Cyclones Edge Panthers, 20-19

Saturday, September 3

Ames, Iowa

6 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

0-1

Iowa State

1-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UNI

Iowa State

Cyclones Edge Panthers, 20-19

9/3/2011 1:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

By: UNI Athletics Communications

The University of Northern Iowa football team dropped its season opener at Iowa State on Saturday evening, falling 20-19 on a Cyclone touchdown with less than one minute remaining in the contest.

The Panthers grabbed an early lead at the 12:09 mark of the first quarter when sophomore Tyler Sievertsen converted a 42-yard field goal for his first points as a Panther. Sievertsen added another field goal at the 8:55 mark of the second quarter to stretch the UNI lead to 6-0.

Iowa State quarterback Steele Jantz got the Cyclones on the scoreboard with a one-yard run on the final play of the first half. With the Zach Guyer PAT, ISU held a 7-6 halftime lead.

The Panthers used three first-half takeaways inside their own 30-yard line to keep the Cyclone offense in check. Junior Garrett Scott intercepted a pass at the UNI 20-yard line to thwart Iowa State's second drive of the game. Senior Tre'Darrius Canady picked off a Jantz pass at the goal line with 2:09 left in the first quarter to stop the next Cyclone drive.

Senior linebacker L.J. Fort also forced a fumble that Canady recovered at the UNI 24-yard line with 5:04 remaining before halftime.

The UNI defense held the Cyclones to a three-and-out on the first series of the second half, and the Panther offense embarked on a 22-play, 90-yard drive that lasted 10 minutes, 36 seconds. Redshirt freshman David Johnson carried the ball in from one yard out for his first collegiate touchdown, giving UNI a 13-7 lead with 2:30 remaining in the third quarter.

UNI clung to the 13-7 lead until late in the fourth quarter, but ISU regained the lead at 14-13 on a 26-yard scoring strike from Jantz to Josh Lenz on fourth-and-10 with 4:30 remaining in the game.

On the first play from scrimmage after the ISU touchdown, UNI senior quarterback Tirrell Rennie connected with Johnson down the sideline and Johnson raced 80 yards untouched for the score. A failed two-point conversion attempt left the Panthers with a 19-14 lead with 4:17 left in the contest.

ISU returned the ensuing kickoff to its own 40-yard line and carried out a nine-play, 60-yard drive that was capped with a one-yard touchdown run by Jantz with only 40 seconds remaining in the game.

UNI's final drive ended with a failed lateral attempt by Kevin Vereen, Jr., that was recovered by ISU's Willie Scott at the UNI 23-yard line.

Rennie rushed for 127 yards and completed 15-of-32 passes for 181 yards to lead the Panthers' offensive attack. Junior running back Carlos Anderson carried 14 times for 41 yards. Johnson led UNI with 83 receiving yards.

UNI outgained Iowa State 385-328 in total yards and posted a plus-3 turnover margin for the game.

Fort led the Panther defense with 13 tackles in the contest. Linebacker James Conley added nine stops for UNI.

NOTES:
David Johnson scored his first career touchdown in the third quarter, capping a 22-play, 90-yard drive that consumed 10:36 off the clock ... Tyler Sievertsen scored his first career points for the Panthers by drilling a 42-yard field goal with 12:09 left in the first quarter ... UNI forced three first-half turnovers and all three came inside the Panthers' 30-yard line ... Garrett Scott intercepted two passes, marking the first time a Panther tallied two picks since Andre Martin intercepted two passes last year against South Dakota State (10/2/10) ... Rennie eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark for the seventh time in his Panther career ... the announced attendance was 56,472 -- the fourth-highest total in Jack Trice Stadium history ... the 56,472 is the most-ever for an Iowa State home opener ... last season in a 27-0 loss, UNI committed five turnovers while Iowa State made zero turnovers ... this season, UNI forced four turnovers and only committed one.