North Dakota State Athletics
6-1 , 5-1
Northern Iowa
3-4 , 3-4
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota State | 0 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
| Northern Iowa | 0 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 20 |
North Dakota State Defeats Northern Iowa, 23-20
4/10/2021 8:55:00 PM | Football
UNI opened the scoring with two Matthew Cook field goals from 31 and 35 yards in the second quarter before Watson's kick return, which was the fourth 100-yard return in school history. Watson finished with 229 all-purpose yards including a 61-yard reception late in the second quarter that set up a 42-yard Jake Reinholz field goal. NDSU led 10-6 at halftime.
Bison quarterback Zeb Noland finished 8 of 16 passing for 154 yards with one touchdown, a 36-yard passing play to tight end Josh Babicz that gave North Dakota State a 17-6 lead late in the third quarter.
UNI pulled back within 17-12 early in the fourth quarter on Tyler Hoosman's 1-yard TD run, but NDSU responded with a 12-play, 71-yard scoring drive that ate up nearly 7 minutes of clock.
Hunter Luepke rushed 19 times for 95 yards including a 2-yard touchdown with 6:17 left in the game that gave the Bison a 23-12 lead. Northern Iowa responded with an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive capped by another Hoosman TD and a two-point conversion that made it 23-20.
NDSU went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, but Garret Wegner punted to the UNI 4 with 1:00 left and the Bison defense forced three incomplete passes and the Panthers turned over the ball on downs with 24 seconds left.
Linebacker James Kaczor made a game-high 13 tackles, defensive tackle Eli Mostaert had seven tackles including two sacks and three tackles for loss plus a pass breakup, and defensive end Brayden Thomas had two TFLs for the Bison. NDSU held UNI to 98 yards rushing and 5 of 14 on third down.
North Dakota State (6-1, 5-1 MVFC) is scheduled to host South Dakota State in the annual Dakota Marker game at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 17.
Team Stats
NDSU 0, UNI 3
UNI - Matthew Cook 31 yd field goal 14 plays, 66 yards, TOP 6:43
NDSU 0, UNI 6
UNI - Matthew Cook 35 yd field goal 9 plays, 40 yards, TOP 5:08
NDSU 7, UNI 6
NDSU - C. Watson 100 yd kickoff return (Jake Reinholz kick)
NDSU 10, UNI 6
NDSU - Jake Reinholz 42 yd field goal 8 plays, 64 yards, TOP 1:06
NDSU 17, UNI 6
NDSU - Josh Babicz 36 yd pass from Zeb Noland (Jake Reinholz kick) 2 plays, 41 yards, TOP 0:41
NDSU 17, UNI 12
UNI - Tyler Hoosman 1 yd run (Will McElvain passfailed), 6 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:13
NDSU 23, UNI 12
NDSU - Hunter Luepke 2 yd run (Zeb Noland passfailed), 12 plays, 71 yards, TOP 6:59
NDSU 23, UNI 20
UNI - Tyler Hoosman 1 yd run (Sam Schnee pass), 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:30
