The Eastern football team remained as the No. 2 ranked team in the FCS, following its 37-17 win against Murray State on Saturday.

The Panthers used a balanced attack on offense as Jimmy Garoppolo threw for 299 yards and Eastern ran for a season-high 303 yards. Shepard Little and Taylor Duncan combined for 261 of those yards and three touchdowns.

The Panthers are 9-1 on the season and after winning their sixth straight Ohio Valley Conference game at Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray, Ky., Eastern earned at least a share of the conference title.

Eastern coach Dino Babers could win his second outright OVC title with a win against Jacksonville State Saturday at O’Brien Field. It would be Babers’ second in as many years as coach of the Panthers.

The Panthers have been ranked second in the FCS since Oct. 21, but are still behind North Dakota State, which has been ranked No. 1 since the start of the season.

The Bison continued their undefeated season Saturday by beating Illinois State 28-10 in Fargo, N.D.

North Dakota State quarterback Brock Jensen threw three first half touchdowns, giving the Bison a 21-7 lead at halftime. Illinois State was able to kick a 22-yard field goal with 11:23 left in the third quarter making it 21-10, but that is the closest the Redbirds would get to North Dakota State.

John Crockett sealed the victory for the Bison, running in for a one-yard touchdown with 1:03 remaining in the fourth quarter. Crockett finished with 104 rushing yards on 20 carries.

Jensen was 13-of-22 for 198 yards with his three touchdown passes. The senior quarterback has not thrown an interception since Oct. 12, against Missouri State and has four all season.

The Bison defense only allowed 72 passing yards and held Illinois State to 3.3 yards per carry on 37 rushing attempts.

The Bison came away with the win, but their defense lost senior linebacker Grant Olson to a torn ACL and a grade 1 MCL sprain in his left knee. The senior linebacker leads North Dakota State in tackles with 79 and also had four sacks this season. Olson will be required to undergo surgery and will miss the remainder of the season.

Eastern played Illinois State earlier this season and beat the Redbirds 57-24 at O’Brien Field on Sept. 14.

North Dakota State coach Craig Bohl has now won 37 of the last 39 games, dating back to the start of the 2011 season.

The Bison and Eastern stayed ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, in the FCS Coaches Top-25 Poll, but there was a shake up in the rest of the rankings.

Coastal Carolina entered its game against Charleston Southern with a 9-0 record and a No. 3 rank in the FCS coaches poll. After Saturday the Chanticleers suffered their first loss of the season, losing 31-26 and dropped to No. 9 in the coaches’ poll.

With the win, Charleston Southern improved to 10-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big South Conference and are now in position to grab its first playoff berth in program history. Charleston Southern moved from No. 16 to No. 12 in the FCS coaches’ poll.

Eastern Washington moved up No. 3 after a 54-29 win against Montana State. Eastern Washington was ranked No. 4 last week and Montana State was No. 5. The Bobcats dropped to No. 8.

Sam Houston State moved up to No. 4, following its 49-24 win over Nicholls State on Saturday.

Fordham leaped into the top five with a 23-21 win over Bucknell, which improved its record to 10-0 this season.

After no other team besides Eastern from the OVC was ranked in the to-25 last week, Jacksonville State is now ranked No. 23. Both teams meet at noon on Saturday.

Aldo Soto can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].