FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Chris Brown threw for 207 yards and three touchdowns and running back Jamaal Branch set three NCAA records, leading Colgate past Florida Atlantic 36-24 on Saturday and into the Division I-AA football championship.

Brown, a Florida native, also ran for a score and accounted for 285 of Colgate’s 412 yards of total offense, helping the Raiders (15-0) extend their nation-best winning streak to 21 games.

Branch rushed 45 times for 130 yards and one touchdown. He eclipsed NCAA marks for season carries (430), touchdowns (29) and I-AA rushing yards in a season (2,271).

Colgate will face Delaware on Friday in Chattanooga, Tenn. for the national title.

The loss snapped Florida Atlantic’s 10-game win streak and ended a surprising playoff run by the 3-year-old program, led by former Miami and Louisville coach Howard Schnellenberger. Florida Atlantic (11-3) won just six games in their first two seasons before earning their first playoff bid this year.

Owls quarterback Jared Allen threw for 266 yards,

but was intercepted three times.

Delaware 24, Wofford 9

NEWARK, Del. – Delaware pulled away from Wofford in the second half behind the running of Germaine Bennett and earned a berth in the Division I-AA championship game with a 24-9 victory Saturday.

Bennett amassed a career-high 186 yards on 31 carries and scored three touchdowns, all in the second half. He also set a school single-season record for yards rushing (1,583).

Delaware (14-1), which set a school record for wins in a season, is seeking its first I-AA title. The second-seeded Blue Hens have outscored the opposition 109-23 in their three playoff games.

Wofford (12-2), participating in the I-AA playoffs for the first time, had a 12-game winning streak snapped.

Despite receiving another outstanding performance from its defense, Delaware was locked in a 3-all tie until Bennett scored on 2-yard run late in the third quarter.

The senior running back made it 17-3 with 6:41 left, capping an 89-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run, then clinched the victory by scoring from the 15 with 2:42 remaining.

Delaware fans stormed the field with three seconds left, then were herded together on the sideline before Wofford scored on the final play.

The fans then returned to begin working on toppling the goal post, and the game was called before a conversion could be attempted.

It was Wofford’s first loss since a 49-0 defeat at Air Force on Aug. 30. The Terriers won two straight playoff games at home before flying to Delaware – only the sixth time in the 114-year history of the program that Wofford traveled by air to a game.

The flight back to South Carolina was likely a quiet one.

The Terriers made a game of it for three quarters with their defense. The Blue Hens reached Wofford territory on each of their first five possessions but could manage only a field goal.

Delaware finally ended the trend in the third quarter, when Bennett accounted for all but 15 yards in a 52-yard drive that ended with the first of his two touchdowns.

AP-ES-12-13-03 1630EST