The Northern Iowa football team fell to the Illinois State Redbirds on Saturday by a score of 31-16, falling to 2-7 on the season. This was the first game since head coach Todd Stepsis made a quarterback change, switching to redshirt-junior Jaxon Dailey.
The Panthers got the ball first and drove into Redbird territory early. The drive ended with a punt after eight plays. The Redbird offense got off to a hot start, marching down the field for an 80-yard drive capped off by a 4-yard rushing touchdown to go up 7-0.
After the Panther offense went 3-and-out, the Redbirds struck again with a two-yard rushing touchdown, extending the lead to 14-0. On their next defensive possession, the Panthers were able to hold the Redbirds to a 45-yard field goal attempt, which was no good. The offense gave it right back on the first play after the missed kick, as the Redbirds intercepted a pass from Dailey.
Shortly after, the Redbirds capitalized converting on their first touchdown pass of the day to make it 21-0 late in the second half.
The Panthers didn’t leave the half empty handed. With under a minute to go in the half Max Bartachek connected on a 28-yard field goal to make the score 21-3.
Coming out of the break, the Panthers forced a fourth down and short situation. The Redbirds completed a pass that was ultimately short of the line to gain.
After the turnover on downs, running back Harrison Bey-Buie accelerated up the middle of the field for a gain of 14 down to the 35-yard line. Shortly after, Dailey found Derek Anderson down the field for a gain of 22-yards. Bey-Buie capped off the drive with a two-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 21-10.
The Redbirds responded with a 12 play, 75-yard drive capped off with a 9-yard touchdown run to make it 28-10 Redbirds.
The Panthers continued to fight back. At the start of the fourth quarter, Dailey found JC Roque jr. down the field for a 41-yard touchdown to make the score 28-16.
The Redbirds kicked a field goal late to make it 31-16, which would end up being the final score.
UNI falls to 2-7 on the season, and hold a six game losing streak dating back to their loss against Utah Tech.
The Panthers will welcome in the Murray State Racers on Saturday Nov, 8th. The game can be found on ESPN+ and Panther Sports Radio Network.
