Panther Football Fall to #7 Cyclones 16-10

Saturday, September 4

Ames, Iowa

3:30 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

0-1 , 0-0

Iowa State

1-0 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UNI

#7 Iowa State

Panther Football Fall to #7 Cyclones 16-10

9/4/2021 7:53:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

AMES, Iowa – The UNI football program opened the season against the Cyclones of Iowa State on Saturday, September 4, falling to seventh-ranked Cyclones 16-10.

The Panthers finished the game with 275 yards of offense, passing for 230 yards and rushing for 45. Quarterback Will McElvain received the start and finished the day by going 21 for 34 with 1 touchdown throw. Wide receiver Quan Hampton caught 8 passes for 99 yards and a touchdown to lead the Panther receiver corps. In a bruising passing effort, the Panthers rushed for 45 yards led by Dom Williams with 12 rushes for 43 yards.

The UNI defensive unit held it's on to one of the most prolific offenses in college football. The Panthers held the Cyclones to 335 total yards, holding Iowa State's Brock Purdy to 199 yards passing. Purdy finished the day completing 21of his 26 pass attempts.

UNI recorded 71 total tackles with 4 tackles for loss. Linebacker Alfonzo Lambert led the Panthers with 8 solo tackles and 1 tackle for loss. Lambert was also credited with a forced fumble. Corners Austin Evans and Omar Brown made their presence felt totaling 17 combined tackles on the day.

1Q: The Panthers opening drive stalled with an opening 3 and out. The Panther defense recorded a forced fumble to push the Cyclones back 8 yards leading to the eventual 3 and out. The Panthers scored first from a 52-yard strike from Will McElvain to Quan Hampton. The Cyclones responded with a 6 play drive and added 3 points with a 35-yard field goal. The Panthers held the ball for 8:43 in the quarter, rushing 7 times for 13 yards and going 6 for 6 in the passing game for 95 yards.

2Q: The Cyclones took the lead with a long drive to open the quarter with Breece Hall punching in a 2-yard touchdown. The Panthers drove 51 yards in 4 minutes and 50 seconds to tie the game with a 41-yard field goal. At the break the Panthers had 133 total yards of offense with 117 passing yards and 16 rushing yards. Will McElvain went 13-16 with 117 yards and 1 touchdown. Quan Hampton caught a team high 5 catches for 75 yards and 1 touchdown. The Panther defense held the Cyclones to 169 yards of offense while recording 38 tackles with 1 tackle for loss. The Panthers held the ball for just 5:06, rushing 6 times for 29 yards and going 2 of 4 for 22 yards in the passing game.

3Q: The quarter was highlighted by an Omar Brown forced fumble along the sideline to force a fourth down for the Cyclones. The third quarter was dominated by tough defense. Neither team was able to score and evenly split the time of possession with the Panthers controlling the ball for 7:16 and the Cyclones holding the ball for 7:44. The Panthers rushed 7 times for 19 yards while going 4 of 9 passing for 31 yards.

4Q: In another tightly contested 4^th quarter the Panthers trailed the Cyclones 13-10. After a 6 play 2:28 minute drive the Panthers were forced to punt, beginning the Cyclone 10 play 57-yard drive that resulted in another Cyclone field goal. The Panthers got the ball back with 1:02 remaining in the game trailing by 6. UNI moved 57 yards in 8 plays but was unable to punch it in. The Panthers finished with 10 yards rushing on 6 attempts while going 9 for 15 passing with 82 yards.