North Dakota State headed into Saturday’s contest in Cedar Falls with one statement in mind, win and in. If NDSU beat UNI in Cedar Falls to end the season, the Bison would lock up a playoff spot. The herd did just that as offense and four UNI turnovers gave NDSU the win and a spot in the FCS playoffs for the 13th consecutive year.
The Bison have found a winning formula that includes getting the ball first and scoring touchdowns. They have scored on their first possession in all 11 games this season and they started fast again as Cam Miller drove the ball to the UNI 36-yard line before they faced a 4th down and 5. Head Coach Matt Entz decided to roll the dice and it paid off big time as Miller found Eli Green on a slant route and he took it the distance to give NDSU the early seven-point advantage.
UNI responded to the score by covering 63 yards in 12 plays but could only come up with three points to make it a 7-3 game. NDSU responded in kind by staying balanced on offense and finding the endzone again as Cam Miller conducted a 75-yard touchdown drive that saw him end the drive himself by scoring from a yard out to increase the NDSU lead to 11.
Following a shanked UNI punt NDSU set up shop at the UNI 30 and they took full advantage as they covered those 30 yards in only four plays as Cam Miller rolled out of the pocket and found RaJa Nelson on a whip route from 15 yards out to give NDSU a 21-3 lead.
The Panthers would claw back as UNI would only need five plays to score as running back Tyjahree Edwards ran away from the NDSU defense on a 40-yard touchdown run to bring UNI back within 11.
The #1 problem that UNI has is turnovers specifically interceptions as quarterback Theo Day had already thrown 11 heading into the game and he would throw more as following and NDSU punt Day found Oscar Benson. The problem is Oscar Benson wears green, not purple and that gave the Bison great field position but they could only get a Griffin Crosa field goal out of it to push the lead to 14.
UNI’s next possession also ends in disaster as Day is picked off again this time by Sam Jung and the Bison turn the pick into points as Griffin Crosa hit another field goal to put the Bison up 17.
The 2nd half opened with the Bison up 27-10 but UNI would have something to say about it as they started the second half with a field goal to make it a 14-point game.
Following a few punts, this game got really entertaining as the next five possessions would end in touchdowns. The first possession ended with a Cole Payton 65-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 21. UNI responds with a Theo Day to Sam Schnee pass that got the Panthers within 14. Cole Payton then scored another touchdown on the following drive as he bounced off seven different Panthers and scored from 23 yards out to push the lead back to 21.
The next drive for UNI turned out to be the knockout punch as with the score 41-20 and Theo Day passing to keep his team in the game and as the Panthers are driving, he throws another interception. This one however turned into points as Cole Wisniewski took Day’s pass 75 yards to the house to give NDSU a 48-20 lead.
Northern Iowa scored one more touchdown late as Day connected with Sam Schnee to get UNI closer but when Theo Day threw his fourth pick to Oscar Benson again. That was all she wrote as NDSU goes into the postseason with loads of momentum as NDSU beats UNI 48-27 to lock up a playoff spot for the 13th consecutive season.
The QB duo of Cam Miller and Cole Payton turned out to be the difference as the quarterbacks accounted for five touchdowns and nearly 300 yards of total offense.
People thought this performance was enough to get a seed but it turns out the committee wasn’t all that crazy about NDSU and left them out of the top eight seeds but they drew the best possible matchup in the first round, the Drake Bulldogs.
NDSU will face Drake on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. inside the Fargodome with a trip to Bozeman, Montana on the line where #6 Montana State will be waiting for them.