No. 2 UNI Holds Off Southern Illinois, 17-10

Saturday, October 22

Cedar Falls, Iowa

3 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

6-1 , 5-0

Southern Illinois

2-5 , 1-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Southern Illinois

UNI

No. 2 UNI Holds Off Southern Illinois, 17-10

10/22/2011 1:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

By: UNI Athletics Communications

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The No. 2-ranked University of Northern Iowa football team held Southern Illinois to 212 total yards on its way to a 17-10 victory on Saturday afternoon in the UNI-Dome. With the win, the Panthers snapped a three-game losing streak to the Salukis and remained atop the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings.

UNI (6-1, 5-0 MVFC) was led on defense by sophomore Blake White, senior L.J. Fort and junior Varmah Sonie who collected 12, 11 and 10 tackles, respectively. The Panthers held SIU to 105 yards rushing on 34 attempts and a 3-of-13 mark on third down conversion attempts.

UNI limited the Southern Illinois offense to 68 total yards in the second half.

UNI senior quarterback Tirrell Rennie was 14-of-23 passing for 167 yards and one touchdown. Redshirt freshman David Johnson led the Panthers in rushing with 72 yards on 14 carries. Kevin Vereen made four receptions for 65 yards to lead UNI through the air.

The Salukis (2-5, 1-4 MVFC) claimed the initial lead when SIU quarterback Kory Faulkner hit MyCole Pruitt for a seven-yard touchdown pass with 10:17 left in the second quarter.

The Panthers responded on the following possession, putting together an eight-play, 73-yard drive that ended in an 18-yard touchdown pass from Rennie to Terrell Sinkfield. On third-and-goal from the SIU 18, Rennie avoided pressure before finding Sinkfield for a diving grab in the back corner of the endzone to knot the game at 7-7.

UNI took its first lead at 10-7 at the 7:23 mark of the third quarter when sophomore kicker Tyler Sievertsen matched his career-long with a 48-yard field goal.

With nine seconds remaining in the third quarter, Rennie capped a nine-play, 56-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run that put the Panthers on top 17-7.

SIU took advantage of a fumbled handoff exchange by the Panthers to add a 30-yard field goal by Jackson MacLachlan with 10:08 remaining in the contest, but SIU could get no closer than the final 17-10 margin.

UNI senior linebacker James Conley ended an SIU scoring threat with a forced fumble at the UNI 25-yard line in the fourth quarter, and the Panthers also forced a fourth-down incompletion from Faulkner at the UNI 28 with 4:08 left in the game.

With 23 pass attempts on the day, Rennie has now thrown 146 consecutive passes without an interception, setting a new UNI school record. Rennie's streak is currently the second-longest in the FCS.

Junior punter Kyle Bernard posted an average of 46.2 yards on four punts for the Panthers. Bernard also rushed for 10 yards on a fake punt attempt that led to Sievertsen's third-quarter field goal.

UNI will travel to Fargo, N.D., for a showdown with No. 3 North Dakota State on Oct. 29. Kickoff in the Fargodome is set for 3 p.m.

NOTES: SIU's fourth-quarter field goal marked the first time UNI had allowed any second-half points since a 38-10 win over Western Illinois on Sept. 24 ... redshirt freshman Xavier Williams recorded his first career sack when he got to SIU quarterback Kory Faulkner in the second quarter ... Rennie passed current UNI associate head coach Bill Salmon for eighth place on the UNI career rushing touchdowns list with his 21st TD ... UNI's six-game winning streak is its longest since 2008.