UNI 20, Illinois State 10: Defense is the difference for Panthers, including key turnover

CEDAR FALLS - A fourth-quarter fumble recovery made the difference as No. 3 Northern Iowa snuck past No. 15 Illinois State, 20-10, on Saturday at the UNI-Dome.

Trailing 13-10 with 5:10 to play, Redbirds quarterback Bryce Jefferson fumbled climbing the pocket on third-and-11 and UNI defensive tackle Jared Brinkman recovered at Illinois State's 24.

Four plays and 24 yards later, a struggling Panthers offense got just enough from its offensive line, sealing the win as Tyler Hoosman shedded a pair of tacklers on a 13-yard touchdown run with 3:24 to play.

'When I felt that (football) in between my legs, I wasn't letting that go,” Brinkman said. 'I gave all my energy. Someone made a great play and I was just fortunate enough to jump on the ball.”

UNI (2-1) started fast, as Quan Hampton went 65 yards with the game's opening kickoff. After five run plays, quarterback Will McElvain kept a read-option for an 11-yard touchdown run and the game's first score.

After UNI's defense forced a three-and-out on Illinois State's first possession, its offense continued to move the ball with McElvain - who finished 14 of 33 for 148 yards and one interception - completing passes of 25, 12 and 8 yards to Deion McShane, Logan Wolf and Hampton. A pair of wide throws in Illinois State territory stalled the drive, but Matthew Cook's 43-yard field goal extended the lead to 10-0.

As UNI's offense began to stall, its defense put together another wire-to-wire performance, holding the Redbirds to 186 yards on 62 plays.

Illinois State got its only points from its offense late in the first quarter, going 50 yards in 14 plays for a 43-yard Aidan Breshnahan field goal.

After trading punts over the next four drives, McElvain was intercepted throwing a screen intended for Nick Phillips on third-and-11 from the UNI 30. Redbirds linebacker Kenton Wilhoit jumped the pass and went untouched for a 30-yard touchdown.

'They had success blitzing,” UNI head coach Mark Farley said. '(McElvain) just got out of timing, and when he got out of timing, the throws were off, the accuracy was off. There's no question it wasn't one of his better nights, but it's not up to him to (get) the win, it's up to him to manage the game and for us as a football team to find a way within that system and we did that.”

Tied 10-10 at halftime, the defensive slugfest continued as punts were traded on each of the first three drives of the second half.

UNI's offense totaled just 239 yards in 66 plays, but was able to go 59 yards in seven plays late in the third for another 43-yard Cook field goal and a 13-10 lead.

Hoosman led all rushers, carrying 15 times for 63 yards. Spencer Cuvelier and Riley Van Whye registered 11 and 10 tackles, respectively. Brawntae Wells and Cuvelier added a sack apiece while Brinkman and Khristian Boyd each had a half-sack.

'Anyway we can win, we'll take it,” Farley said. 'Anytime you beat Illinois State, it's a great win. To make that play at the end, that's kind of what we were waiting for.”

UNI travels to Southern Illinois next Saturday at noon (ESPN+).