In Saturday's football action UT Martin picked up its first win of the season by topping Chicago State. Gardner-Webb came up just short at Wofford with four other teams lost to either FBS teams or nationally-ranked FCS opponents.
 

SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Iowa State 38, Southeast Missouri 10	Box Score
@Wofford 17, Gardner-Webb 13	Box Score
@#3/3 Georgia 63, Tennessee State 3	Box Score
@UT Martin 42, Chicago State 7	Box Score
@Georgia Southern 31, Charleston Southern 0	Box Score
#4/4 Illinois State 41, @Western Illinois 10	Box Score

IOWA STATE 38, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 10
AMES, Iowa - Khyair Spain ran for a game-high 72 yards as Southeast Missouri (1-1) dropped a 38-10 decision to Big 12 Conference member Iowa State (1-0) Saturday in front of a crowd of 51,802 at Jack Trice Stadium.

Spain carried the ball 16 times and averaged 4.5 yards per rush in his first start at running back this season.

Jaylen Raynor scored the first touchdown of the game on a 7-yard run with a little over 10 minutes left to play in the first quarter giving ISU the lead. Following a SEMO punt, Raynor completed a 24-yard touchdown pass to Vince Benetti on the second play of ISU's next possession to put the Cyclones ahead, 14-0, with 2:27 to go.

Braylen Ragland's 40-yard completion to John Anthony, Jr. moved the Redhawks to ISU's 10-yard line. Two plays later, Montana State transfer quarterback Chance Wilson ran seven yards to the end zone making it a 14-7 game with 10:39 remaining in the second quarter. The Cyclones responded with 14 more points. A 20-yard pass from Raynor to Omari Hayes set up an 11-yard touchdown run by Aiden Flora at the 4:54 mark.

Ragland was then intercepted by Beni Ngoyi and that turnover later resulted in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Raynor to Easton Miller extending the Cyclones lead to 28-7 at the half. ISU tacked on three points with a 33-yard field goal by Kyle Konrardy in the third quarter before Raynor finished off the scoring with a 7-yard run giving the Cyclones a 38-10 advantage with 10:41 left in the fourth quarter. SEMO's other points came before that when Justin Keller made a 40-yard field goal at the 13:20 mark. For Keller, it was his fourth field goal of 40 or more yards this year.

Raynor had a hand in four of ISU's five touchdowns. He completed 8-of-16 passes for 184 yards and two TDs and rushed for 32 yards and another two scores. Defensively, the Cyclones forced three turnovers and had six sacks in the game. ISU also outgained SEMO, 303-209, in total yards.

Ragland threw for 142 yards on 17-of-22 passes. LJ Minner, Jr. led the Redhawks defense with five tackles and a sack.


WOFFORD 17, GARDNER-WEBB 13
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -The Runnin' Bulldogs battled until the end but fell just short on Saturday against the Wofford Terriers 17-13 at Gibbs Stadium. The game started at 1:30 p.m. and right at the halftime whistle the game would go under a weather delay for over an hour and a half before resuming for the second half. 

 The first quarter featured a back and forth battle between both teams. Wofford struck first to open the scoring for the day. Ivory Aikens took the opening kick 97 yards to the end zone to give Wofford an early 7-0 lead. Gardner-Webb on their next drive would find a rhythm offensively and were able to reach the redzone. Unfortunately Wofford's Jordan Johnson forced a fumble and Jeremiah Shelby recovered it. The Runnin' Bulldogs came up with a turnover of their own as the defense would get to J.T. Fayard and force him to throw an interception to Nigel Lucas. Gardner-Webb looked to establish the run game early and Cole Pennington and Kory Jones continued their connection from the previous and were able to put together a 13 play, 56 yard drive that would eventually result in a field goal.

The Runnin' Bulldogs continued to come up big by forcing Wofford to punt on their next two drives, however near the end of the half Wofford would put a long drive together of 10 plays, 79 yards and Gerald Modest Jr. reached the end zone to extend the Terriers lead to 14-3. Going into halftime there was lighting in the area that would put the game on hold for a little over an hour and a half. 

Play resumed at 4:30 p.m. and Gardner-Webb looked to immediately to answer and get back in the game but were forced to punt and give the ball back to Wofford. However Gardner-Webb once again would force another turnover of their own. AJ Mebane would get to Fayard and force a fumble on a sack which would be recovered by Renardo Lewis and give the Runnin' Bulldogs the ball back and momentum. Gardner-Webb was able to take advantge of mental mistakes made by the Wofford defense as two crucial personal fouls would move the Gardner-Webb offense into great scoring position. A couple of key completions from Pennington to both Jones and Gio Adopte would keep the offense on the field and Randy Young would run it in for a six yard touchdown to bring the Runnin' Bulldogs within one score. 

