UNI Takes MVFC Title with 2OT Thriller, 23-20

Saturday, November 19

Normal, Ill.

11 a.m.

University of Northern Iowa

9-2 , 7-1

Illinois State

7-4 , 6-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UNI

Illinois State

UNI Takes MVFC Title with 2OT Thriller, 23-20

11/19/2011 1:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

By: UNI Athletics Communications

NORMAL, Ill. -- With a 36-yard field goal by sophomore Tyler Sievertsen in the second overtime period, the No. 4-ranked University of Northern Iowa football team earned a thrilling 23-20 victory at No. 14 Illinois State and claimed a share of its 16th Missouri Valley Football Conference title.

The league championship is the Panthers' seventh since 2001. UNI also finished off its fifth season of nine or more regular season wins since 2001.

Sievertsen was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goal attempts on the day, connecting from 38, 40 and 36 yards.

In a game where UNI was outgained 443-191 in total offense, the Panthers did just enough to pull off the victory. Senior quarterback Tirrell Rennie rushed 17 times for 100 yards, all in the second half, to go over the 2,000 yard mark for his career.

Other than Rennie's second-half rushing, the Panthers struggled on offense for most of the day. The UNI defense was on the field for 100 plays - twice the number that the Panther offense ran, at 50.

Senior linebacker L.J. Fort notched 22 tackles, tying him for the fourth-best single-game performance in UNI history. Fellow senior linebackers Jordan Smith and James Conley added 15 and 14 tackles, respectively.

In a scoreless first quarter, UNI held Illinois State on a fourth-down try at the UNI 32-yard line before the teams traded three punts.

Illinois State got on the scoreboard first with a 3-0 lead with 8:53 left in the second quarter. After UNI stopped ISU running back Cliffton Gordon on third-and-goal at the 4-yard line, Redbird kicker Nick Aussieker connected on a 22-yard field goal attempt.

The Redbirds put together a 14-play, 61-yard drive later in the second quarter that once again ended in a 37-yard field goal by Aussieker. With 0:29 left in the first half, Illinois State led 6-0.

Illinois State (7-4, 5-3 MVFC) outgained UNI 196-18 in total yards in the opening half. At halftime, the Redbirds held a 14-1 advantage in first downs and a 45-11 margin in total plays.

UNI (9-2, 7-1 MVFC) opened the second half with an eight-play, 41-yard drive in 2:36 that resulted in a 38-yard field goal by Sievertsen, pulling the Panthers to within 6-3 with 12:23 left in the third quarter. Rennie rushed for all 41 yards on the drive.

With 2:52 left in the third quarter, senior linebacker L.J. Fort forced his sixth fumble of the season and Garrett Scott recovered at the UNI 33-yard line. UNI turned the takeaway into a seven-play, 52-yard scoring drive. Rennie hit senior receiver Jarred Herring for a two-yard touchdown pass to give the Panthers the lead at 10-6 with six seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Illinois State put together a 19-play, 85-yard scoring drive that lasted 9:58 and gave the Redbirds the lead with 2:57 left in the fourth quarter. Cliffton Gordon rushed in from one yard out on fourth-and-goal, and the extra point put Illinois State up 13-10.

Carlos Anderson returned the ensuing kickoff to the UNI 39-yard line, and a 10-play, 38-yard drive put the Panthers in position to tie the game. On fourth down from the Illinois State 23, with 10 seconds on the clock, Sievertsen drilled a 40-yard field goal into a stiff wind to send the game into overtime tied at 13-13.

Rennie recorded a 12-yard touchdown run on the Panthers' first possession of overtime, but the Redbirds used three fourth-down conversions on their possession to score on a two-yard pass from Matt Brown to Marvon Sanders. After one overtime period, the score remained knotted at 20-20.

In the second OT, the Panther defense forced Illinois State to attempt a 37-yard field goal, and Aussieker missed wide left.

After three plays by the UNI offense, Sievertsen made his third field goal of the game - this one a game-winner from 36 yards out to lock up a share of the MVFC title.

The playoff field for the NCAA Division I Football Championship will be announced at 9 a.m. Sunday morning on ESPNU.

UNI football head coach Mark Farley and several student-athletes will be available on Sun., Nov. 20, at 10:30 a.m. in the McLeod Center media room (on the bottom level of the connector between the UNI-Dome and McLeod Center) for a press conference following the NCAA Division I Football Championship bracket announcement.

NOTES: Sievertsen is now 17-of-18 on field goals for the season and a perfect 34-of-34 on PATs ... he has made 40 consecutive kicks ... Fort moved into sixth place on the UNI career tackles list with 323 ... Fort also moved into fourth on the UNI single season tackles list with 151 ... UNI allowed one sack against Illinois State ... the Redbirds had 35 sacks in their first 10 games.