UNI football: Panthers drop wire-to-wire matchup against South Dakota

Saturday, October 18

Cedar Falls, Iowa

1 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

2-5 , 0-3

South Dakota

5-3 , 3-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

South Dakota

UNI

Photo by: © Andy Saigh

UNI football: Panthers drop wire-to-wire matchup against South Dakota

10/18/2025 5:21:00 PM | Football

Box Score

The Panther football team dropped a three-point contest inside the UNI-Dome against the Coyotes.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — UNI Panther football hosted the South Dakota Coyotes inside the UNI-Dome on October 18. The Panther defense held the nation's 14th-best rushing offense to 91 total yards, just the third time this season USD had been held under 100 rushing yards. The Coyotes pulled out a three-point victory inside the UNI-Dome, recovering an onside kik late to shut the door on the Cats.

HOW IT HAPPENED

UNI's defense allowed its first opening-drive points of the season after a 10-play, 79-yard touchdown drive by the Coyotes was capped by an 18-yard receiving touchdown by wide receiver Larenzo Fenner. The Panther offense continued its struggles and was forced to punt on its first four offensive possessions of the contest. On its last offensive drive of the first half, Matthew Schecklman found Briggs Hughston in the endzone to tie the contest at seven points apiece. The tight end's first collegiate reception goes down as a touchdown. The score came on a fourth and one conversion after a pair of personal fouls on South Dakota on the same play put UNI deep into Coyote territory.

With 51 seconds remaining in the half, South Dakota drove into field goal range and knocked down a 58-yard field goal, the second longest in Missouri Valley Football Conference history to take a 10-7 lead heading into the break.

The Coyotes opened the scoring in the second half with a 67-yard touchdown reception on a five-play, 92-yard drive to take a 17-7 lead. UNI converted at the end with 41 seconds remaining in the matchup to cut the lead to three points on a seven-yard touchdown reception by Bill Jackson.

South Dakota recovered the onside kick at the end of the contest and knelt the clock out to escape the Dome with a 17-14 victory.

Matthew Schecklman finished the matchup with 189 passing yards on 22 completions with two touchdowns. On the ground, Schecklman led with 60 rushing yards on 16 attempts. JC Roque Jr. caught seven passes for 91 yards to lead the receiving core. On defense, Tucker Langenberg recorded a team-high 12 tackles including six solo and a half TFL. Jaylen Pettus closed the contest with two sacks.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

The Panthers fell to 2-5 on the season and 0-3 in MVFC play after the 17-14 loss to South Dakota.
South Dakota's opening-drive touchdown was the first opening-drive touchdown allowed by the Panther defense this season.
Briggs Hughston caught the first pass of his collegiate career in the second quarter. The reception was also the first touchdown of the redshirt-freshman's career.
Matthew Schecklman finished with a career-high 60 rushing yards.
Jaylen Pettus posted a career-high two sacks.
JC Roque Jr.'s 91 receiving yards are a career high.

UP NEXT

The Panthers head to Carbondale, Illinois to take on the Southern Illinois Salukis on October 25. Kickoff on ESPN+ is slated for 2 p.m. CT and will be available on the Panther Sports Radio Network.

UNI football action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Football), X (@UNIFootball) and on Instagram (@unipantherfootball). The full 2025 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.