Givance returns fumble 24 yards for TD, North Dakota State beats Sacramento State 31-10

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Nathan Hayes threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Williams and Darius Givance returned a fumble 24 yards for a score in the opening minutes to help North Dakota State beat Sacramento State 31-10 on Saturday night.

Hayes hit Mekhi Collins for a 38-yard gain on the second play from scrimmage and then, on third-and-6, hit a wide-open Williams in the end zone to open the scoring with 13:37 left in the first quarter. Less than 2 minutes later, Gavin Sell stripped the ball from Jamar Curtis and Givance scooped it up and scored to make it 14-0.

Myles Mitchell capped a four-play, 49-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown run that gave North Dakota State (4-0) a three-touchdown lead with 4 seconds left in the in the first. Taylen Eady intercepted a pass to set up DJ Scott's 42-yard TD run that made it 28-0 with 11:24 to go until halftime.

Jackson Sharman threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Onterrio Smith Jr. with 8:37 left in the game for Sacramento State, a member of the Football Championship Subdivision's Big Sky Conference,

Hayes was 14-of-24 passing for 210 yards and Williams finished with seven receptions for 134 yards. Scott had 80 yards rushing on 14 carries.

Sharman completed 25 of 41 for 238 yards with two interceptions. Matthew Coleman had 95 yards on eight receptions for the Hornets (1-3).

NDSU beat Sacramento State 42-20 in the 1988 Division II semifinals in the only other meeting between the programs.

Up next

North Dakota State: Hosts Wyoming on Oct. 3.

Sacramento State: Hosts UMass next Saturday.

___

Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here