Salukis finally figure out how to beat UNI in Dome

CEDAR FALLS - Northern Iowa's ability to beat Southern Illinois in the UNI-Dome always seemed set in concrete.

Saturday, the Salukis cracked the case.

The second-ranked Panthers lost at home to No. 5 SIU for the first time in 26 years, dropping a 27-20 decision before a record crowd of 17,190.

You have to fade to early in the Darrell Mudra era to find UNI's last Dome defeat at the hands of Southern Illinois. Sept. 24, 1983, the Salukis whipped the Panthers, 52-9.

Against all Missouri Valley Football Conference foes, UNI owned a 16-game, regular season winning streak under its roof. That run came to a halt Saturday, thanks to the Panthers' first Dome loss since Western Illinois won here, 24-13, Oct. 28, 2006.

To Mark Farley, it felt like his team had lost twice - once to Southern Illinois and once to its own failings.

“We didn't play well, we didn't play well,” said Farley after UNI's 2009 record dropped to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in MVFC action.

“We made some mistakes we generally don't make, and I thought (Southern Illinois) did a good job of allowing us to beat ourselves.

“They hit some high percentage things they were doing. It was a high-percentage game with calls all day long. At the end, we made some real poor decisions and mistakes, and it cost us the football game.”

The UNI fans who stuffed the dome Saturday will point to a pair of huge Panther errors - specifically two of the team's three turnovers.

A bouncing punt by SIU's Scott Ravensi glanced off the leg of UNI return man Varmah Sonie. Steven Morse recovered the muff at the Panther 7-yard-line. Deji Karim, the nation's top rusher, scored on a 1-yard, fourth-down plunge.

It was 20-13, Salukis, with 5 minutes, 6 seconds to play.

Disaster struck UNI again on the next series. Pressured in the pocket, quarterback Pat Grace threw on the run and hit SIU cornerback Brandon Williams. Williams raced 20 yards to score an insurance TD with 2:48 remaining.

“It was just certain things that happened throughout the game,” said UNI running back Derrick Law, who had 123 yards on the ground.

“I would say I think we executed pretty well. It was just the luck of the draw that didn't go our way.”

Grace hit D.J. Hord with a 3-yard strike 58 seconds later to close the gap, but Saluki Marc Cheatham recovered the ensuing onside kick. Game, Salukis, who now have a share of first place in the MVFC with South Dakota State.

“It took a complete team effort to do what we did,” said Saluki Coach Dale Lennon. “Overall, it was as complete a team effort as we've had.”

Farley also spent part of his postgame appearance shaking his head because of UNI's incomplete effort, particularly when it had chances to score in the last 30 minutes.

“My version of the game is us not being able to score when we were inside the 25, and we were down there quite a few times,” Farley said. “That hurt.”

On their first four possessions of the second half, the Panthers:

-Gave up the ball at the SIU 32 when Grace overshot Schuylar Oordt on a deep fourth-down pass.

-Turned the ball over in the red zone when D.P. Eyman's wide-receiver pass was intercepted by Saluki safety Mike McElroy at the goal line.

-Punted the ball from the Southern Illinois 35 after Quentin Scott's interception gave UNI possession at the Saluki 40.

-Settled for a tying, 19-yard field goal by Billy Hallgren after reaching the SIU 2.

-By Jim Sullivan, Waterloo Courier