Lehigh showed it will be difficult to unseat as the Patriot League champion, taking command in the first half Saturday on the way to whipping William & Mary 44-20 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.  Luke Yoder rushed for 169 yards and scored three touchdowns for the Mountain Hawks (3-0 overall and in the conference).

The Mountain Hawks rushed for 366 yards and went over 100 for the 36th consecutive game. They scored five rushing touchdowns.

Lehigh, ranked No. 9 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, scored 37 points in the first half and went ahead over the No. 16 Tribe 44-14 with Yoder’s third touchdown, an 11-yard run with 8 1/2 minutes remaining.

The Mountain Hawks attempted only 10 passes, with starting quarterback Hayden Johnson completing 4 of 6 for 84 yards.

Winston Watkins was 18 for 22 for 164 yards and Jah’Kei Chavis scored two rushing touchdowns for the 16th-ranked Tribe (2-1, 1-1). which is in its first Patriot League season. W&M’s Carter Carroll was 7 of 17 for 34 yards and an interception

Christopher Newport 37, Western Connecticut State 7: The Captains (2-0), ranked 20th by d3football.com, pulled away in the fourth quarter from the Wolves (1-1) in Danbury.

Alex Jreige rushed for 98 yards on 15 carries, and Jordin Lennon ran for two touchdowns and 56 yards on 15 carries. CNU amassed 248 yards on 50 rushes.

CNU’s Braylon Addy caught two passes from Brandon Pena, both for TDs. Pena was 9 of 14 for 149 yards. Ethan Barham paced the Captains with three receptions for 98 yards.

The Captains’ defense held the Wolves to 40 yards on 20 carries. The hosts passed often, completing 20 of 34 for 168 yards, and only trailed 17-7 after three quarters.

But Lennon’s 7-yard run, Addy’s 27-yard catch and Cooper Meads’ 5-yard run all went for touchdowns in the final quarter.

North Carolina Wesleyan 42, Apprentice 0: The Bishops (2-0) shut out the Builders (1-2) in Rocky Mount. N.C. Wesleyan forced four turnovers and limited Apprentice to 141 yards of offense.

Nahjir Seagraves opened the scoring with a 47-yard run just 2:12 into the game. Braden Selvage threw a pair of touchdown passes to Jimmie West III and ran for a 12-yard TD, giving the Bishops a commanding lead before halftime.

James Madison 87, Wagner 3: Michael Scott returned two punts for touchdowns and Miles Halbert blocked and returned another for a score as the Dukes romped in Harrisonburg. They tied the NCAA record for punt-return TDs and set program records for points and victory margin.

The three punt-return touchdowns tied a record set several times, the last by Southern California against California in 2013. The Dukes’ previous scoring high came in an 84-7 win over Rhode Island in 2016.

Former Nansemond-Suffolk Academy star George Pettaway rushed for three touchdowns, and Nick Herman ran for 132 yards and two more scores. Camden Coleman passed for 171 yards and a score, and Arrington Maiden completed 7 of 8 passes for 111 yards with two TDs. Scott’s punt-return TDs covered 76 and 69 yards.

The FCS Seahawks (1-2) then got their lone points on Johnny DiSalvatore’s field goal in the first quarter.

Liberty 24, Gardner-Webb 23: Jaylen Henderson connected with Darius Copeland for a 54-yard touchdown with 2:34 remaining in Lynchburg as Liberty (1-1) survived an FCS foe for the Flames’ first win since Nov. 1, 2025.

LU trailed 23-17 after Gardner-Webb scored 20 unanswered points and held the Flames scoreless in the third quarter. Henderson, who completed 2 of 4 passes for 64 yards, entered late and found Copeland for the go-ahead score.

Deshawn Purdie threw for 122 yards and opened Liberty’s scoring with a 65-yard touchdown pass to Makai Jackson. Jaylon Coleman added a 20-yard touchdown run as the Flames took a 14-3 first-quarter lead. Gardner-Webb (0-3) answered with Sabin McLaughlin’s 35-yard fumble return for a touchdown and Randy Young’s 65-yard scoring run to take a 20-14 lead.

Bucknell 14, VMI 3: A week after giving up 73 points at Virginia Tech, the Keydets (0-3) held the Bison (1-2) scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to win in Lexington.

Jack Joyce, who missed two field goals, kicked a 26-yarder to give VMI a 3-0 lead with 1:51 to go in the second quarter.
Christopher Dietrich’s 27-yard TD pass to Jackson Nowinski put Bucknell in front with 9:28 left in the game, and Michael Cadden’s 8-yard run, which finished a five-play, 46-yard possession, all but sealed the outcome.

VMI’s Ian Reynolds was 11 of 27 for 155 yards and an interception. He led the Keydets with 26 yards on seven carries.

South Florida 28, Army 24: After going ahead by 10 points with 4:59 remaining, the Black Knights (1-1, 0-1 American) couldn’t hold off the Bulls (2-0, 1-0) before 23,670 in West Point, New York.

USF’s Michael Van Buren ran for a 24-yard touchdown with 3:13 remaining, cutting Army’s lead to 24-21. After the Bulls quickly forced the Black Knights to punt, Van Buren found Joshua Porter for a winning 38-yard TD pass with 19 seconds remaining.

Army’s Cale Hellums completed 9 of 10 passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns and ran 18 times for 55 yards.

LATE SATURDAY

NC State 73, Richmond 0: Duke Scott rushed for 128 yards and two touchdowns — all in the first half — and the Wolfpack shellacked the Spiders on a stormy night in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Quarterback CJ Bailey was 13-for-17 passing for 281 yards with one touchdown pass and another TD on the ground for the Wolfpack (1-1).

Richmond (2-1), receiving votes under the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, was held to 110 yards of offense. Ashten Snelsire was 8 for 23 for 76 yards and an interception.