University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
5-3 , 3-2
South Dakota State
6-1 , 5-0
Panthers Fall to SDSU, 24-14
10/24/2009 8:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 24, 2009
BROOKINGS, S.D. - The No. 6-ranked University of Northern Iowa football team fell to No. 11-ranked South Dakota State on the road Saturday, 24-14.
SDSU outgained the Panthers 429-327 over the course of the game. The Jackrabbits were also plus-2 in turnover margin, with three takeaways to UNI's one. Josh Mahoney had 11 tackles to lead the Panther defense and Quentin Scott tallied 10 tackles along with a team-high 1.5 tackles for a loss.
SDSU's Peter Reifenrath booted a 23-yard field goal with 12:32 left in the first quarter to put the Jacks on top, 3-0. SDSU gained possession after a fumble on the opening play of the game on a handoff from Pat Grace to Jarred Herring.
The Jacks upped the lead to 6-0 with 14:55 remaining in the second quarter on a 26-yard field goal from Reifenrath.
The Panthers cracked the scoreboard for the first time on a three-yard quarterback keeper from Grace to take a 7-6 lead with 4:14 left in the first half. The drive consumed 6:21 off the clock as UNI went 80 yards in 12 plays.
UNI stopped an SDSU drive when L.J. Fort tackled running back Kyle Minett, stripped the ball and recovered it with 34 seconds left in the half. The Panthers downed the ball and took a 7-6 lead into the intermission.
SDSU regained the lead on a 63-yard touchdown pass from Thomas O'Brien to Glen Fox with 11:17 left in the third quarter. The Jacks added the two-point conversion on a pass from O'Brien to tight end Colin Cochart to make the score 14-7.
UNI scored the equalizer on a 2-yard touchdown run by Grace with 9:20 left in the third quarter. Grace directed the 6-play, 80-yard drive and ran the final 10 yards himself. Two big plays on the drive came on a 22-yard screen pass to Carlos Anderson and a 27-yard pass to Herring with a personal foul tacked on following the play.
The Jackrabbits responded with a 10-play, 46-yard drive that resulted in a 49-yard field goal by placekicker Kyle Harris with 5:03 left in the third quarter. The kick gave SDSU a 17-14 lead.
The Panther defense came up with a huge stop on a 4th-and-inches play when SDSU quarterback O'Brien failed to gain a surge on a sneak with 12:30 left in the fourth quarter.
The Jacks moved the margin to 10, at 24-14, on a 1-yard touchdown pass from O'Brien to Cochart with 3:43 left in the game. The score capped an 11-play, 93-yard drive after the Panthers had pinned the Jacks at their own 7-yard line.
UNI falls to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. SDSU moved to 6-1 overall and 5-0 in the league.
The Panthers will be back in action at home in two weeks (Nov. 7) against the Youngstown State Penguins. Kickoff is set for 4:05 p.m. in the UNI-Dome.
Team Stats
UNI 0, SDSU 3
SDSU - PeterReifenrath 23 yd field goal 7 plays, 31 yards, TOP 2:12
UNI 0, SDSU 6
SDSU - PeterReifenrath 26 yd field goal 9 plays, 40 yards, TOP 3:47
UNI 7, SDSU 6
UNI - Grace, Pat 3 yd run (Hallgren, Billy kick), 12 plays, 80 yards, TOP 6:21
UNI 7, SDSU 14
SDSU - Glen Fox 63 yd pass from Thomas O'Brien (Colin Cochart pass) 1 plays, 63 yards, TOP 0:09
UNI 14, SDSU 14
UNI - Grace, Pat 2 yd run (Hallgren, Billy kick), 6 plays, 80 yards, TOP 1:57
UNI 14, SDSU 17
SDSU - Kyle Harris 49 yd field goal 10 plays, 46 yards, TOP 4:11
UNI 14, SDSU 24
SDSU - Colin Cochart 1 yd pass from Thomas O'Brien (PeterReifenrath kick) 11 plays, 93 yards, TOP 4:59
