Jacks hold off UNI on the road for first time since 1978

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Had it, lost it, got it back.

So went the final nine minutes of South Dakota State's 36-year UNI-Dome drought – adventurous and ultimately productive.

After building and blowing a 14-point advantage, the No. 18-ranked Jackrabbits got a 44-yard field goal by Justin Syrovatka and an interception by Melvin Taveras in the final 1 minute, 47 seconds to secure a 31-28 victory over No. 20 Northern Iowa before a Saturday crowd of 15,049.

That proved to be the decisive stretch – not the Panthers' 14-point run in the second quarter, the Jacks' 21-point spurt in the second half or the Panthers' 14-point response earlier in the fourth. The wildness was a wash until the end, with SDSU (5-2, 2-1) finding a way to gain an important result from an affair with little statistical separation in an inhospitable venue.

The Jacks had been 0-4 in the UNI-Dome since moving to the FCS in 2004, losing all of those appearances by double digits.

"Unique football game," SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier said. "But I'm really proud of how our guys continued to play. We put ourselves in a good situation a couple times, and we made some blunders."

Yes, there were blunders.

Jacks sophomore quarterback Zach Lujan threw a career-high three interceptions. The first set up a touchdown and the third was returned for a touchdown, with UNI safety Ray Mitchell corralling a thrice-tipped pass and taking it 58 yards to create a 28-28 tie with 3:29 left.

That took place after the Panthers pulled off – but failed to convert on – a stealth onside kick.

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Less than six minutes earlier, SDSU had a 28-14 lead, the second scoring run by Zach Zenner prompting a sizable chunk of Panthers fans to head for the exits. That capped a three-touchdown spurt by the Jacks, the first set up by a Nick Mears interception on the first possession of the second half and the second on a 30-yard interception return by linebacker Dallas Brown.

Coming in, SDSU hadn't picked off a UNI pass since 2010 – then it came up with two in a span of three attempts.

"The whole game our defense had the momentum," said Tavares, who had a game-clinching interception last week, too. "They couldn't do anything on offense. We just had that confidence going out there and got it done."

The Jacks limited UNI (3-4, 1-2) and its two-quarterback attack to 300 yards of offense – 50 of that coming on a David Johnson touchdown run in the second quarter. Also, they gave up only 3 of 12 third-down conversions, made 10 tackles for loss – 3.5 by defensive end Jack Sherlock in his return from a one-game injury absence – and blocked a field goal.

That happened in the middle of the third quarter, when SDSU defensive tackle Cole Langer knocked down a 49-yard try by Michael Schmadeke, who had been 18 of 19 for the season.

The Roosevelt grad Syrovatka had just one attempt, too, and he knocked it dead from the left hash and the noise level as high as it had been all day. The routine-looking kick was setup by a spectacular Jason Schneider catch. Two plays after UNI pulled even, the senior Schneider hauled in a 40-yard pass down the left sideline, seemingly batting the ball to himself under duress from a defender.

Schneider finished with nine catches for 117 yards and Zenner had 80 on the ground to become the second player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in three straight seasons and another 26 through the air. SDSU gained only 17 yards more than the Panthers, but had a 12-minute edge in time of possession, highlighted by a 17-play opening drive that chewed up 7:18 and culminated in a touchdown.

"Give them credit, man," UNI coach Mark Farley said. "They did a nice job. It's hard playing here. They were down; we had it under control. They were able to get it back. One-hundred percent (of credit) goes to that kind of coaching and playing."

Yet it so nearly went for naught. Wild.

"It's a big one for us," Schneider said, "and I hope we can keep that momentum going forward."

SDSU 31,NORTHERN IOWA 28

The stat: Jason Schneider had nine catches for 117 yards for the Jacks (5-2), who won on a 44-yard FG by Justin Syrovatka.

Next week: SDSU hosts Youngstown State, 2 p.m.

SCORING SUMMARY

First Quarter

SDSU—Jake Wieneke 8 pass from Zach Lujan (Justin Syrovatka kick), 7:42.

Second Quarter

NI—David Johnson 50 run (Michael Schmadeke kick), 10:54.

NI—Barkley Hill 2 pass from Sawyer Kollmorgen (Schmadeke kick), :40.

Third Quarter

SDSU—Zach Zenner 1 run (Syrovatka kick), 8:18.

SDSU—Dallas Brown 30 interception return (Syrovatka kick), 2:02.

Fourth Quarter

SDSU—Zenner 1 run (Syrovatka kick), 8:58.

NI—Johnson 2 run (Schmadeke kick), 4:59.

NI—Ray Mitchell 58 interception return (Schmadeke kick), 3:29.

SDSU—FG Syrovatka 44, 1:47.

A—15,049.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—SDSU – Zenner 29-80, Lujan 10-14, Team 2-0. UNI – D.Johnson 9-78, Carnes 9-35, Kollmorgen 3-5, Miller 4-4.

PASSING—SDSU – Lujan 21-38-3-223. UNI – Brion Carnes 11-21-1-93, Kollmorgen 9-14-2-85.

RECEIVING—SDSU – Jason Schneider 9-117, Trevor Wesley 4-35, Zenner 3-26, Wieneke 2-24, Larves Jones 2-14, Dallas Goedert 1-7. UNI – Charles Brown 5-43, D.Johnson 5-43, Chad Owens 5-43, Kevin Vereen Jr. 2-24, Braden Lehman 1-12, Darrian Miller 1-11, Hill 1-2.