On Wofford's ensuing drive the Gardner-Webb defense stood tall and forced a punt. However Gardner-Webb's defense was not the only one standing tall as Wofford would stand tall and prevent the Runnin' Bulldogs from moving the ball effectively. Wofford would put a good drive together and extend their lead to 17-10 with a field goal from Sam Spence.

Gardner-Webb started their drive from the one-yard line and Kory Jones delivered for the Runnin' Bulldogs as he and Cole Pennington would connect for a 79 yard completion that sparked energy from the Runnin' Bulldog sideline and put Garner-Webb's offense in the redzone. Wofford would stand tall once again and force a field goal try that would be converted by Tyler Simpson cutting the Wofford lead to just 4 with around six minutes left. 

After a crucial three and out forced by the Runnin' Bulldogs defense the offense would get a chance to win the game with just under six minutes to go. Montez Green would play a huge role in the drive making a crucial third down catch to extend the drive and advance through Runnin' Bulldogs into plus territory. Adopte would do the same later in the drive as he would toe tap his way inside the red zone on third down.

With an effective drive Gardner-Webb seemed like they would be able to get in the end zone and they did on a strike delivered from Pennington to Jones, unfortunately it was called back due to offsetting penalties, one on each team. On the next play Wofford would provide pressure that would get to Pennington and force an interception giving Wofford the win.

Despite the loss, Gardner-Webb was able to force three turnovers througout the afternoon and repeatedly gave the offense opportunities to stay within striking distance. The Runnin' Bulldogs offense also produced many explosive plays including the 79-yard completion from Pennington to Jones late in the fourth quarter.


#3/3 GEORGIA 63, TENNESSEE STATE 3
ATHENS, Ga. -Tennessee State football answered Georgia's early surge with a sustained scoring drive late in the first half, but the No. 3 Bulldogs' explosive offense proved too much in a 63-3 loss Saturday afternoon at Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium.

Tennessee State dropped to 0-2, while Georgia improved to 1-0 in the first meeting between the programs.

Preston Hurless accounted for the Tigers' points with a 37-yard field goal with 2:08 remaining in the second quarter. The kick capped a 14-play, 55-yard drive that took 5:29 off the clock.

Daylin Lee completed 11 of 19 passes for 62 yards. Tennessee State's three quarterbacks combined to complete 15 of 26 attempts for 99 yards without an interception.

Trevor Pearson and Byron McNair shared the team rushing lead with 14 yards apiece. Cam Bulluck led the receiving corps with four catches for 28 yards.

Brendan Hale led the Tennessee State defense with six tackles, including five solo stops, and two pass breakups. Kaiki Baker and Devyn Curtis added four tackles apiece, while Javen Edmiston recorded a tackle for loss.

The Tigers did not commit a turnover and were penalized only once for 10 yards. Tennessee State also held the ball for 31:33 and converted 6 of 17 third-down attempts.

Georgia finished with 660 yards of offense, including 388 through the air and 272 on the ground. Gunner Stockton completed 15 of 16 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns. Nate Frazier rushed four times for 72 yards and three scores.


UT MARTIN 42, CHICAGO STATE 7
MARTIN, Tenn. - – Six rushing touchdowns paved the way for the University of Tennessee at Martin football squad’s first triumph of the 2026 season, a 42-7 victory over Chicago State.
               
The six scores on the ground were the first time for the Skyhawks since Oct. 8, 2022 at Murray State. Tommy Ansley led the charge with 16 carries for 106 yards with three touchdowns, while Chris Franklin found the endzone twice. Jaydon Peete capped off the scoring with a rushing touchdown as UT Martin ended the contest with 42 unanswered points.
               
The UT Martin offense piled up 477 yards of total offense (261 passing, 216 rushing) en route to the win. Redshirt freshman Tate Surber went 16-for-23 with 222 passing yards in his collegiate debut, while Julian Calvez added 39 passing yards in his second start of the season. Deuce Oliver accumulated a team-high 73 receiving yards while tying three teammates (Anthony Carter, Connie Hewitt II, Kaleb Washington) with a team-best three catches.
               
The Skyhawks allowed only 191 yards of total offense as the swarming defensive unit combined for nine tackles for loss (including two sacks), five quarterback hurries and four pass breakups. Reginald Allen, Jr. corralled a team-high eight tackles with Chris Wilson (1.5 tackles for loss), Duston Chavis (one sack), LaMarion Pierce (two pass breakups) and Bryce Dailey (two quarterback hurries) additionally securing team-highs in their respective statistical categories.
               
