UNI, Mistakes Spoil Hobo Day

Saturday, October 14

Brookings, S.D.

2 p.m.

South Dakota State University

4-2 , 1-2

Northern Iowa

3-3 , 2-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Northern Iowa

South Dakota State

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

10/14/2017 7:07:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Jason Hove

BROOKINGS, S.D. — South Dakota State dug itself an early hole with multiple uncharacteristic mistakes on special teams and couldn't recover in dropping a 38-18 Hobo Day decision to Northern Iowa in Missouri Valley Football Conference action Saturday afternoon at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

With the loss, the seventh-ranked Jackrabbits fell to 4-2 overall and 1-2 in league play. UNI improved to 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the MVFC.

UNI broke into the scoring column midway through the first quarter on a 41-yard field goal by Sam Drysdale, capitalizing on a muffed punt by the Jackrabbits which gave the Panthers the ball at the SDSU 35.

The Panthers built their lead to 10-0 moments later after an interception. Elijah Campbell stepped in front of a Taryn Christion pass and returned the ball 46 yards to the SDSU 3. Two plays later, Christian Jegen scored from a yard out.

SDSU went three-and-out on its next offensive possession and UNI again took advantage of a short field to push its lead to 17-0 as Marcus Weymiller capped a six-play, 48-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run.

The Jackrabbits fumbled on the ensuing kickoff at their own 20, but after an unsportsmanlike conduct against UNI, the SDSU defense stopped the Panthers on three consecutive short-yardage plays to keep the deficit at 17 points.

The SDSU momentum carried over to the offensive side of the ball for the first time on the day as the Jackrabbits drove 73 yards on eight plays for their first score of the day. Christion connected with All-America wide receiver Jake Wieneke three times for a total of 46 yards, the final 11 of which came on a touchdown. However, the Jackrabbits missed the extra point and, despite a UNI fumble on the next possession, Chase Vinatieri's struggles continued as he missed a 24-yard field goal.

Weymiller's second touchdown of the day, a 15-yard around right end, made the score 24-6 in favor of UNI with four minutes to play in the first half. Weymiller, who had not registered a carry all season before Saturday, rushed 42 times for 170 yards.

Passes of 14 yards to Wieneke and 36 yards to Cade Johnson put the Jackrabbits in scoring position late in the first half, but a bobbled snap on a field goal attempt in windy and rainy conditions in the closing seconds prevented SDSU from further cutting into the deficit.

The Jackrabbits trimmed the margin to 24-12 late in the third quarter as All-America tight end Dallas Goedert hauled in a 57-yard reception from Christion on the first play of the drive, then the tandem hooked up again on the next play from 19 yards out for a touchdown. The two-point attempt failed.

Hopes of an SDSU comeback were dashed in the fourth quarter as Panther quarterback Eli Dunne threw a pair of touchdown passes three and a half minutes apart. The first score covered 18 yards to Daurice Fountain, followed by an 11-yarder to Isaiah Weston after the Jackrabbits turned the ball over on downs. Dunne completed 13-of-22 passes for 169 yards.

Mikey Daniel closed the scoring for the Jackrabbits with a 2-yard touchdown run with 6:48 to play.

UNI held a 387-332 advantage in total offense. Christion completed 14-of-35 passes for 280 yards, with Goedert recording 120 yards on four catches. Wieneke ended the afternoon with four receptions for 60 yards. Brady Mengarelli carried seven times for a team-high 33 yards.

Defensively, the Jackrabbits were led by Christian Rozeboom with a game-high 14 tackles. Fellow Iowa natives Logan Backhaus and Chris Balster each tallied seven stops.

Jared Farley led the Panthers with seven tackles and added a pass breakup.

UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits begin a two-game road swing Oct. 21 at Missouri State. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Plaster Field in Springfield, Missouri.

NOTES
• Northern Iowa leads the all-time series, 30-20-2
• The road team has won each of the last four meetings in the series
• SDSU dropped to 60-39-5 all-time in Hobo Day games
• The Jackrabbits had their eight-game home winning streak come to an end
• SDSU had outscored the opposition, 56-7, in the first quarter of games this season before ending up with a 17-0 deficit on Saturday
• Wieneke's touchdown reception was the 51^st of his career as he took over sole possession of fourth place in Football Championship Subdivision history, breaking a tie with Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State, 1981-84), John Matthews (San Diego, 2005-08) and Ramses Barden (Cal Poly, 2005-08)
• Wieneke has caught a touchdown in 31 of 45 career games, including five of six this season
• Goedert recorded his second 100-yard receiving game of the season and ninth of his career
• Goedert passed JaRon Harris (2,241 yards from 2005-08) for fifth place on the Jackrabbits' career receiving yards list, ending the day with 2,294
• Goedert moved into a tie with J.D. Berreth (1986-89) for seventh place in career touchdown receptions at SDSU with 16
• Mengarelli moved into 10^th place in career rushing at SDSU with 2,196 yards, passing Gary Maffett (2,167 yards from 1977-79)
• Rozeboom posted the 10^th double-digit tackle performance of his career
• Attendance was 14,347

-GoJacks.com-