CEDAR FALLS, Ia. — Not quite enough.
After clawing back in the second half to move within four points, Northern Iowa had its chances to pull a monumental upset and salvage something in what’s been a largely disappointing season.
But the offense ran out of gas. And No. 4 North Dakota State prevailed, squeezing out a 24-20 win over the Panthers Saturday night at the UNI-Dome.
NDSU (7-1) expanded its eight-point halftime lead to 21-6 midway through the third quarter, but the Panthers (3-5) finally found some footing offensively following a rusty first half. With starting quarterback Aaron Bailey relegated to sweatpants and a headset from the opening kick, backup Eli Dunne directed a UNI attack to back-to-back touchdown drives in the second half sandwiched around an NDSU field goal.