UNI Falls to Iowa in Close Battle, 31-23

Saturday, August 30

Iowa City, Iowa

11:00 a.m.

University of Northern Iowa

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Iowa

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2nd

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4th

UNI

Iowa

UNI Falls to Iowa in Close Battle, 31-23

8/30/2014 1:00:00 AM | Football

Box Score

By: UNI Athletics Communications

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa football team fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes today in a close battle inside Kinnick Stadium, 31-23.

The Panthers trailed the Hawkeyes by just one point with 12:42 left in the game after junior kicker Michael Schmadeke knocked his third field goal of the game through the uprights to make the score 24-23. Unfortunately, Iowa was able to answer with a touchdown with 6:50 to play to give the Hawkeyes the 31-23 win.

Junior quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen finished the game 17-37-2 for a career-high 380 yards and two touchdowns. Senior David Johnson led the Panthers with a career-high 203 yards through the air and 34 on the ground with one touchdown. Kevin Vereen Jr. added 66 receiving yards and a touchdown to the Panthers stat line.

On the defensive side of the ball, Jake Farley made his return to the field with 12 tackles. Brett McMakin followed in suit with a career-high 11 tackles while Xavier Williams notched 10.

The Hawkeyes jumped on the board early, scoring off a 13-yard rushing touchdown from Leshun Daniels. Iowa burned 1:16 off the clock for three plays and 41 yards to take a 7-0 lead.

David Johnson then broke free for a monster play after receiving a short pass from Kollmorgen. Johnson drove down field for a 53-yard gain to set up Schmadeke's 36-yard field goal to make the score 7-3 with 11:38 left to play in the first quarter. The drive took 2:06 off the clock for six plays and 53 yards.

The Panthers were able to open the second quarter with a touchdown from Vereen Jr. to take a 10-7 lead with 12:16 left to play in the half. Kollmorgen and Vereen Jr. linked up for a 23-yard receiving touchdown to give UNI the four-point advantage. The drive took 2:30 off the clock for five plays and 48 yards.

UNI had several strong defensive stands in the second quarter, including several third-down stops from Williams, Farley and Isaac Ales. The Hawkeyes were finally able to slip into the end zone with 5:03 left to play in the half when Matt Weisman broke tackles for a one-yard rushing touchdown. The drive burned 7:13 off the clock for 17 plays and 79 yards, making the score 14-10.

Johnson streaked down the field for another huge gain with 2:17 left in the half, passing the 100-yard receiving mark in just the first half. The senior's 60-yard reception set UNI up for another field goal with Schmadeke converting on a 37-yarder to cut Iowa's lead to 14-13. The drive lasted 2:46 for five plays and 55 yards.

Iowa was then able to drive down the field for 10 plays and 51 yards, ending with a 40-yard field goal from Marshall Koehn. The 2:16 drive put Iowa up 17-13 heading into halftime in Iowa City.

The Hawkeyes went up by another touchdown with 10:13 to play in the third quarter when Iowa quarterback Jake Rudock found Tevaun Smith in the end zone for a six-yard pass. The drive took 1:47 off the clock for four plays and 57 yards.

Johnson struck again with 9:31 left in the third quarter when Kollmorgen found him wide open down the middle of the field for a 70-yard receiving touchdown to cut Iowa's lead to 24-20. The drive lasted 42 seconds for two plays and 75 yards.

Schmadeke stuck in his third field goal of the game with 12:42 on the clock in the fourth quarter to cut Iowa's lead to one point. His 38-yard field goal and the drive that proceeded took 5:41 off the clock for 11 plays and 59 yards to make the score 24-23.

Iowa answered when Rudock found Damond Powell in the end zone for a 12-yard link-up to put Iowa up 31-23. The drive took 2:50 off the clock for six plays and 88 yards for the win.

UNI will head into an open week and then return to action on Sep. 13 at Hawai'i.

Post-Game Notes vs. Iowa

- Captains for today's game: #98 Xavier Williams, #66 Jack Rummells, #46 Jake Farley, #7 David Johnson, #17 Sawyer Kollmorgen, #44 Mac O'Brien and #37 Max Busher

- Newcomers who saw Action: RB Darrian Miller, TE Billy Williams, WR Daurice Fountain, DB Ray Buchanan Jr., DB D'Shawn Dexter

- Kevin Vereen Jr. scored his sixth-career touchdown today against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Sawyer Kollmorgen found Vereen Jr. in the end zone for a 23-yard reception.

- David Johnson notched his fourth-career 100-plus yard receiving game against Iowa, finishing with career-high 203 yards off five receptions. The last time UNI had a player receive for 200 or more yards was in 2003 when Eddie Galles had 251 yards through the air against Southern Illinois.

- Sawyer Kollmorgen finished with a career-high 380 yards, going 17-37-2 for two touchdowns. He surpassed his previous stats against Iowa in 2012 by over 135 yards (vs. Iowa 2012: 20-33-1, 245 yards, 0 TDs).

- David Johnson now has 994 all-purpose yards against FBS opponents. (vs. Iowa 2014: 34 rush, 203 rec.; vs. Iowa State 2013: 199 rush, 41 rec.; vs. Iowa 2012: 77 rush, 77 rec.; vs. Wisconsin 2012: 19 rush, 107 rec.; vs. Iowa State 2011: 36 rush, 83 rec.)

- Sawyer Kollmorgen moved into eighth all-time in career passing yards today against the Hawkeyes. After his 380 yards today, the junior now has 4,664 career-passing yards.

- Brett McMakin finished with a career-high 11 tackles against the Hawkeyes. His previous career-high was nine tackles set against Youngstown State in 2013.

- In Michael Schmadeke's first full game as the starting Panther placekicker he knocked in three field goals, each one besting the previous kick. He now has a career-long 38-yard field goal which he knocked in during the fourth quarter.