CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – After both teams scored on their first possession of the game and headed to the second quarter in a 7-7 tie, the UNI offense scored 14 points in the second quarter to pull away from Illinois State in a 28-21 win for the Panthers (2-2, 1-0 MVFC) over the No. 3 ranked Redbirds (4-1, 0-1 MVFC) on Saturday afternoon at the UNI-Dome.
How It Happened:
• The Panthers took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards in 11 plays to put the first points on the scoreboard, as quarterback Jaxon Dailey connected with Ayden Price in the back of the endzone for a 6-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0 in favor of UNI just over six minutes into the contest.
• Illinois State answered immediately, putting together an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive that took over five minutes off the clock that was capped off by a 14-yard touchdown pass from Gage Roy to Dylan Lord that tied the game at 7-7 with 3:25 left in the first quarter.
• On its next drive UNI regained the lead on a 28-yard touchdown run by Dailey that made the score 14-7 just 49 seconds into the second quarter.
• The Panthers then extended their lead to 21-7 with 4:33 left in the first half, after Dailey found Cal Black for a 7-yard touchdown pass.
• The Redbirds took the opening kickoff of the second half and pulled with in one score of the Panthers, as a 9-yard touchdown run by Victor Dawson capped off a 16-play, 92-yard drive that 7:23 off the clock and made the score 21-14 in favor of UNI.
• UNI would answer immediately, as Xavier Terrell broke free for a 43-yard touchdown run with 5:48 left in the third quarter to widen the advantage to 28-14.
• ISU would get a late touchdown on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Roy to Alex Herrera that cut the UNI lead to 28-21 with 2:20 to play, but a recovered onside kick attempt by the Panthers and a first down iced the victory for UNI.
Game Notes:
• The loss for the Redbirds snapped an 11-game road winning streak and it marked the first FCS road loss for the Redbirds since falling at UC Davis in the 2024 FCS playoffs.
• Lord's touchdown reception was his team-leading fifth of the season for the Redbirds.
• Dawson's touchdown run was his first since September 5, after missing last week's game due to injury … he's now tied for the team lead with four rushing scores.
• Herrera's touchdown catch was his fourth in five games this season for the Redbirds, and his fourth in as many games for ISU.
• Roy finished the game with a season-high 193 yards passing and two touchdowns, while Lord led the team with 12 receptions for 88 yards.
• Tye Niekamp led the Redbird offense with nine tackles and a sack, while Travis Jones added four tackles, a tackle-for-loss, a pass breakup at the line of scrimmage and came up with a big fourth down stop to force a turnover on downs by UNI.
Next Up:
No. 3 Illinois State returns home next Saturday for a big matchup against No. 2 South Dakota State, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. CT on Jay and Lori Bergman Field at Hancock Stadium.
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