie Warfield put Dayton on the board first with a 1-yard plunge before Lauer ended a five-play, 69-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run to tie it at 7. Joseph Bruni’s 22-yard field goal with 9:55 left before halftime marked the last lead for the Flyers.

Grant Kraemer threw a 6-yard TD pass to Steven Doran just before halftime, and with 3:32 left in the third, Kraemer connected again with Doran on a 2-yard scoring pass for a 21-10 lead. Lauer carried it in from 12 yards out early in the fourth for an 18-point lead. Doran finished with 93-yards rushing on six carries. Jack Cook paced Dayton (3-4, 2-2) with 194 yards passing.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) — Xavior Williams returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown with 23 seconds left in the game to put the finishing touches on Northern Iowa’s 24-9 upset win over South Dakota State in Missouri Valley Football Conference play on Saturday.

Eli Dunne passed for 172 yards and a TD and Marcus Weymiller rushed for 108 yards on 20 carries for the Panthers (4-3, 3-1 MVFC), who shut down the Jackrabbits (4-2, 2-2) and the MVFC’s top-ranked offense. South Dakota State, ranked third in the FCS coaches’ poll, and averaging 530 yards and 48 points per game on offense, managed just 51 yards rushing and 376 total yards.

Chase Vinatieri gave the Jackrabbits a 3-0 first-quarter lead on a 37-yard field goal, but Dunne’s 27-yard scoring strike to Jalen Rima in the second quarter put UNI up 7-3 at halftime. Trevor Allen’s 1-yard TD plunge pushed the Panthers’ lead to 14-3 after three quarters.

Vinatieri connected on 47- and 57-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to pull SDSU within 14-9. Austin Errthum’s 32-yard field goal pushed the Panthers’ lead back to eight and Williams’ pick-6 sealed the victory. Taryn Christion threw for 325 yards and two interceptions for the Jacks. Cade Johnson finished with seven catches for 121 yards.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Nate Stanley threw for 86 yards and a touchdown and 19th-ranked Iowa pummeled Maryland 23-0 on Saturday for its third straight victory. Anthony Nelson added a TD on a fumble recovery for the Hawkeyes (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten Conference), whose defense held the Terrapins to just 115 yards and seven first downs on a day when wind gusts topped 40 mph.

After settling for a pair of short field goals, Iowa went into halftime ahead 13-0 after Stanley found Brandon Smith for a 10-yard TD grab — which Smith made with one hand — with eight seconds left in the second quarter. Nelson, a defensive end, made it 23-0 Hawkeyes late in the third quarter by falling on a botched handoff from backup quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome in the end zone.

Ivory Kelly-Martin ran for 98 yards for Iowa, which had its first shutout since a 28-0 victory at Illinois two years ago. Kasim Hill was 6 of 15 passing for 47 yards and a pick for the Terps (4-3, 2-2), who ran for just 68 yards after entering play averaging 245 a game on the ground.
All three of Maryland’s losses have come by at least 21 points.

The Hawkeyes are really starting to round into form. They didn’t let the miserably windy conditions get to them — in fact, they used it to their advantage by running the ball as well as they have all season. If Iowa can upset Penn State next week in State College, talk of the Hawkeyes crashing the playoff party will only gain steam because they should be favored to win their last four games.

POLL IMPLICATIONS
Iowa might make another big jump — the Hawkeyes went from unranked to 19th last week — after an utterly dominant performance. The Hawkeyes have won their last three games by 17, 26 and 23 points.
UP NEXT
Iowa plays at No. 18 Penn State next week in what looks to be the Hawkeyes’ toughest road challenge yet.