Pierson’s pick shifts momentum in ISU’s 31-7 win over UNI

AMES - Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads could sense the edge was lost. He didn't even hesitate to say it favored Northern Iowa.

The Cyclones were down a touchdown and had just lost a fumble with the Panthers on the ISU side of midfield. Two plays later, senior defensive end Dale Pierson played the role of UNI-momentum killer with a game-changing interception.

'When I got the interception, I was going so fast I didn't really think about much. I was just trying to score,” Pierson said with a smile. 'I know I got the tackler off me and tried to get the quarterback off me.”

Pierson returned the pick 24 yards and set up the first of four ISU touchdowns in a 31-7 win against the Panthers on Saturday at Jack Trice Stadium.

Unlike most of the other plays Pierson stuck his nose in from the end spot, his interception took more time to develop. He started low before raising up, seeing defensive end Gabe Luna and nose guard Demond Tucker in front of him before UNI quarterback Aaron Bailey's pass fell into his outstretched hands.

'Dale is smart, as you can see,” said linebacker Jay Jones, who led the Cyclones with nine tackles. 'The screen play, they ran it and he read it fast.”

'He turned it into a big play and showed some of his moves,” Rhoads said. 'Exciting return by him. I don't know if a player practices harder than he does. When a player practices that hard, good things come and when they come, they come in a big way.”

Pierson had three of Iowa State's six sacks and five total tackles while the ISU defense held UNI to 126 rushing yards. Bailey had 85 yards alone - mostly in scrambles - while he was 11-of-19 passing for 114 yards and a touchdown.

The 13 tackles for loss were the most by Iowa State since it had 11 against Illinois State in 2005, but the Cyclones found their separation when their offense came out of halftime.

Senior quarterback Sam Richardson was 21-of-29 passing for 233 yards and two touchdowns, but started to hit a rhythm in the third quarter, going 6-for-6 for 96 yards and two scores. He hit receiver Dondre Daley on a 36-yard screen for a score and found Allen Lazard in the corner of the end zone from 13 yards out.

'I think we just called those kind of plays at the right time,” Richardson said. 'I think we threw some good balls and Dondre made a big play with that screen in the second half. We made plays when we needed to.”

'Just being able to space the field,” Lazard said. 'Also Dondre made a great play and just being able to use our advantages and strengths like making people miss. The O-line gave Sam a lot of time back there to make some good plays.”

Daley had four catches for 70 yards and a touchdown, senior Quenton Bundrage snagged five catches for 53 yards and Lazard had four receptions for 43 yards and a touchdown. Lazard, however, made his biggest impact as a punt returner, fielding four punts for 100 yards.

The ISU win broke the two-game losing streak the Cyclones had against FCS opponents, as well as debuted the largest crowd in school history with a crowd of 61,500.

'At points last season you could kind of see the team fold over,” Richardson said. 'It just goes to our character and leadership and bringing those guys back and really not seeing adversity in a time where you could.”

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