UNI football: Panthers claim first MVFC win of the season inside the UNI-Dome

Saturday, November 8

Cedar Falls, Iowa

1 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

3-7 , 1-5

Murray State

0-10 , 0-6

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Murray St.

UNI

Photo by: © Andy Saigh

UNI football: Panthers claim first MVFC win of the season inside the UNI-Dome

11/8/2025 5:08:00 PM | Football

Box Score Final Stats

UNI Panther football beat Murray State inside the UNI-Dome 31-14.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The UNI Panther football team hosted the Murray State Racers inside the UNI-Dome in the Panthers' second-to-last home game of the season. The teams were tied at half, but the Cats took control in the second half on the shoulders of Bill Jackson and claimed their first MVFC victory of the season by a score of 31-14.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The UNI defense came out strong and forced the Racers into a punt on their first offensive drive of the day and a turnover on downs on a fake punt attempt on their second. The turnover on downs gave the Cats a short field with only 38 yards to get to the end zone. Harrison Bey-Buie rumbled forward for 36 yards on five rushes to get the Panthers to the two yard line. From the two, Bill Jackson forced his way in for the touchdown, his first rushing touchdown of the season, on a two-yard gain.

Murray State responded with a five-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by a 54-yard reception for the score to tie the game at seven after the PAT. UNI mounted its second scoring drive of the afternoon which saw a pair of explosive runs including a 28-yard run by Jaxon Dailey and a 35-yard rushing score by Bill Jackson, his second of the day. The Racers responded once again with a 99-yard touchdown drive that resulted in a 12-yard rushing touchdown to level the score at 14 apiece. The Panthers got the ball back and completed a 46-yard pass from Dailey to Tysen Kershaw, but could not convert the drive into points and were forced to punt.

Murray State drove into field goal range, but fumbled the ball out of bounds with three seconds remaining. After the clock began to wind, the Racers were unable to get the snap off for the field goal and time expired on the half. The teams went into the halftime break knotted at 14 points.

On UNI's second offensive drive out of the break, Jaxon Dailey found JC Roque Jr. for a pair of receptions. A 38-yard pass on third down set up a seven-yard touchdown reception by Roque Jr. to give UNI a 21-14 lead early in the third quarter. The UNI defense was humming, forcing another turnover on downs and getting the ball back to the offense. The Panthers mounted another scoring drive, capped off by a 45-yard field goal off the foot of Max Bartachek.

Calvin Jaworski picked off the Murray State quarterback off a tipped pass by Kolben Miller to get the ball back. That pick led to Jackson's third rushing touchdown of the afternoon on a 14-yard run. The Murray State offense turned the ball over on downs one last time and the Panthers were able to get into victory formation and claim their first MVFC win of the season by a 31-14 final.

Jaxon Dailey finished with 133 yards and one touchdown in the air, completing eight of 11 passes. Dailey also tallied 75 yards on the ground. Bill Jackson had a career day, recording 143 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns, shouldering the Panther offensive load. JC Roque Jr. finished with four receptions for 50 yards and one touchdown. On the defensive side of the ball, Tucker Langenberg led the defense with 12 total tackles. Kolben Miller also finished with double-digit tackles with 10. He also recorded 1.5 TFLs, one break up, and a QBH.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

The Panthers improve to 3-7 one the season and claim their first Valley victory of the season with the 31-14 win. UNI remains undefeated at 2-0 against the Racers all-time and are 1-0 as MVFC foes.
Bill Jackson's three touchdowns were his first rushing touchdowns of the season. He also recorded the first multi-touchdown game of his career.
The last time a Panther rushed for three touchdowns was at Indiana State in 2023 when Harrison Bey-Buie rushed for three.
Bill Jackson was UNI's first 100-yard rusher of the season and UNI's first since Tye Edwards last season against Missouri State.
Calvin Jaworski's fourth-quarter interception was the first of his career.

UP NEXT

The Panthers head to Fargo, North Dakota to take on the No. 1-ranked team in the nation. The Panthers and the Bison of North Dakota State face off in UNI's final road game of the 2025 season. Kickoff inside the Fargodome is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT and will be streamed on ESPN+ and over the airwaves 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.