United Group Insurance

Northern Iowa rallies to beat Iowa State 25-20

Sports

September 4th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Aaron Bailey threw for 135 yards, ran for 114 more and had two touchdowns as Northern Iowa rallied to beat Iowa State 25-20 Saturday and spoil coach Matt Campbell’s debut with the Cyclones. UNI’s J’Veyon Browning scored from 1 yard out with 2:49 left after a Joel Lanning interception, putting the Panthers ahead by five.

Cyclones running back Mike Warren fumbled it right back to Northern Iowa, and Lanning’s final pick with 1:10 left sealed what could hardly be considered an upset for Northern Iowa. Lanning finished with 256 yards passing, three touchdowns and those two costly interceptions. The Panthers scored touchdowns after an Iowa State safety, fumble and interception in beating the Cyclones for the second time since 2013.

Up next, the Cyclones will travel to Iowa City to face rival Iowa, ranked 17th. The Hawkeyes had some issues defensively, but their offense averaged eight yards a play as they rolled 45-21 over Miami (Ohio) on Saturday. Iowa State has beaten Iowa more than once after looking sluggish in its opener, but it’ll likely be a big underdog against the defending Big Ten West champion. The Panthers move on to host Montana, ranked No. 13 in the FCS, in a key non-conference showdown in Cedar Falls.