GREELEY, Colo. (AP) — Peter Costelli threw for a touchdown and ran for another and that was enough to carry Northern Colorado past Division II Chadron State, 17-3 on Saturday.

After each team punted on its first drive, Costelli threw a 60-yard scoring pass to Brayden Munroe to complete a five-play, 80-yard drive. After the Eagles punted on their following drive, Northern Colorado held the ball for the next 14 plays and drove 91 yards in 7 minutes. Costelli ended the drive running it in from 19 yards out.

DJ Ralph threw for 228 yards on 20-for-33 passing for Chadron State.

Wilson Yee kicked a 29-yard field goal to prevent the shutout after missing earlier from 43 and 40 yards.

It was the ninth all-time meeting between the two programs and the first since 2007, when Chadron State beat the Bears, 31-0. Saturday marked the Bears’ first season opener at home since 2022.

Jonah Williams runs for 177 yards, 2 TDs in Washington’s win against Colorado State

SEATTLE (AP) — Jonah Coleman had 177 yards rushing and two touchdowns as Washington beat Colorado State 38-21 on Saturday night in the season opener for both teams.

It was one of Coleman’s most productive games of his collegiate career. The senior running back came two yards shy of his career high, which came on Nov. 11, 2023 against Colorado while he was with coach Jedd Fisch at Arizona.

“Jonah’s a really, really good back,” Fisch said. “He’s gotten better and better and better, and so I think that tonight was probably his best night running the football that I’ve had him.”

Quarterback Demond Williams Jr., meanwhile, was excellent through the air, completing 18 of 24 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown for Washington.

Williams, who completed 78% of his passes last season, was efficient in the Huskies’ season opener, connecting on eight of his first nine passes, including a 22-yard completion to Coleman for a fourth-down conversion in the first quarter. Coleman ran for a 26-yard touchdown immediately to give the Huskies a 7-0 lead almost four minutes into the game.

“We were able to run the ball at will, and when that happens, it’s awesome,” Williams said. “As a quarterback, definitely opens up the pass even more.”

Each of Washington’s first three touchdowns, though, were followed by Colorado State touchdowns. A bobbled snap by Williams deep in Rams territory led to Colorado State tying it entering halftime thanks to a Jalen Dupree rushing touchdown that made it 14-all.

Denzel Boston made a one-hand touchdown catch while being interfered with by a Rams defensive back, giving Washington a 28-21 lead late in the third quarter.

“It was awesome,” Williams said of Boston’s catch. “We have a chance to just throw it up there and let your guy go get it, it’s great.”

Grady Gross kicked a 24-yard field goal late and Coleman’s 3-yard TD run capped the scoring with 1:41 to go.

Home, sweet home

The victory was Washington’s 21st straight at Husky Stadium, extending the longest run in modern school history.

“That’s pretty special. That’s pretty cool,” said coach Jedd Fisch. “It’s an amazing place to watch a game, amazing place to coach a game.”

The Huskies won 45 straight home games from 1908 to 1917 as well as part of a 64-game unbeaten streak.

Running at will

The Huskies had 283 yards rushing and limited Colorado State to 265 total yards. A whopping 166 of Washington’s rushing yards came after halftime, which Coleman credited in large part to the Huskies finding their stride against first-year Rams defensive coordinator Tyson Summers.

“It was our first time playing as a team together,” Coleman said. “So, it was pretty wild seeing what they were doing. For us offensively, we didn’t know anybody on their team that we were playing.”

The takeaway

Colorado State: Sophomore linebacker Owen Long impressed all evening, racking up 13 tackles, 11 solo. Long had 15 solo tackles as a freshman.

Washington: Boston’s 92 yards receiving were the fourth-most of his career in a single game. The junior wideout had two 100-yard games last season, and is expected to be the Huskies’ leading receiver in 2025.

Up next

Colorado State: Hosts Northern Colorado next Saturday.

Washington: Hosts UC Davis on Sept. 7.

Harris scores 3 touchdowns, Air Force rolls past Bucknell 49-13

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AP) — Josh Johnson threw for two touchdowns, one to Cade Harris, and Harris ran for two and the Air Force Academy rolled to a 49-13 win over Bucknell on Saturday, the Falcons' 19th-straight season-opening victory.

