UNI Ends Skid With 10-7 Win At No. 6 SDSU [Videos]

The UNI Panthers got a much-needed win, beating No. 6 South Dakota State, 10-7, on the road Saturday afternoon (Oct. 24, 2015). It's their first Missouri Valley Football Conference victory of the season.

After three-straight losses, the Panthers (3-4 overall, 1-3 MVFC) are in a position where they must win the remaining games on their schedule if they have any hopes of making the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs. They cleared the first hurdle when Karter Schult (Tripoli) and Tim Kilfoy (Davenport) made the biggest stop of the day for UNI.

South Dakota State (SDSU) had the ball on the Panthers' 11-yard-line with 1:31 remaining in the game. Facing a fourth-and-one, the Jackrabbits (5-2 overall, 2-2 MVFC) opted to go for the win instead of trying a game-tying field goal attempt. The decision backfired.

Schult and Kilfoy stopped SDSU running back Kyle Paris behind the line for a one-yard loss. The defensive stop allowed UNI to take possession of the ball and the Panthers ran out the clock.

The victory was UNI's 19th over a top-10 opponent since 2001.

Brett McMakin (Overland Park, Kan.) led the Panthers with a team-high 10 tackles, including two for loss of yards. Schult finished the game with six tackles, three sacks and four tackles for loss (TFL) to give UNI a total of 12 tackles for loss, tying for fifth all-time at UNI.

Offensive, Aaron Bailey (Bollingbrook, Ill.) finished the game with 113 yards (8-17-0), while rushing for a career-high 169 yards and one touchdown. Daurice Fountain (Madison, Wis.) had two catches for 40 yards and Tyvis Smith added 54 yards on 12 carries.

After both teams went scoreless through the first 27 minutes of the game, the Panthers jumped on the scoreboard with 2:43 on the clock in the second quarter. Michael Schmadeke (Waterloo/Columbus Catholic) converted on a 24-yard field goal to put UNI up 3-0, ending an 11-play, 92-yard drive that burned 5:00 off the clock.

The field goal would be the only points of the first half. The Panthers and Jackrabbits battled defensively in the first two quarters, with UNI holding SDSU to just 71 offensive yards (40 rushing, 31 passing).

South Dakota State opened the second half with a six-yard receiving touchdown from Taryn Christion to Connor Landberg, giving the Jackrabbits a 7-3 lead with 8:22 on the clock. The drive lasted 2:42 for six plays and 60 yards.

UNI reclaimed the lead after Bailey juked and jumped his way into the end zone, wrapping up a 35-yard rush. His fifth rushing touchdown of the season put UNI up 10-7 with 6:04 left in the third quarter, putting an end to a five-play, 79 yard drive that took 2:12 off the clock.

Bailey's touchdown set the stage for South Dakota State's final drive, which ended with the defensive play by Schult and Kilfoy.

NEXT UP: UNI returns to action on Saturday (Oct. 31), hosting the South Dakota Coyotes in the UNI-Dome. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m. on Stan Sheriff Field.

Video Clips Courtesy of UNI Athletics via YouTube