Panthers Beat Cyclones For Farley’s 130th Win [Video]

The UNI Panthers recorded their third win against the Iowa State Cyclones in the last five meetings between the two teams, rallying late in the game to post a 25-20 victory at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames Saturday night (Sept. 3, 2016).

UNI (1-0) forced three Iowa State turnovers in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter. The Panthers converted the first of those takeaways into the go-ahead score. The third one -- an interception by Jared Farley -- sealed UNI's five-point win and made his father the all-time winningest coach in program history.

J'Veyon Browning scored the game-winning points on a one-yard run with 2:49 remaining. The touchdown followed a key interception by Charles Brown, who made the switch from wide receiver to cornerback prior to the game. The Panthers were trailing 20-19 at the time of the pick.

Iowa State (0-1) took a 20-19 lead on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Joel Lanning to Allen Lazard with 7:02 left and the Panthers went three and out on their ensuing possession. But, on ISU's next drive, Brown picked-off a Lanning pass at mid-field and returned it to the Cyclones' 36 yard-line with 4:57 to go.

With both of UNI's starting running backs on the sideline nursing cramps, Browning entered the game and provided the spark the Panthers needed. The junior from Kansas City, Kan., rushed for 43 yards on the go-ahead drive.

UNI's defense then stepped up and sealed the victory. On Iowa State's first offensive attempt after Browning's touchdown, D’Shawn Dexter forced a fumble that A.J. Allen recovered for the Panthers. UNI then went three-and-out, giving the Cyclones one-last possession with 1:14 left. That's when Lanning was intercepted by Farley, sealing the victory for the Panthers.

On defense, Farley led the Panthers with eight tackles and an interception while redshirt freshman Hezekiah Applegate recorded a career-high seven tackles. Jamison Whiting also came away with six tackles and a pass breakup. The UNI defense held Iowa State to just 51 yards rushing after holding seven of its 2015 opponents to 100 yards or less.

On offense, senior quarterback Aaron Bailey finished the game 15-27-0 for 135 yards and a touchdown, adding 114 yards on the ground and a rushing score. Tyvis Smith added 68 rushing yards to go along with Browning’s 43, both punching in touchdowns.

The victory was the 130th of Coach Mark Farley's career at UNI, moving him ahead of Stan Sheriff as the program's all-time wins leader. The victory also spoiled the debut of first-year Iowa State Coach Matt Campbell.

Iowa State jumped on the board in the first quarter, connecting on a 39-yard pass from Lanning to Dondre Daley at the 7:16 mark to take the lead. UNI had a chance to cut the lead to five points with a 36-yard field goal attempt from Austin Errthum with three minutes to play in the quarter, but the kick went wide right.

The Panthers eventually tied the game at 7-7 with 9:14 left in the second half. Bailey found Smith in the end zone for a 10-yard pass, ending a three-play, 16-yard drive that was set up after Lanning fumbled the ball inside the Iowa State 20-yard-line. Dexter recover the ball for UNI.

The Cyclones took their second lead of the game late in the second quarter when Hakeem Butler caught a pass under pressure from Lanning for 18 yards, making it 13-7 after a failed PAT attempt. The touchdown ended a three-play, 49-yard drive that burned 1:24 off the clock.

UNI didn’t let down, scoring nine points in the final 1:30 of the second quarter to regain the lead at halftime. The Panthers added two points to their score when Karter Schult sacked Lanning for a loss of 11 yards. Iowa State was called for holding in the endzone, which resulted in a safety for UNI.

The Panthers then scored on the final play of the first half. As time was running out, Bailey dragged a few opposing players into the end zone to give UNI a 16-13 lead with 0:00 on the clock. It was the end of a 9-play, 61-yard drive that took 1:16 off the clock, capped off by an Errthum PAT.

Errthum extended UNI's lead to 19-13 with a 22-yard field goal at the 4:20 mark of the third quarter. The three-point kick ended a 13-play, 75-yard drive, the Panthers’ longest of the game.

That set the stage for a wild fourth quarter, which ended with UNI's victory.

UP NEXT: The Panthers will return to action on Saturday (Sept. 10), when they host Montana in their home opener. The game is set to kick-off at 4 p.m. on Stan Sheriff Field inside the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

Iowa State travels to Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Saturday for its annual in-state battle against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Kick-off is set for 6:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network (BTN).

Courtesy: UNI Athletics via YouTube