Amherst, MA -- (Sports Network) - Matt Lawrence rushed for 167 yards and three touchdowns, including the final two scores of the game, to help Massachusetts beat Fordham, 49-35, in the first round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

Liam Coen threw for 419 yards and four touchdowns on 24-of-37 passing for UMass (10-2), which will play the winner between Southern Illinois and Eastern Illinois in the quarterfinals. Rasheed Rancher caught eight passes for 198 yards and two scores, as the Minutemen gained 649 yards of total offense.

John Skelton was 25-of-46 passing for 281 yards and three touchdowns, as Fordham (8-4) ended its season with two straight losses. Skelton accounted for the Rams' other two touchdowns, on a pair of one-yard runs. In the first-ever meeting between the schools, Richar Rayborn caught five passes for 79 yards and a score, and Jonte Coven rushed for 42 yards on nine carries.

In an offense-heavy contest, Fordham played from behind most of the day, but found ways to get back in the game. The Rams tied the game with the first score of the third quarter, a 19-yard pass from Skelton to Rayborn, making the score 28-28.

Fordham did the same at the start of the fourth quarter, this time an 11-yard strike from Skelton to Sylvester Clarke, putting the score at 35-35.

But with 9:25 left in the game, Lawrence rambled 13 yards into the end zone to put the Minutemen ahead. With 5:15 remaining, he added another on a two-yard burst to help put the game away.