CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Missouri State never trailed and held No. 10 Northern Iowa to just 11 first downs and 27 rushing yards in a dramatic 13-6 Bears victory here Saturday.
The win pushed the Bears to 3-1 on the spring, gave MSU its first win at the UNI-Dome since 1998 and snapped a 14-game win streak by the Panthers in the series.
Similar to last week’s win at No. 21 South Dakota, Missouri State used a bend-but-don’t-break defensive effort throughout and held UNI to two punts and two field goal attempts on the Panthers four second-half possessions. Meanwhile, Missouri State got two huge fourth-quarter plays to seal the victory.
Leading 10-6 with under six minutes to go and facing a fourth-and-six at the UNI 35, the Bears elected to go for it rather than attempt a long field or punt it back. In his first start at Missouri State, quarterback Matt Struck dropped back and connected with Damoriea Vick to the UNI 13 yard line for a first down to extend the drive and chew up critical time on the clock. The Bears weren’t able to get the ball into the end zone at the end of the drive, but instead settled for a 33-yard field goal by Jose Pizano, his second of the day, to take a 13-6 lead with 4:30 to play.
The Panthers (2-3) faced a barrage of MSU defensive pressure on its final drive of the game as quarterback Justin Fomby was 2-for-4 but was flushed out and kept off balance with each snap. His second incompletion of the series was flagged for intentional grounding, backing UNI back to its own 15 for a third-and-30. He completed his next pass for a short gain, but the Bears defense did its job and forced UNI to punt for its sixth and final time on the afternoon.
Taking over at their own 32 with 2:32 to play, Missouri State ran out the clock, getting short gains from Tobias Little and Celdon Manning before Struck slipped around the left side for a 13-yard gain on third down to move the sticks and lock up the win. With UNI out of timeouts, the Bears were able to run out the clock and secure move within a half game of first place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with four games to play.
Struck, the Idaho State transfer who started in place of injured Jaden Johnson, was 19-for-25 for 174 yards and a touchdown. He was intercepted once in MSU’s only turnover in the last two games, but it didn’t result in any UNI points.
Vick was Struck’s favorite target as he hauled in a career-high 9 passes for 67 yards.
In the first half, Missouri State forced UNI to punt on its opening series, and the Bears took over on their own 9 yard line on their first possession. Coach Bobby Petrino’s troops then marched the ball down the throat of the highly-touted UNI defense to take a 7-0 lead on its first drive of the afternoon. The 13-play series included a pair of third-down pass completions from Struck to Jordan Murray and later an 18-yard rush by Little to the UNI 34. Manning later set the Bears up inside the five before Struck connected with tight end Carson Buddemeyer from three yards out to give the visitors a lead they would never relinquish.
That score held until an interception by Montrae Braswell killed UNI’s fifth drive of the opening half and set up the Bears at the UNI 23. Missouri State got a seven-yard completion to Vick on first down but couldn’t move the chains and ultimately put points on the board with a 31-yard field goal from Pizano to give MSU a 10-0 lead with 1:24 to play in the half.
The Panthers weren’t content to go into the locker room trailing by double figures and mounted a furious rally before the intermission. Fomby connected with Isaiah Weston on second down for a 28-yard completion to the MSU 47 and later a 27-yard pass to Logan Wolf to the Bears 5-yard line. Missouri State’s defense then forced back-to-back incompletions before a sack by Jalen Williams and Kevin Ellis pushed UNI back to the 10. The home side then settled for a 27-yard field goal by Matthew Cook as time expired to make it a 10-3 game at the half.
UNI capitalized on good field possession on its second possession of the third quarter to make it a 10-6 game. A 43-yard field goal by Cook capped a six-play 25-yard drive that stalled at the MSU 25.
Meanwhile, the Bears began their first three possessions of the second half stuck inside their own 20 and couldn’t get a foot hold early. Struck’s lone interception and a pair of punts initially kept Missouri State from adding to its lead in the third.
Northern Iowa started the fourth quarter from its won 46 and moved the ball to the Missouri State 26 with a 15-yard pass to Quan Hampton and later a 10-yard completion from Fomby to Wolf. But once again, Missouri State’s defense came up with three huge plays, including a tackle for loss by Eric Johnson, a QB hurry by Armon Wallace and ultimately a missed 46-yard field goal by Cook that kept it a 10-6 game with 10:39 to go.
Missouri State’s next drive resulted in Pizano’s 33-yarder that gave the Bears a 13-6 lead, and the Panthers only took five snaps the remainder of the game.
The Bears collected 14 first downs on the afternoon and compiled 236 total yards on 61 plays. Little was MSU’s top ball carrier as he collected 38 yards on a dozen carries.Defensively, Jeremy Webb and Tyler Lovelace finished with 8 tackles apiece for Missouri State, while Titus Wall added 7 more. The Bears defense also racked up 4 sacks, 6 tackles for loss, 3 hurries and the interception by Braswell.
UNI had 242 total yards, including 215 passing yards from Fomby on 18-of-29 attempts.
Missouri State trails only North Dakota State, North Dakota and South Dakota State – all 4-1 in the league – in the MVFC standings as the Bears begin the second half of league play next week.
The Bears return to Robert W. Plaster Stadium next Saturday when they host rival Southern Illinois (4-2, 3-2 MVFC) at 2 p.m.
