LAKE CHARLES, La. — McNeese State got a big lift from its backup quarterback, who played well enough to help the Cowboys knock off the defending Division I-AA national champion.
Ryan Corcoran relieved an ineffective Scott Pendarvis and threw for 197 yards and two touchdowns to help McNeese State rally for a 24-20 victory over Montana in the I-AA quarterfinals Saturday night.
McNeese State (12-1) will play Villanova (11-3) in next week's semifinals. Western Kentucky (10-3) will play Georgia Southern (11-2).
Montana (11-3) beat Georgia Southern for the title last year, but the Grizzlies were beset by injuries late this season. They lost for the third time in four games after winning 24 straight to tie the I-AA record.
Still, J.R. Waller's third-quarter touchdown put the Grizzlies ahead 17-0.
Corcoran, who had thrown just 41 passes this season entering the game, came off the bench after Pendarvis completed only two of 15 passes. Corcoran threw a 35-yard TD pass to B.J. Sams, capping an eight-play, 94-yard drive that ended with 1:39 left in the third quarter.
Corcoran then drove McNeese 58 yards in eight plays on the Cowboys' first drive of the fourth quarter. Luke Lawton finished it off with a 19-yard scoring run to pull McNeese to 17-14 with 11:35 to play.
After a 25-yard field goal by Chris Snyder gave Montana a 20-14 lead, Corcoran guided the Cowboys 64 yards in nine plays, hitting Sams for a 17-yard score to put McNeese up 21-20 with 3:45 left.
VILLANOVA 24, FORDHAM 10: Despite an injured thumb on his throwing hand, Brett Gordon completed 26 of 30 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns to lead Villanova to the semifinals for the first time in school history.
The Wildcats went ahead 17-13 on Terry Butler's 4-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. Gordon completed seven passes for 36 yards on the 14-play, 66-yard drive.
Fordham (10-3) closed to 17-10 on Kirwin Watson's 1-yard TD run with 9:49 remaining before Gordon engineered a game-clinching, 76-yard scoring march.
Gordon, who injured his thumb while being sacked in the first quarter, went to the hospital after the game to have it examined. Villanova coach Andy Talley said he didn't know whether Gordon would play against McNeese State.
GA. SOUTHERN 31, MAINE 7: Chaz Williams had his 10th straight 100-yard rushing game and ran for two touchdowns to lead Georgia Southern.
Jermaine Austin added 143 yards rushing, including a 7-yard TD, for the Eagles.
Maine (11-3), which shared the Atlantic 10 Conference championship with Northeastern, averaged 280 pounds across its offensive line, but the Black Bears were no match for the speed of Georgia Southern's option attack.
Georgia Southern, which resumed football in 1982, is 38-7 all-time in Division I-AA postseason play, the winningest mark in I-AA history. The Eagles, who lost two of their first three games with a new coach and many new players, have won their last 10 games.
W. KENTUCKY 31, W. ILLINOIS 38: In Macomb, Ill., Peter Martinez kicked a 25-yard field goal with 40 seconds left Saturday as Western Kentucky rallied for 17 fourth-quarter points.
Afterward, players from both teams were involved in a brawl. A Western Illinois player broke his tooth and a Western Kentucky offensive lineman had a cut on his nose.
After Martinez's field goal, Western Illinois (11-2) got the ball back and threw a desperation pass that Lawrence Matthews caught on the Western Kentucky 2 on the final play.
Western Kentucky, however, was called for pass interference on the play. After the 15-yard penalty, Western Illinois got one last play from the Western Kentucky 43, but Mike Scifres missed a 61-yard field goal attempt.