No. 5 Panthers Hold off Indiana State 17-9

Saturday, November 9

Cedar Falls, Iowa

4 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

7-3 , 5-1

Indiana State

3-7 , 1-5

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Indiana State

UNI

No. 5 Panthers Hold off Indiana State 17-9

11/9/2019 8:50:00 PM | Football

Box Score

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Fifth-ranked UNI Panther football held Indiana State out of the end zone while forcing three turnovers and picking up touchdowns from Suni Lane and Trevor Allen to earn a 17-9 win over the Sycamores Saturday at the UNI-Dome.

Christian Jegen and Spencer Perry grabbed interceptions and Elerson G. Smith forced a fumble on Indiana State's final drive to help the Panthers earn the eight-point win.

The Sycamores got on the board first with a field goal with 7:22 to play in the first quarter. The Panthers responded with a quick four-play drive that included a 47-yard pass from McElvain to Isaiah Weston. The TD came on a 25-yard strike to Suni Lane with 5:24 left in the first.

The two teams traded field goals to start the second quarter before the Panthers took a 17-6 lead on a 13-yard touchdown run by Trevor Allen. The score would hold to the half.

The UNI offense stagnated in the third quarter, and Indiana State added a field goal to cut the lead to 17-9 with 8:21 left in the third.

The Panther defense shut the Sycamores out for the remainder of the game, including holding Indiana State out of the end zone after they drove to the Panther nine-yard line.

Allen rushed 12 times for 62 yards and a touchdown. Lane recorded three catches for 55 yards and score. McElvain was 11-20 for 167 and a TD.

Defensively, Elerson Smith notched 2.0 sacks on the game, including the clinching strip-sack. He now has 12.0 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss on the season. Jegen recorded a team-high 10 tackles with .5 tackles for loss on the day.

The win, combined with South Dakota State's loss at home to Illinois State gives UNI sole possession of the second spot in the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings at 5-1 in league play and 7-3 overall. Indiana State falls to 3-7 and 1-5 in league play. The Panthers have ensured a winning record for the sixth time in seven years and the 16th winning season in head coach Mark Farley's career. Farley is now just two wins away from 100-career MVFC victories.

NOTES
- Bryce Flater recorded his 100th-career tackle. He ended the day with eight total tackles and one tackles for loss.
- Xavior Williams' 28-yard punt return is a new career-long. His previous best was a 27-yard return at Missouri State on Oct. 19.
- Spencer Perry records his first interception as a Panther.
- McElvain has surpassed the 2,000-yard passing mark for the season. He is now at 2,115 yards on 145 completions with 18 touchdowns.
- UNI held the Sycamores to seven first downs in the first half.
- Omar Brown came up with his 2nd pass break-up of the game to set a new single-game best
- Suni Lane set a new single-game career-high in receptions with three and receiving yards with 55.
- Christian Jegen tallied the third interception of his career.
- UNI has forced 16 turnovers in the last four games and is now +12 in the turnover margin on the season.
- UNI is 5-0 in the dome this season.
- Elerson G. Smith moved into the top-10 all-time for Career tackles for loss at and is now 10th with 27.5. He also moved up to eighth all-time with 137 career sack yards. He is one forced fumble away from moving into the top 10 in the single-season category.
- The fifth-ranked Panthers survived a tough test from Indiana State, but three other top-10 teams fell Saturday. No. 4 SDSU lost to Illinois State 27-18, No. 7 Central Arkansas was shutout by SE Louisiana 34-0 and No. 10 Princeton fell to No. 13 Dartmouth 27-10.

UP NEXT
The Panthers next travel to Brookings, S.D. to face South Dakota State. The Panthers and Jackrabbits take the field at 2 p.m. the game will be broadcast on ESPN3 as a Valley on ESPN production.