STATESBORO, Ga. – Adrian Peterson ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns, leading Georgia Southern to a 60-35 victory over Florida A&M on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.

The Eagles (11-1) are bidding for their third straight championship and the seventh in school history.

Georgia Southern will play Appalachian State at home next week in the quarterfinals. Appalachian State beat William & Mary 40-27.

In the other games, it was: Montana 28, Northwestern State 19; Sam Houston State 34, Northern Arizona 31; Lehigh 27, Hofstra 24 in overtime; Furman 24, Western Kentucky 20; Northern Iowa 49, Eastern Illinois 43; and Maine 14, McNeese State 10.

Peterson, whose No. 3 has already been retired by Georgia Southern, had a 45-yard touchdown run for a 33-28 lead with 8:14 left in the third quarter. Peterson has run for at least 100 yards in 13 straight playoff games. He has rushed for 100 yards in 41 of his 43 career games for the Eagles.

J.R. Revere passed for a season-high 161 yards, hitting 5-of-10 tosses, and ran for 80 more for Georgia Southern.

Quinn Gray was 15-of-35 with three interceptions and Kelsie Lordeus rushed for 107 yards for the Rattlers (7-4).

N. Iowa 49, E. Illinois 43

At Charleston, Ill., Adam Benge ran for 177 yards and four touchdowns for Northern Iowa (10-2).

Northern Iowa will face Maine at home next week in the quarterfinals.

Benge had TD runs of 1, 1, 6 and 3 yards. J.R. Taylor ran for 154 yards for Eastern Illinois (9-2).

Appalachian 40, Will. & Mary 27

At Boone, N.C., Jimmy Watkins ran for 216 yards and four touchdowns for Appalachian State.

The Mountaineers (9-3) ran for 353 yards to easily overcome quarterback Joe Burchette’s three first-half interceptions.

William & Mary (8-4) opened the scoring when cornerback Billy Parker intercepted Burchette’s first pass of the game and ran it back 24 yards for a touchdown. But Appalachian State rebounded to take a 27-7 lead at the half, with Watkins scoring three times and running for 142 yards in the half.

Montana 28, Northwestern St. 19

At Missoula, Mont., defensive end Ciche Pitcher had nine tackles, four sacks, forced two fumbles and recovered another for a touchdown to seal top-ranked Montana’s victory.

Running back Yohance Humphery had 174 yards in total offense and two touchdowns – one running and one passing. The Grizzlies will face Sam Houston State next week in the quarterfinals.

Northwestern State (8-4) scored on a 35-yard run by Clint Roy with 8:38 remaining, but Roy was penalized for pointing toward the end zone as he ran in untouched. The Demons’ 2-point conversion attempt from 18 yards out failed, leaving Montana up 21-19.