TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Harrison Bey-Buie posted a career day on the ground as UNI held off a late fourth quarter rally for its third consecutive victory on Saturday night with a 27-20 win against the Indiana State Sycamores at Memorial Stadium.
UNI improves to 3-2 on the season with the victory and 2-0 in Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) play after posting a season-high 148 rushing yards. Bey-Buie’s 137-yard rushing performance are the most recorded by a Panther since Dom Williams’ ran for 166 yards against Western Illinois in 2021.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Sycamores slowed an explosive Panther offense in the first quarter forcing two consecutive punts on the only two UNI drives of the first quarter. Indiana State would score the first points of the night on a 30-yard field goal by Jake Andjelic, the first time all season the Sycamores have scored in the opening quarter.
A career-long 37-yard run from Bey-Buie set up the Panthers on their first scoring drive of the night, with Bey-Buie scoring on a two-yard touchdown in the redzone to put UNI ahead 7-3. The Panthers would follow up their first score of the night with a big defensive stand on a fourth down and two stop at its own 26-yard line.
Indiana State held strong on defense and set up a solid offensive drive with a 26-yard punt return after a career-best 55-yard punt by Noah Pettinger. The Sycamores, leaning heavily on their running game led by Justin Dinka, would score on a three-yard touchdown.
With little time remaining on the clock, the Panthers would drive 71 yards in ten plays into Indiana State territory, aided by a pair of 21 and 22-yard receptions by Sam Schnee to help push UNI down inside the Sycamore redzone. Bey-Buie would put the Panthers back in front on the final play of the opening half with two seconds remaining on a two-yard touchdown run, giving UNI a 14-10 lead into halftime.
Out of the break, Indiana State mounted a scoring drive highlighted by a 54-yard reception by Harry Van Dyne on the first play of the half. Sycamore quarterback Cade Chambers would find Dakota Caton on a 15-yard touchdown catch to put ISU back ahead 17-14 less than three minutes into the second half.
On their first possession of the third quarter, Jaiden Ellis-Lahey would pull in a career-long 41-yard reception from quarterback Theo Day, helping set up Bey-Buie’s third touchdown of the night on a 26-yard touchdown run to give the Panthers the lead once again, 21-17.
Cordarrius Bailey would give the UNI defense a major spark on Indiana State’s ensuing drive, sacking Chambers on back-to-back plays for a combined loss of 15 yards, his team-leading fifth sack of the season. With Schnee and Bey-Buie helping push the Panthers down the field, UNI would settle for a 25-yard field goal by Matthew Cook.
The Panther defense continued to slow the Sycamores, forcing another punt and also forcing the game’s first turnover as Dalesean Staley intercepted Chambers for his second pick of the season. This takeaway would set up another Cook field goal of 50 yards, extending the UNI lead to 27-17.
Indiana State would put together a seven minute, 49 second drive, featuring Bailey’s third sack of the game. The Sycamores would score on a 41-yard field goal by Andjelic to cut the Panther lead to just seven points and would recover the onside kick attempt with just under two and a half minutes to play. UNI’s defense would hold however as Chambers was intercepted by Edwin Dearman at the two-yard line, securing the Panther win.
Bey-Buie’s 137 rushing performance on 20 carries shattered his previous career-high of 99 yards from 2021 with Eastern Illinois, while also setting a new career-high with three touchdowns. Day finished the night with 176 passing yards on 16-of-27 passing, with Schnee hauling in a team-high 75 receiving yards. Ellis-Lahey would record 40 receiving yards, while Layne Pryor tallied 34 yards. Tucker Langenberg anchored the UNI defense with 11 total tackles, with Jahsiah Galvan recording nine stops.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
UNI improves to 31-5 all-time against Indiana State, earning its sixth straight win against the Sycamores, the Panthers’ longest streak against current MVFC opponents.
Cordarrius Bailey on Saturday night became just the fifth player in UNI history to record multiple games with at least three sacks in their career, joining Karter Schult, Matt Michell, Andre Allen, William Freeney. Bailey’s performance was the 24th three-sack game in program history.
Theo Day’s school record of consecutive games with a passing touchdown was snapped on Saturday night at 26 games. Day broke the previous record of 22 held by Todd Goebbel and Ryan Helming earlier this season.
Matthew Cook’s 50-yard field goal in the fourth quarter was his fourth made field goal of his career of 50+ yards.
Cook went three-for-three on PAT kicks against the Sycamores, extending his UNI and MVFC record to 139 consecutive made attempts.
UP NEXT
The Panthers wrap up their two-game road trip with a matchup at top-ranked and defending national champion South Dakota State next Saturday at 2 pm CT in Brookings. The game can be listened to on the Panther Sports Radio Network or streamed on ESPN+.