Air Force has won five-straight dating back to last season, the fourth-longest active streak in the nation, and the season-opening streak is second only to Ohio State.

Johnson was 4-of-7 passing for 112 yards with a 40-yard connection with Quinn Smith and a 62-yarder with Harris. Last year Johnson threw one touchdown pass in his six appearances and none of the four Falcon quarterbacks had a multiple touchdown game.

Harris finished with 66 yards on eight carries and 83 yards on three receptions. Dylan Carson and Maguire Martin also had rushing touchdowns. Korey Johnson returned a fumble 34 yards for a score.

The Falcons punted on their first possession then scored four consecutive touchdowns before missing a field goal late in the second quarter.

Ralph Rucker IV was 10 of 18 for 126 yards with a touchdown and interception for Bucknell.

After a 48-minute weather delay in the third quarter when the Falcons were up 42-10 the teams agreed to cut the fourth quarter to 12 minutes.

King scampers for 45-yard TD with 1:07 left, Ga. Tech overcomes early miscues to beat Colorado 27-20

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Haynes King faked a pitch and scampered for a 45-yard touchdown with 1:07 remaining as Georgia Tech overcame a turnover-filled start to beat Colorado 27-20 on Friday night.

King finished with 156 yards rushing and three TDs in the season opener. He also threw for 143 yards. On the winning five-play drive, King carried the ball four times.

“They called my number. I did my job. I followed my blockers,” King explained. “The rest is history.”

The Buffaloes had two timeouts on their final drive but didn’t use them. They drove to the 50 and attempted a Hail Mary with 3 seconds remaining but the ball was batted down in the end zone.

“We could’ve won the game. It’s not like we had our butts kicked,” said Colorado coach Deion Sanders, who saw his team outgained by a 463-305 margin, including Georgia Tech rushing for 320 yards. "They ran the heck out of the ball.

“If we take advantage of the opportunities, I have a whole different mood up here right now.”

It was a disastrous beginning for a veteran Georgia Tech offense, with two fumbles and an interception on its opening three possessions. The Yellow Jackets had only 10 turnovers last season.

“A lot of things we have to clean up,” Georgia Tech coach Brent Key said. “The difference was our ability to run the football.”

Leading the way was King, who steadily settled them down after the nightmare start.

“The quarterback is looking like a Heisman candidate right now,” Sanders said. “We made that happen for him.”

Kaidon Salter scored on a 7-yard TD scramble with just over 8:25 remaining to pull Colorado to within 20-19. The extra point by Alejandro Mata was blocked but had just enough on it to creep over the crossbar to tie the game.

This marked the first time Colorado and Georgia Tech have met on the football field. The programs are forever linked after splitting the 1990 national championship.

Salter threw for 159 yards and a touchdown in his Colorado debut. The Liberty transfer also rushed for 43 yards and a score. Julian “JuJu” Lewis, the highly touted freshman, didn't see any action.

The Buffaloes remain a work in progress after losing a plethora of players to the NFL, including quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.

“We ain’t got time to jell,” Sanders said. “We’ve got to go right now.”

Shortly after the game, Shedeur Sanders, who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns, wrote on social media: “They’ll figure things out. They have a great head coach.”

A heavy downpour just before kickoff made the new turf at Folsom Field a little slick and the ball slippery. Colorado linebacker Martavius French recovered two fumbles.

Sideline bathroom

Colorado introduced a sideline bathroom for Deion Sanders, who was recently diagnosed with bladder cancer and needs to frequently use the restroom. His portable privacy tent is right next to the Buffaloes bench.

Coach Mac tribute

The Buffaloes wore a patch on their jerseys to honor Bill McCartney, who died last January at 84. He was the coach when Colorado split the national title with Georgia Tech following the 1990 season.

The Takeaway

Georgia Tech: This was the first regular-season victory by Georgia Tech in the Mountain time zone since winning at Air Force in 1978.

Colorado: Missing from the field was Ralphie VI, Colorado's live buffalo mascot who retired from running earlier this week.

Up Next

Both Georgia Tech and Colorado play Sept. 6, with the Yellow Jackets hosting Gardner-Webb and the Buffaloes at home against Delaware.