University of Northern Iowa
Indiana State
Northern Iowa Routs Indiana State, 58-6
11/6/2004 7:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 6, 2004
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) - UNI kept its playoff hopes alive with a 58-6 defeat of Indiana State this afternoon in Terre Haute. The Panthers won their fourth consecutive game behind the passing of redshirt freshman Eric Sanders, the running of junior tailback Terrance Freeney, the heads up defensive play of senior Beau Gibbs, and productive special teams play.
For the second week in a row, a UNI opponent took an early lead on a field goal. ISU's Kyle Hooper kicked a 34-yarder with 8:09 left in the first quarter. A TD was averted with a seven-yard sack on the drive by UNI's Kevin Stensrud that moved the ball back to the UNI 17, and two plays later Hooper kicked the field goal.
UNI then went on a tear, taking a 30-3 lead. The Panthers went ahead 7-3 at the 6:23 mark on a 17-yard TD pass from Sanders to tight end Brian Cutright. The drive was kept alive by a 38-yard pass to Curt Bradley, and two plays later, Cutright scored. Three minutes later, Gibbs tackled ISU's Jake Shields in the end zone for a safety after Cory Henke's punt was downed on the UNI one yard line. A 55-yard pass to Patrick Hunter put UNI up 16-3 at the end of the first period.
Sanders threw just his fifth interception of the season on UNI's first series of the second quarter, but less than a minute later, Gibbs recovered a fumble on the Sycamore 31. Six plays later, Justin Surrency caught a 10-yard TD pass from Sanders and Brian Wingert's PAT made it 23-3 with 10:34 left in the half.
UNI took a 30-6 lead into the locker room at the break after tight end Andy Thorn caught a five-yard pass from Sanders with 13.6 seconds remaining. The Panthers were heading towards the locker room when the officials mandated one second be put back on the clock and Hooper kicked a 46-yard field goal to end the first-half scoring.
For the third week in a row, UNI totally dominated an opponent. The Panthers put up 28 more points on board in the second half, beginning with a 68-yard punt return by Surrency with 9:48 left in the third period. Gibbs recovered his second ISU fumble of the day 12 seconds later, but UNI was unable to capitalize after Freeney fumbled and ISU recovered on its own 10. However, eight seconds later, Alphonso Key intercepted Johnson at the Sycamore 32.
Freeney's two-yard run with 3:21 left in the third quarter gave UNI a 44-6 lead and Sanders scored on a 14-yard run with 53 seconds left in the third to make it 51-6. At that point, redshirt freshman Chris Parsons replaced Sanders. Matt Tharp recovered another ISU fumble on the Sycamore 30 and less than two minutes later, senior tailback Jim Lizzi scored on a nine-yard run to end all scoring.
"We came into this game feeling like we needed to be decisive. It was a TV game with a larger audience and maybe that will help us down the road," UNI head coach Mark Farley said. "This was the first game where I feel like we won all three phases of the game. We needed to look like a Top 20 team, and we did. We talked all week how we needed to stay focused and I thought the team was very focused. "This team keeps getting better. I'm very pleased with the way we're playing. It's a unit. You can't pick out just one player. This is as good as I've seen it, the way we've played the last three games. And we still have room for improvement with the potential of the guys out there. This is a tight knit group right now. When we've lost players (to injuries), the guy that has stepped up has made us stronger."
The Panthers gained 449 yards total, including 275 rushing. Sanders completed 11-of-15 passes with the one interception for 174 yards and the four TDs. Freeney gained 89 yards rushing and one TD on 26 carries, Lizzi picked up 68 yards and one TD on 15 carries, and Sanders rushed for 63 yards and the one TD on nine carries. Four players caught two passes. Junior linebacker Brett Koebcke led UNI with six total tackles, including one-and-a-half tackles for loss, one forced fumble and one sack. ISU picked up just 178 yards, including just 22 on the ground.
