FORT WAYNE, Ind. – What a difference 15 minutes made.

  The first 15 minutes 12th-ranked Lindenwood University bullied its way to a 14-0 lead over 5th-ranked University of Saint Francis. The next 15 minutes, and, in fact, the remaining 45 minutes, belonged to the Cougars for a 35-14 win in an NAIA Football Championship Series first-round game on Saturday.

  USF, now 10-1 and winners of seven games in a row, shut down LU's potent offense over the final three quarters and scored 35 consecutive points in the process earning a berth in the NAIA FCS Quarterfinals next Saturday. USF will learn who it plays, where it will play and what time on Sunday (Nov. 18) by early afternoon.

   LU tailback Richard Murrell scored on a 3-yard run and a 14-yard run to give the Lions (10-2) a 14-0 lead with 4:56 to play in the first quarter. By the end of the first 15 minutes, LU had 9-4 edge in first downs, a 95-39 rushing advantage and a 58-26 passing yardage advantage. LU QB Ben Kisner connected on all six passes he attempted.

  The remaining three quarters?

    Well perhaps the most telling difference was rushing. USF outrushed LU 235-28 in the final 45 minutes. USF had 49 carries, LU 16. USF had 24 first downs, LU 9. Though USF only had a 106-100 edge in passing yards, USF did complete 15-of-18 passes while Kisner completed 11-of-21 passes in addition to an interception to Donavon Evans.

  "Everybody stepped up and we started executing on offense and defense," USF coach Kevin Donley said. "Everybody kept it together and believed and fought through a tough start. You've got to give Lindenwood credit. They came to play and took advantage of an early penalty that maintained their possession."

   "They main thing was to keep our composure," USF quarterback Jeff Wedding said afterwards. "It was a wake-up call. Our defense started dominating, got us a turnover and we grabbed the momentum.

  "Nobody panicked and after the second touchdown, our defense really picked up the intensity. Doug (Wasylk) turned a short pass into six points and I think the play rejuvenated all of us."

  Wasylk scored his first touchdown of the season taking a short pass from Wedding, then weaving and bulling his way to the end zone for a 17-yard TD reception. Rhys Barnhart booted the first of five PATs and with 14:14 to play in the half, USF was on the right track.

  "Once we got warmed up and saw what they were tryin' to do on defense, we started playin' with more confidence," RB Daniel Carter said.

  "No," Taylor Vieck said to a question about feeling like the Cougars took and uppercut to the belly falling behind early. "We just stayed composed, stayed under control and scored 35 unanswered points."

  Simple as that.

  Vieck ran hard every time he got the ball and when he didn't get the ball, he was leveling tacklers with bone-jarring blocks. The sophomore from Vincennes was named the NAIA Offensive Player-of-the-Game after he led USF rushing with 77 yards on 12 carries including an 18-yard TD run.

  "I've got to give credit to our offensive line and our backs -- (Marcus) Rush, Doug (Wasylk) and Daniel Carter," Vieck added. "I just had to run and read their blocks."

  On defense, junior outside linebacker Jarrell Hunter led the Cougars with 11 tackles, two big tackles for losses worth 27 yards, and a quarterback hurry. Hunter was named NAIA Defensive Player of the Game.

  "It was just some adversity we had to overcome," Hunter said about falling behind 14-0. "Our offense really gave us a lot of confidence with the two scoring drives that got us back in the game."

  "Three big plays changed the game for us," LU coach Pat Ross said. "We fumbled the ball away around midfield, we didn't execute a fake punt attempt and we had an unsportsmanlike penalty that contributed to their third TD. Those mistakes turned the game around and USF displayed championship character making the most of our mistakes."

  USF took the opening kickoff and used 4:56 on the clock and 10 plays to push its lead to 28-14 when Ruch muscled in from the LU 11-yard line with 10 minutes to play in the third quarter.

   Wasylk finished the scoring when he bounced off several tacklers for a 27-yard TD run with 6:24 to play in the fourth quarter to score his first rushing TD of the season.

   Hakeem Abdulluh led LU rushers with 81 yards on 16 carries. The Indianapolis native had 44 yards on seven carries in the first quarter, 37 yards on nine carries the final three quarters. Murrell finished with 50 yards rushing on nine attempts, just seven yards on four carries in the final 45 minutes.

  USF won its 45th consecutive home game including the playoffs and improved to 14-0 at home in NAIA FCS play.