ESPN College Football

DURHAM, N.H. -- Ricky Santos threw three touchdowns passes to David Ball and John McCoy ran for three more scores as top-ranked New Hampshire routed Colgate 55-21 on Saturday in a snowy first-round game in the Division I-AA playoffs.

New Hampshire (11-1) plays at home in the quarterfinals next Saturday against Northern Iowa.

Santos connected with Ball on scoring plays of 27 and 48 yards as the Wildcats took a 34-0 halftime lead. They combined on one other score from 18 yards in the fourth quarter to make it 55-14.

Santos also ran 8 yards for a score on the opening drive of the third quarter to end any hopes of a comeback by Colgate (8-4), the Patriot League champion.

Northern Iowa 41, Eastern Washington 38
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Brian Wingert kicked a 31-yard field goal with 51 seconds left to cap a fourth-quarter comeback that carried Northern Iowa to a victory over Eastern Washington.

Down 38-24 with 11 minutes to play, Northern Iowa (9-3) tied it on Eric Sanders' 8-yard touchdown pass to James Lindgren and David Horne's 4-yard TD run, which came with 5:22 remaining.

Sanders finished 31-of-40 for 330 yards and two touchdowns, while Horne carried 28 times for 141 yards and three TDs. Jason Breeland, who had only 10 receptions coming in, led the Panthers with eight catches for 98 yards.

Erik Meyer completed 25-of-44 passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns for Eastern Washington (7-5), but he was sacked seven times.

Furman 14, Nicholls State 12
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Ingle Martin ran for a 1-yard touchdown with 8:06 left to lead Furman past Nicholls State.

The Paladins came into the game averaging more than 38 points but managed only a couple touchdowns. The game was in doubt until the middle of the fourth quarter. Trailing by two, the Colonels (6-4) drove to the Furman 39, but Joseph Tobias was stopped short on fourth-and-2 with 4:52 remaining.

Furman (10-2) never gave the ball back, running down the clock deep in Nicholls State territory as Felton gained 35 yards on the final drive.

The Paladins will face Richmond.

Richmond 38, Hampton 10
HAMPTON, Va. -- Tim Hightower and David Freeman each ran for two touchdowns as Richmond beat Hampton.

Freeman carried the ball 21 times for 117 yards, including two 2-yard touchdown runs. Hightower scored from 3 yards and 8 yards, with a total of 73 yards on 15 carries.

Stacy Tutt passed for 102 yards and ran for a TD for Richmond (9-3). Onrea Jones caught a 7-yard pass for a touchdown in the second for Hampton (11-1). Jones had 192 receiving yards for Hampton.

Southern Illinois 21, Eastern Illinois 6
CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Arkee Whitlock ran for three touchdowns and Southern Illinois' defense kept Eastern Illinois out of the end zone.

Southern Illinois (9-3) moves on to face Appalachian State in the second round next Saturday.

The Salukis are making their third straight appearance in the playoffs, and Saturday's outcome was strikingly different from a year ago when they were ranked No. 1 before being upset in the opening round by Eastern Washington.

Whitlock scored on a 6-yard run in the first quarter to cap a 70-yard drive after Eastern Illinois' Zach Yates opened the scoring with a 32-yard field goal. Whitlock added a 5-yard scoring run in the third and a 3-yarder in the fourth.

Appalachian State 34, Lafayette 23
BOONE, N.C. -- Richie Williams threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Daniel Bettis, leading Appalachian State to a victory.

Williams, who also threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Dexter Jackson in the third quarter, completed 10-of-17 for 151 yards and ran for 32 yards for the Mountaineers (9-3).

The Leopards (8-4) were led by Jonathan Hurt, who scored Lafayette's touchdowns on a 3-yard pass from Pat Davis with 12:55 remaining in the second quarter and on a 1-yard run less than four minutes later.

Hurt had 115 yards on 25 carries.

Zodd Kelly of the Mountaineers had 12 tackles, a sack and a fourth-quarter interception with less than six minutes remaining that effectively ended the Leopards' hopes for a comeback.

Cal Poly 35, Montana 21
MISSOULA, Mont. -- James Noble rushed for 188 yards and a touchdown in each quarter to lead Cal Poly to a victory over Montana.

The No. 10 Mustangs (9-3) beat No. 9 Montana (8-4) for the first time in 11 tries and avenged a 36-27 loss to the Grizzlies on Oct. 22.

Noble, a freshman, had touchdown runs of 3, 4, 5 and 35 yards for Cal Poly, which advances to a second-round game next Saturday at No. 4 Texas State (10-2).

Matt Brennan passed for 130 yards and a 38-yard touchdown to Ramses Barden.

Lex Hilliard rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns and turned a shovel pass into a 66-yard score for Montana, which ended its season with two straight losses.

Texas State 50, Georgia Southern 35
SAN MARCOS, Texas -- Barrick Nealy passed for 400 yards and four touchdowns and Texas State scored 27 points in the fourth quarter to come from behind and beat Georgia Southern.

Texas State (10-2) trailed 35-23 at the end of the third quarter before Nealy threw two touchdowns in the final quarter to key the comeback.

Georgia Southern (8-4) was led by Jayson Foster, who ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Foster also threw for 135 yards and two more TDs.

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press