On Sept. 21, 2013, the Northern Iowa Panthers traveled to Nottingham Field in Greeley, Colorado to take on the Northern Colorado Bears. It was a beautiful afternoon for football with clear skies accompanying the 79 degree temperature. UNI came in on a roll, starting the season 3-0 entering the game.

UNI won the coin toss and deferred to the second half and kicked off to the Bears to begin the game. The Panthers defense forced the Bears to punt on the first possession after going three and out. UNI put together a long, methodical drive, culminating in Quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen finding Wide Receiver Chad Owens in the end zone from seven yards out for the score. Kicker Tyler Sievertsen’s extra point gave the Panthers a 7-0 lead. On the ensuing possession, the Bears drove down the field all the way to the Panthers’ eight-yard line. However, the Panther defense held strong, forcing the Bears to go for a field goal. Northern Colorado Kicker Dave Eden missed the 25-yard chip shot wide to the left, and the score remained 7-0 Panthers heading into the second quarter.

The Bears put together a solid drive to start the second quarter, but it stalled out and resulted in another missed field goal. The Panthers took advantage of their ensuing possession, driving the ball down to the Bears’ 11-yard line, where Sievertsen knocked in his first field goal of the afternoon to put the Panthers up 10-0. This would be the score going into the half.

The Panthers got the ball to begin the second half. They once again drove down the field, but stalled out deep in Bear territory. They were forced to settle for a 25-yard field goal, increasing their lead to 13-0. The Bear’s next drive would prove to be their most effective of the day to that point. Quarterback Tim Tancik found multiple receivers for big chunks of yards, and Running Back Darius Graham punctuated their drive with a four-yard touchdown run to draw closer to the Panthers, 13-7.

Northern Iowa started off the fourth quarter with a bang when Running Back David Johnson ran the ball into the end zone from 18 yards out. The Panther defense continued to hold strong, not allowing any points throughout the rest of the game. Northern Iowa also knocked in two field goals from 31 and 27 yards out respectively. This strong defense combined with reliable kicking resulted in the Panthers pulling away to a 26-7 win.

Quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen put together a solid game through the air, completing 19 of his 27 pass attempts for 248 yards and one touchdown without throwing an interception. Running Back David Johnson ran the ball 22 times for 122 yards and one touchdown, averaging a very good 5.5 yards per carry. It was a very strong game for the Panthers defense, holding the Bears to only seven points. Linebacker Jake Farley led the defense in tackles with 13. Defensive Lineman Collin Albrecht took down the Bears quarterback for two sacks. The Panthers also managed to pull down two interceptions, with Defensive Backs Deiondre Hall and Charles Brown both recording interceptions. Kicker Tyler Sievert was a perfect 4/4 on field goal attempts. The win took the Panthers record to a perfect 4-0 to begin the season.