Comeback Falls Short, No. 6 ISU Falls To No. 22 UNI 42-28

[November 03, 2014]  CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – In a battle between two of the top defenses in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, No. 6 Illinois State (7-1, 4-1 MVFC) fell to No. 22 Northern Iowa (5-4, 3-2 MVFC), 42-28, Saturday afternoon at the UNI Dome.

ISU suffered its first loss of the year, after trying to become the first team in school history to start a season 8-0. Two special teams touchdowns from the Panthers ended up being the deciding factor in a game highlighted by a thrilling second half.

On the opening play of the game, UNI fumbled on a quarterback-running back exchange, and senior defensive back Mike Banks recovered to set the Redbirds up with great field position early. On the next play, junior running back Marshaun Coprich took the ball 28 yards up the middle for the score, breaking several arm tackles to put ISU ahead, 7-0. The run put Coprich over 1000 rushing yards on the season, making him the 13th player in ISU history to surpass the mark. Later in the game, Coprich became the 11th Redbird to reach the 2,000-yard career rushing plateau.
 

After the early excitement, seven straight drives stalled for both teams, as only one first down was converted by each offense. Among the ISU defensive highlights in the first half was a sack by senior defensive linemen Bradon Prate and Collin Keoshian, followed by another sack by junior defensive linemen Teddy Corwin and David Perkins. The Redbirds finally got another scoring opportunity on their first drive of the second quarter, but Nick Aussieker’s 46-yard field goal attempt went wide-right.

After another ISU three-and-out, the Panthers returned a blocked punt seven yards for a score to tie the game, 7-7. Both teams combined to go 3-for-18 on third downs and amassed less than 200 total yards of offense in the first half. UNI broke the game open in the second half with two third-quarter touchdowns. A passing touchdown from Brion Carnes to Kevin Vereen, Jr. was followed by a 31-yard rushing score by David Johnson to give the Panthers the lead at 21-7.

After junior transfer quarterback Tre Roberson was intercepted, the Redbird defense came up huge when Prate tipped a Carnes pass attempt, and junior linebacker Alex Donnelly returned the pick 56 yards to set up a Coprich eight-yard touchdown to cut into the lead, 21-14. With less than ten minutes remaining and the Panthers driving the field, Corwin came up with his second career interception inside the Redbird 25-yard line, when he tipped a pass at the line-of-scrimmage and hauled the ball in while lying on his back. On the next play, Coprich broke a 76-yard touchdown run up the right sideline to tie the game again, 21-21.

Johnson took the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for the game-winning touchdown. He added another rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter to seal the game. Roberson connected with senior tight end James O’Shaughnessy on a 21-yard passing touchdown to pull within 35-28 with 2:09 remaining in the game. After the defense forced a three-and-out, Roberson was intercepted with less than one minute to go, and the Panthers returned it 32 yards for the final score of the game.

Coprich, a Walter Payton Award Watch List member, ran for 166 yards and scored three touchdowns on 27 carries, and also produced his eighth-consecutive 100-yard rushing performance. The Redbirds return home to take on No. 11 Youngstown State (7-2, 4-1 MVFC) next Saturday at Hancock Stadium at 1 p.m.

[Michael Williams, Illinois State University]

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