Delaware Puts End To Panthers' Run

Saturday, December 1

UNI-Dome (Cedar Falls, Iowa)

1:00 PM

University of Northern Iowa

12-1

Delaware

10-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Delaware

UNI

Delaware Puts End To Panthers' Run

12/1/2007 7:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

By: UNI Athletics Communications

Dec. 1, 2007

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CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The top-ranked and top-seeded University of Northern Iowa football team saw its run through the NCAA FCS Playoffs halted in the quarterfinals Saturday, as 13th-ranked Delaware held off the Panthers for a 39-27 win in the UNI-Dome.

The Fightin' Blue Hens (10-3) rode an outstanding effort by quarterback Joe Flacco and benefitted from a pair of momentum-swinging fumble recoveries to deliver UNI's only loss of the year. The Panthers saw their season end at 12-1 overall.

Trailing by 12 with 8:03 left in the game, the Panther offense took the field and began its attempt at a comeback. UNI senior quarterback Eric Sanders, who entered the game with 12 career fourth-quarter or overtime rallies under his belt, led the Panthers on a 2-minute, 51-second drive that saw tight end Austin Howard haul in a 4-yard pass in the back of the end zone to cut Delaware's lead to 32-27.

The Panthers' drive left just 5:12 on the clock, with Delaware's offensive unit proceeding to consume most of that remaining time on a 55-yard drive that saw Flacco dive in from 1 yard out for the game-icing touchdown. The score returned Delaware's lead to 12 points and left Sanders and the Panthers with just 41 seconds in which to work.

A week after claiming a win over New Hampshire on a touchdown catch by Montari Leonard with just seven seconds left, the Panthers were unable to conjure up another miraculous rally.

"With this group of seniors, anything short of a national championship was going to be disappointing for this year," said UNI head coach Mark Farley. "And it is disappointing.

"The seniors have made their mark on this university by the way they represented this program."

Flacco finished the contest 25-for-45 through the air for 312 yards and a pair of touchdowns on a day when both quarterbacks put up similar offensive numbers. Sanders delivered on 26 of his 38 passing attempts for 291 yards and a touchdown, as the Panthers racked up a total of 465 offensive yards.

Delaware finished with 388 yards of offense, including just 76 on the ground. Omar Cuff was the Blue Hens' top rusher with 102 yards on 28 carries.

Corey Lewis was again the Panthers' primary threat on the ground, rushing 20 times for 153 yards - an average of 7 1/2 per carry -- and a pair of rushing scores. With his first touchdown, an impressive 25-yard scamper that saw him cover the width of the field before sneaking across the goal line on the far side, Lewis became UNI's single-season rushing leader. He finished the campaign with an all-time best total of 1,513 yards and scored 16 rushing touchdowns.

Sanders, a finalist for the Walter Payton Award given to the top offensive player in FCS football, wrapped up an stellar senior season that saw him complete a remarkable 75.2 percent of his passes for 2,842 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Flacco was effective despite nearly constant pressure from the Panthers, whose blitzes resulted in five sacks of the senior quarterback. Sophomore James Ruffin sacked Flacco twice.

"With a big, strong quarterback like that, we knew we had to come after (Flacco)," Farley said.

The difference in the game proved to be a pair of fumbles forced by the Blue Hens, each one swinging momentum in favor of the visitors.

The first, which came when Victor Williams hauled in a pass from Sanders and then lost the ball, resulted in a 55-yard touchdown return by Erik Johnson, who scooped the ball off the turf and ran it back untouched to give the Blue Hens a 19-10 lead with 3:02 to play in the first half.

The second came when Matt Marcorelle broke into the backfield and stripped the ball from Sanders, who had dropped back to pass. The fumble halted a 41-yard drive by the Panthers and gave Delaware, already holding a nine-point lead, possession with 13:46 left to play. The turnover led to a 46-yard field goal by Kicker Joe Striefsky and effectively sealed things for the Blue Hens.

"The difference was the turnovers," Farley said. "We did a good job early but we let it get away with the fumble for the touchdown."

Another difference-maker proved to be the Blue Hens' ability to keep drives moving past third down, as they finished the day 13-for-20 on third-down conversions.

The Hens went up 29-20 with 2:56 to play in the third quarter after converting on third-and-13 with a 44-yard pass from Flacco to Mark Duncan. Following the fumble by Sanders, Stiefsky then delivered his 46-yard kick, but not until after Delaware converted on fourth-and-1, to put the Blue Hens up 32-20 with 8:03 to go.

After UNI's final score, conversions on third-and-11 and third-and-1 allowed Delaware to chew up more valuable clock and led to Flacco's 1-yard touchdown plunge.

"They did an excellent job staying in the game," said Farley of the Blue Hens. "They never got rattled when we were able to run on them."

The Panthers scored on their first two possessions of the game, taking an early 10-0 lead with 3:26 left in the first quarter after Lewis ran in from 25 yards out and kicker Billy Hallgren delieverd a 33-yard field goal.

UNI held the Blue Hens to punts on their first two possessions, but Delaware proceeded to run off 19 consecutive points in the second quarter and carried a 19-10 edge into the locker room.

UNI fired the first strike of the second half, with Lewis finding the end zone on a 7-yard run to cut Delaware's lead to a single point, at 20-19.

Delaware would never trail again, however, as the Blue Hens scored on each of their initial four second-half possessions to end UNI's season for the second time in four seasons. Delaware also defeated the Panthers in a quarterfinal-round game in 2003.

Delaware now will face Southern Illinois (12-1), a 34-27 winner over UMass in a quarterfinal matchup Saturday, in next Friday's semifinal round in Carbondale, Ill.