On special teams, Brandon Sims was a perfect 6-for-6 in PAT attempts while also sending three of his seven kickoffs for touchbacks. Max Zuluaga averaged 50.0 yards over three punts.
               
Playing in its second game since debuting its program last week, Chicago State was led by Adrian Bowers’ game-high 10 tackles. Ashton Pannell found De Armond Mathews for a 4-yard passing touchdown for the Cougars’ only score midway through the first quarter, but the UT Martin defense conceded just 129 total yards over the final 45 minutes.


GEORGIA SOUTHERN 31, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 0
STATESBORO, Ga. - Charleston Southern fell to 0-2 on the season on Saturday evening as they fell at Georgia Southern by a final score of 31-0. The Buccaneers defense dug deep in the final three quarters allowing just 10 points over the final 45 minutes of the contest.
 
Georgia Southern reached the endzone on each of their first three possessions of the evening to build an early 21-0 lead. They needed 14 plays to go 75 yards followed by a 57 yard completion for the second score and the third drive used an 11 play, 69 yard possession to score. The Eagles were stalled on their next three possessions with a turnover on downs in the redzone, a punt off a three-and-out and a fumble on the first play of the possession. They ended the half with a Tripp Bryant 32 yard field goal. In the third quarter, they had an 18 yard run conclude a nine play, 90 yard drive to cap off the scoring.
 
 Charleston Southern was able to put their best drive together on the final possession of the contest with Jared Echols at quarterback as he brought them inside the redzone, but it ended with an interception. Lek Powell finished the day with 69 passing yards while Echols had 40 through the air. Dwayne Wright was the lone tailback to eclipse double digits in rushing yards as he had 14. KD Dorsey had 42 receiving yards while Hasan Lee Jr added 31 and TJ Smith had 22.
 
Defensively, Josiah Wyatt led the team in tackles with five on the day to go with a tackle for loss. Dylan Mullins had the squad's lone sack with Brandon McDonald forcing a fumble and Avery Dixon recovering it. As a team, Charleston Southern had five tackles for loss with six different Buccaneers being in on them.
 

#4/4 ILLINOIS STATE 41, WESTERN ILLINOIS 10
MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois football battled Illinois State on Saturday at Hanson Field, but the Redbirds used a strong offensive performance to earn a 41-10 victory over the Leathernecks.

Illinois State jumped out to an early lead, scoring on each of its first three scoring opportunities to take a 17-0 advantage late in the first quarter.

Michael Cosentino opened the scoring with a 30-yard field goal with 10:29 remaining in the first quarter. The Redbirds then found the end zone on their next possession, as Beckham Pellant connected with Alex Herrera for a 23-yard touchdown with 4:41 left in the quarter.

Illinois State added to its lead with 13 seconds remaining in the opening period when Seth Glatz scored on a two-yard touchdown run.

Western Illinois answered with a 14-play, 75-yard drive to open the second quarter. Kennedy McGill helped move the Leathernecks down the field, including a 44-yard completion to Jacob Kania that moved WIU into the red zone. Western Illinois reached the Illinois State five-yard line before Ronan Culkin connected on a 22-yard field goal with 9:42 remaining in the half, putting the Leathernecks on the board.

The Redbirds responded with a touchdown on their ensuing possession, as Gage Roy found Stevan Gavric for a 36-yard scoring strike to extend the lead to 24-3.

Western Illinois' defense came up with a key takeaway late in the half when Jouvenson Romulus intercepted Pellant at the Leathernecks' two-yard line. Illinois State answered with a defensive takeaway of its own before Cosentino connected on a 29-yard field goal with 26 seconds remaining, sending the Redbirds into halftime with a 27-3 lead.

Illinois State added to its advantage on the opening possession of the second half, driving 61 yards before Victor Dawson scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 10:23 remaining in the third quarter.

Western Illinois continued to battle, putting together a promising drive on its ensuing possession. Cason Carswell connected with Christian Anaya for a 47-yard completion to move the Leathernecks inside the Illinois State 20-yard line, but the drive ended with WIU turning the ball over on downs at the ISU 12.

Dawson added his second touchdown of the afternoon early in the fourth quarter, scoring from six yards out with 13:38 remaining to extend the Redbirds' lead to 41-3.

The Leathernecks responded with their most productive scoring drive of the second half. Carswell connected with Xavier Coleman for 23 yards and Cam Edwards for 23 more before finding Josh Robinson for a 17-yard gain to move WIU inside the Illinois State 10-yard line. On fourth-and-three, Carswell kept the ball and rushed three yards for the touchdown with 7:06 remaining. Culkin's extra point made it 41-10.

Illinois State controlled possession during the final minutes, running out the clock to secure the 41-10 victory.