AMES, IOWA – The University of Northern Iowa football program posted a 25-20 victory over in-state FBS foe Iowa State Saturday night, picking up its third win against the Cyclones in the last five meetings between the two teams. With the win, head coach Mark Farley became UNI’s all-time wins leader with 130, passing Stan Sheriff who held 129.
The Panthers were down by a point with 7:02 left to play with both starting running backs out with cramps, but UNI had an answer. J’Veyon Browning came into the game and rushed for 43 yards, including the winning one-yard rushing score that put UNI up 25-20 with 2:49 left in the game.
It was then the UNI defense who stepped up and sealed the victory for the Panthers. D’Shawn Dexter forced a fumble on Iowa State’s first offensive attempt after the Browning touchdown which was recovered by A.J. Allen and after UNI went three-and-out, Lanning threw an interception to Jared Farley to end the game and give the Panthers a win.
Senior Aaron Bailey finished the game 15-27-0 for 135 yards and a touchdown, adding 114 yards on the ground and a rushing score. Tyvis Smith added 68 rushing yards to go along with Browning’s 43, both punching in touchdowns.
On defense, Farley led the Panthers with eight tackles and an interception while redshirt freshman Hezekiah Applegate recorded a career-high seven tackles. Jamison Whiting also came away with six tackles and a pass breakup. The UNI defense held Iowa State to just 51 yards rushing after holding seven of its 2015 opponents to 100 yards or less.
The Cyclones jumped on the board in the first quarter, connecting on a 39-yard pass from Joel Lanning to Dondre Daley at the 7:16 mark to take the lead. UNI had a chance to cut the lead to five points with a 36-yard field goal attempt from Austin Errthum with three minutes to play in the quarter, but the kick went wide right, giving the Cyclones the ball back on their own 20-yard-line.
After a slow start to the game, the Panthers entered a rushing rhythm in the second quarter, eventually tying the game 7-7 with 9:14 on the clock. Bailey found Smith in the end zone for a 10-yard pass, ending a three-play, 16-yard drive that was set up after Lanning fumbled the ball inside the Iowa State 20-yard-line with Dexter coming away with the key recovery.
Iowa State took its second lead of the game late in the second quarter when Hakeem Butler caught a pass under pressure from Lanning for 18 yards, making it 13-7 after a failed PAT attempt. The touchdown ended a three-play, 49-yard drive that burned 1:24 off the clock.
UNI didn’t let down, scoring nine points in the last 1:30 of the second quarter to regain the lead. After shutting down the run-game, the Panther defense capitalized on a frazzled Iowa State offense, recording a safety and two points after Karter Schult sacked Lanning for a loss of 11 yards.
The Panthers tacked on seven more points as time was running out in the half as Bailey dragged a few opposing players into the end zone to give UNI a 16-13 lead with 0:00 on the clock. It was the end of a 9-play, 61-yard drive that took 1:16 off the clock, capped off by an Errthum PAT.
UNI continued to put points on the board, with Errthum adding a 22-yard field goal with 4:20 left to play in the third quarter. The field goal ended UNI’s longest drive of the game with 13-play for 75 yards and 4:10 off the clock.
Iowa State shut down the Panther rush to start the fourth quarter and was able to take back the lead with 7:02 remaining in the game. A pass from Lanning to Allen Lazard for 33 yards gave the Cyclones a 20-19 lead to end an eight-play, 69-yard drive.
With both Smith and Michael Malloy out with cramps late in the game, the rushing reps fell on Browning, who excelled in short down situations, averaging 3.9 yards per rush before taking in his one-yard rushing score with 2:08 left to play to give UNI the 25-20 lead. The touchdown was in big part thanks to a huge interception from Charles Brown, who made the switch from wide receiver to cornerback prior to the game.
Brown’s interception was one of three turnovers the Panthers forced in the final minutes of the game, also forcing a fumble from Dexter and another interception from Farley with just seconds on the clock to win the game.
UNI will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 10 when they host Montana in the home opener. The game is set to kick off at 4 p.m.
