University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
7-4 , 5-3
Illinois State
6-5 , 5-3
Team Stats
UNI 0, ILS 3
ILS - Kutch,Zach 52 yd field goal 9 plays, 49 yards, TOP 4:02
UNI 0, ILS 10
ILS - Garrett,Chris 32 yd interception (Kutch,Zach kick)
UNI 0, ILS 13
ILS - Kutch,Zach 30 yd field goal 10 plays, 48 yards, TOP 4:10
UNI 3, ILS 13
UNI - Hallgren, Billy 25 yd field goal 10 plays, 55 yards, TOP 4:59
UNI 3, ILS 16
ILS - Kutch,Zach 51 yd field goal 4 plays, 7 yards, TOP 0:53
UNI 6, ILS 16
UNI - Hallgren, Billy 39 yd field goal 4 plays, 0 yards, TOP 0:28
UNI 13, ILS 16
UNI - Herring, Jarred 19 yd pass from Davis, Zach (Hallgren, Billy kick) 5 plays, 79 yards, TOP 1:36
UNI 20, ILS 16
UNI - Oordt, Schuylar 36 yd pass from Davis, Zach (Hallgren, Billy kick) 2 plays, 36 yards, TOP 0:12
UNI 20, ILS 22
ILS - Salem,Eyad 8 yd pass from Lancaster,Matt (Lancaster,Matt rushfailed) 5 plays, 59 yards, TOP 0:38
Players Mentioned
Redbirds Stun #9 Panthers, 22-20
11/21/2009 7:00:00 AM | Football
NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State Redbirds stuck a dagger in the hearts of the University of Northern Iowa Panthers with an 8-yard touchdown pass with 0.6 seconds remaining in a 22-20 win over the Panthers at Hancock Stadium.
The final five minutes of the game seemed like a Pulitzer Prize winning novel with twists, turns and plot changes all setting the stage for a dramatic, thrilling ending that left Panther fans gasping for air.
At the half the Panthers were staring down a 16-3 deficit and could only scratch a 39-yard field goal in the third quarter to trim the lead to 16-6. UNI appeared ready to grab the momentum of the contest facing a 4th-and-goal at the 1-yard line, but the Illinois State defense stepped up and stuffed running back Derrick Law on the play with 8:52 remaining.
The Panther defense held the Redbirds without a first down and forced a punt. And punt they did, as Kevin Mazur uncorked a 70-yard punt that left the Panthers at their own 21-yard line with 6:48 remaining and looking at the same 10-point deficit. But a four-yard pass to Maurice Turner followed by a face mask penalty gave the Panthers the ball at their own 40-yard line. Then D.J. Hord latched on to a 34-yard strike from backup quarterback Zach Davis that put the ball on the Redbird 26-yard line. Two plays later, Davis struck gold with Jarred Herring on the receiving end of a 19-yard touchdown strike and the Panthers had a pulse, trailing 16-13 with 5:12 on the clock.
Illinois State then attempted to bleed the clock and add some insurance on the scoreboard. But UNI's Chuck Kinney swatted away Zach Kutch's 51-yard field goal attempt with 2:20 left in the game giving the Panthers another shot at winning the game.
Davis hit Turner for a key third-down conversion on a 3rd-and-10. Davis then followed it up with a 28-yard pass to Schuylar Oordt, who brought it in with one hand and put the ball on the Redbird 25-yard line. However, Illinois State's E.J. Jones stepped in front of a Davis pass and intercepted it with 1:19 to go in the game and ending what then seemed like any hope of a Panther victory. But this story was far from over.
Illinois State's Cliffton Gordon rushed twice for a total of two yards and the Panthers used up their final two timeouts to stop the clock. Then inexplicably, Gordon ran out of bounds on the next play giving the Panthers plenty of time to stage yet another rally. A bad snap followed on the punt and Mazur hurried his punt attempt causing it to travel only four yards and it gave the Panthers the ball at the Illinois State 36-yard line with 56 ticks remaining.
The Panthers wasted little time and Oordt snatched a Davis pass out of the air at the 15-yard line and pranced his way into the endzone for the go-ahead score with 43 seconds remaining - all but assuring the Panthers a playoff bid.
However, the story failed to end there.
Illinois State took over possession of the ball at its own 41-yard line with 39 seconds left and trailing, 20-16. The Redbirds' true freshman quarterback Lancaster completed passes of 11 yards and 24 yards before scrambling for a 13-yard pickup. His scramble put the ball at the 11-yard line with 12 seconds remaining in the game. A 3-yard pass to Gordon put the ball at the 8-yard line and left only five seconds to go in the contest.
Lancaster then hit Salem with an 8-yard strike in the endzone with 0.6 seconds left to take the victory for the Redbirds, 22-20. The Redbirds' final drive covered 59 yards in five plays and consumed 39 seconds.
The Redbirds squibbed the ensuing kickoff and the final 0.6 seconds elapsed from the clock.
UNI finished the game with 346 total yards to only 246 for Illinois State. UNI tallied a 21-13 advantage in first downs as well. Davis passed for 189 yards and two touchdowns on 15-of-33 passing in relief of the starter Pat Grace. James Ruffin collected another sack and he has tallied 26 sacks in his career. Wes Lane notched four tackles-for-loss in the game, upping his season total to 16.
Illinois State struck first in the scoring column when Redbird kicker Zach Kutch drilled a 52-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 2:47 left in the first quarter. On the Panther's ensuing possession, quarterback Maurice Turner was deflected and Illinois State's Chris Garrett caught the interception and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown with 1:53 left in the first quarter. The pick-six gave Illinois State a 10-0 advantage.
The Panthers drove the ball into Redbird territory to begin the second quarter but Grace's pass intended for Ryan Mahaffey bounced in the air and ISU's Michael Zimmer picked off the pass. The Redbirds turned the second Panther turnover into a field goal when Kutch made a 30-yard attempt with 9:53 left in the second quarter. The Redbirds led 13-0 with 9:53 left in the second following Kutch's second field goal of the game.
UNI tallied its first points of the ballgame on a 25-yard field goal from Illinois native Zach Davis. The three-pointer pulled UNI to within 13-3 with 1:47 left in the second quarter.
Illinois State extended the advantage back to 16-3 following a 51-yard field goal by Kutch, his second 50-plus make of the game. The four-play drive was set up by a 54-yard reverse on a kick return by the Redbirds.
UNI received a jolt of energy at the 3:39 mark of the third quarter when senior Quentin Scott blocked an Illinois State punt to give the Panthers the ball at the 22-yard line. The Panthers were able to convert the blocked punt into a 39-yard field goal by Hallgren. The three-pointer by Hallgren pulled UNI to within 16-6 with 3:11 left in the third quarter.
Scott made his second big play of the half with an interception of Redbird quarterback Matt Lancaster. Scott's interception came at the 13:51 mark of the fourth quarter and gave the ball to the Panthers at the Illinois State 34-yard line. But the Panthers failed to cash in the turnover into points as senior Derrick Law was stuffed at the 1-yard line on a fourth and goal and set the stage for a frenetic final five minutes of action.
UNI is 7-4 overall, 5-3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, while Illinois State is 6-5 overall and 5-3 in the league.