#8 Colgate at #1 North Dakota State
As if Ben DiNucci of James Madison wasn’t having going to have a tall task against the vaunted Colgate defense anyway, the Raiders’ Tyler Castillo picked off two passes. The Raiders actually intercepted another three passes, showing they were not just beneficiaries of a weak schedule. Quarterback Grant Breneman led two touchdown drives in the third quarter; one with a 32 yard touchdown run, the other ending with a pass to Owen Rockett. Kicker Chris Puzzi nailed his third field goal of the day, as time expired, giving Colgate a 23-20 win over James Madison.
The good news for Montana State was that they took the initial lead in the Fargo Dome. The bad news, the Bison scored the next 38 in the first half. Running back Lance Dunn had a half of epic proportions, scoring four times. Backs Ty Brooks and Bruce Anderson each shared in the fun, rushing for more than 100 and scoring a touchdown each. Quarterback Easton Stick was almost a non-factor, throwing only 12 passes. His seven completions went to seven different recipients.
One could be very confident saying the NDSU offensive line was actually the single best unit in their win over Montana State. It’ll be incredibly interesting thinking about them facing the Colgate defense. If the offensive line can help the Bison backs produce like this against the Raiders, nobody will beat them in this year’s playoffs. Will Breneman be able to move his offense against the nearly as stout Bison defense? The answer to that question will determine how close the final score is, but the end result should be safely in the home team’s corner.
Prediction: North Dakota State 30, Colgate 14
