UNI football: Panthers drop final road contest to No. 1-ranked NDSU

Saturday, November 15

Fargo, N.D.

2:30 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

3-8 , 1-6

North Dakota State

11-0 , 8-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

UNI

North Dakota St.

Photo by: Devin Grouwinkel

UNI football: Panthers drop final road contest to No. 1-ranked NDSU

11/15/2025 5:50:00 PM | Football

Box Score Final Stats

UNI Panther football recorded a pair of special teams/defensive scores in a 48-16 loss to the Bison.

FARGO, N.D. — The UNI Panther football team hit the road for the last time in 2025 as they headed to Fargo, North Dakota to take on reigning FCS National Champion and No. 1-ranked North Dakota State. The Bison struck early and often and held control of the matchup from start to finish as they walked away with a 48-16 victory over the Panthers.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Bison opened the contest with a 10-play, 83-yard scoring drive that took five and a half minutes off the clock and gave them the early lead. The UNI offense was forced to punt early after a three and out and the defense came back onto the field. On the UNI 30 yardline, Jonathan Cabral-Martin picked up a tackle for a four-yard loss before a 10-yard sack by Owen Ostroski on fourth down gave the Panther offense the ball back.

UNI punted again which saw a 58-yard return which, combined with a penalty flag, put NDSU on the UNI five yard line. Bison quarterback Cole Payton found the endzone on a five-yard rush on the first play after the return to take a 14-0 lead. UNI punted on its next offensive possession, but found its first points on the defensive side of the ball. Caleb Frazer took down the Bison quarterback in the endzone, scoring two points on the safety. The safety was the lone Panther score of the first half as the Bison tacked on three more scoring drives, two touchdowns and a field goal, to hold a 31-2 lead after the first half of play.

Out of the break, the Panthers were forced to punt which resulted in an NDSU touchdown on a quarterback run that broke off for 64 yards and the score on the first play of the Bison drive. The Panther offense was rolling and drove into the red zone before an interception on the NDSU five yard line brought the promising-looking drive to an abrupt stop. The Cat defense forced the first NDSU punt of the game on the ensuing possession which saw another UNI score . John Powers powered through the line and got his hand on the Bison punt. The ball rolled into the endzone and was picked up by Ethan Schoville for the UNI touchdown. On the subsequent kickoff, the returner looked to have a clear path to the house before Isaiah Pinks chased him down and stripped the ball which was recovered by AJ Vaughn to give UNI the ball back again.

On a fourth down try from the NDSU 49 yard line, Jaxon Dailey looked for JC Roque Jr. on a deep route, but was picked off by a Bison defender which gave the ball to NDSU at their 11 yard line. However, the UNI defense stood tall and forced another NDSU punt following the pick.

The Cats faced a pair of fourth and eights on their next offensive possession, but converted both, including a touchdown. Tysen Kershaw caught a 19-yard pass to convert the first and JC Roque Jr. snagged the first Panther offensive touchdown of the day on the second.

NDSU added a touchdown and a field goal down the stretch to claim a 48-10 victory over UNI. Jaxon Dialey finished with nine completions for 99 yards and a touchdown. On the ground, Harrison Bey-Buie led the rush game with nine carries for 62 yards. JC Roque Jr. posted 42 yards and a touchdown on three receptions. On the defensive side of the ball, Ryan Crandall led the Panthers with nine tackles including six solo. Owen Ostroski had a 2.5-TFL, two-sack game.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

The Panthers fell to 3-8 on the season and 1-6 in Valley play after the loss to NDSU.
The 2025 season marked the first time since 1982 that the Panthers were winless on the road after the 48-16 loss to North Dakota State.
Caleb Frazer's safety in the second quarter was UNI's first safety since 2023 when a bobbled snap in the endzone by the Western Illinois punter resulted in two points for the Cats. The last time a UNI defender caused a safety was in 2021 when Bryce Flater took down an Eastern Washington Eagle in the endzone for the points.
After his first punt of the day, Noah Pettinger broke into UNI's top-10 in career punt yards. Pettinger sits in 10th with 6,075 punt yards after passing Dan Rush's (1987-90) 5,763 career punt yards. Pettinger is just 479 shy of Clay Netusil's (1984-86) 6,554 career yards.
In the third quarter, John Powers recorded the first blocked kick of his career on an NDSU punt. The block led to Ethan Schoville's first punt return touchdown and UNI's first of the season. The last time a punt was returned to the house was last season against Indiana State by Sergio Morancy.
UNI has now blocked six kicks on the season, tied for the fifth-most in UNI history.
Isaiah Pinks forced the first fumble of his career on a kickoff return that looked like it was bound for the endzone. AJ Vaughn picked up the first fumble recovery of his young career on the play.
Isaiah Pinks recorded a career-high eight total tackles in the matchup.

UP NEXT

The Panthers close the 2025 season inside the UNI-Dome on November 22 against Youngstown State. UNI celebrated senior day pregame against the Penguins, a contest slated for a 1 p.m. CT kickoff. Coverage of the matchup is available on ESPN+ or with JW Cox and Hall of Famer Scott "Petey" Peterson 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.