Jessie Ramos' 57-yard touchdown catch with 3:12 left gave Hardin-Simmons the lead and the defense sacked Zach Anderson twice on the ensuing possession to seal the victory. Hardin-Simmons athletics photo by Gary Burling

CNU snapped a six-game losing streak by knocking off Salisbury. Christopher Newport athletics photo

In a game in which the lead changed four times in the fourth quarter, it was No. 13 Hardin-Simmons which scored last and shut down any attempt at a drive by No. 3 Mary Hardin-Baylor as the Cowboys defeated the Cru 29-26.

• Week 9 scoreboard
• Top 25 roundup
• Week 9 national roundup
• NCAA strength of schedule rankings
• Latest D-III football news releases

Ryan Breton hit Jessie Ramos 10 times for 223 yards and two touchdowns, none more impactful than the 57-yard bomb with 3:12 left as the Cowboys retook the lead 48 seconds after UMHB had taken a 26-22 advantage.

The win puts HSU in the driver's seat in the American Southwest Conference. Since the conference has just six eligible teams and does not have an automatic bid, the Cowboys are chasing the one Pool B bid set aside for teams not in the 25 automatic-qualifying conferences. UMHB would have to hope for one of six true at-large bids, which are distributed nationally.

It's been a tough first season in the NJAC for Christopher Newport. The Captains won their conference opener, but lost six in a row, including five NJAC games, since then. On Saturday, however, the Captains showed some of the promise that made them a perennial contender in the USA South as they took down No. 18 Salisbury 51-39.

Against the option attack of the Sea Gulls, it was the Captains who dominated time of possession, holding the ball for more than 39 minutes. Tyler Quigley was 19-for-23 passing for 306 yards and two touchdowns, while Daquan Davis ran for 118 yards and two scores as well in the win.

Ryan Winter had three sacks and four tackles for loss and No. 6 St. Thomas racked up eight sacks as a team as the Tommies won 38-14 at No. 14 Concordia-Moorhead. The Tommies put up 28 points in the second quarter, including two scores in the span of 72 seconds, to take a 28-7 lead at the half, and cruised from there.

North Central might have been 4-3 at the time of the last D3football.com Top 25 and had people shaking their heads, but the No. 19 Cardinals proved they were definitely worthy of a spot in the poll on Saturday when they knocked Illinois Wesleyan from the unbeaten ranks, defeating the No. 15 Titans 33-15 on the road. The Cardinals managed just 291 yards of total offense, but limited Illinois Wesleyan to 184 yards and scored a touchdown and a safety off of Titan special-teams miscues.

Cristian Pena ran for two touchdowns and Cory Benedetto threw for another as Morrisville State knocked off No. 20 Cortland 42-28. Cortland fell to 7-2 5-2 in the Empire 8 but remains in the overall lead in the conference by a half-game, with a bye week followed by the Cortaca Jug game vs. Ithaca in Week 11.

Linfield's defense continued to do the job, shutting out George Fox and limiting the Bruins to 134 yards of total offense. But in a torrential downpour, Linfield managed just three points in the second half as the No. 2 Wildcats won 24-0 to improve to 7-0.

UW-Oshkosh continued its march toward the WIAC title, as the Titans rolled out to a 40-6 lead at the half and cruised to a 57-12 win vs. UW-River Falls. Brett Kasper threw a pair of TDs and Devon Linzenmeyer ran for 126 yards and two scores on just 11 carries in the win. No. 7 UW-Whitewater is trying to make its case for an at-large bid, as Chris Nelson threw for four touchdowns and three Warhawk quarterbacks combined for a decade-high 426 yards passing in a 63-0 win vs. UW-Eau Claire.

Finally the undisputed starting quarterback, Brenan Kuntz got the call and responded for No. 11 Thomas More, as he threw four touchdown passes in the Saints' 42-13 win vs. Waynesburg. Kuntz was 16-for-22 passing for 312 yards, with two TDs to Goose Cohorn.

No. 23 Case Western Reserve picked off Wash U quarterback J.J. Tomlin six times, three of them by Adrian Cannon, as the Spartans pulled away in the second half to win 34-16. The Bears did get to Rob Cuda, who threw his first interception of the year, but Cuda was 26-for-46 for 299 yards in the win.

No. 24 Delaware Valley downed Lebanon Valley 28-21 to stay tied for first in the MAC. DeShawn Darden connected with Eric Shorter for a 92-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to put the Aggies in front to stay.