Dargan Southard/Press-Citizen
CEDAR FALLS, Ia. — The weeklong chatter centered on Cal Poly’s peculiar option attack, designed to chew up clock on the ground and spit out long, demoralizing drives on the other side.
Instead, the Mustangs repeatedly gashed Northern Iowa through the air, slicing the Panthers secondary en route to a late surge that had the players in purple reeling and the UNI-Dome faithful stunned.
But the Panthers recovered.
After Cal Poly scored twice in the final 2 minutes, 5 seconds to send the game into overtime, UNI survived in the extra session, thanks to more quality wide receiver play and a timely dose of defense.