2008 Woodie Awards
SectionsUNI stymies Bears' offense
Kai Raymer
Issue date: 11/6/07 Section: Sports
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Call it a football lesson.
Missouri State went toe-to-toe with undefeated and top-ranked Northern Iowa for the first 30 minutes, battling toe-to-toe a 17-17 halftime tie.
"We wanted to come out and put together another half like that with the same power we played with," Bears junior cornerback, Chris Farrar, said.
The Panthers justified their No. 1 ranking in the second half. Missouri State, meanwhile, played like Bears teams of the past.
Northern Iowa finished with 471 yards of offense and held the Bears to 11 total yards in the second half to claim a 38-17 victory Saturday afternoon at Plaster Stadium.
"The better team won over the course of the second half with a ball-control offense and a defense that contained our young quarterback," Terry Allen, Bears head coach, said.
Northern Iowa marched down the field on the first series of the second half and grabbed a 24-17 lead on a 4-yard pass from Eric Sanders to Schuylar Oordt.
Still in it, the Bears would soon commit the costliest of their three turnovers.
Starting on their own 31, quarterback Cody Kirby threw a pass intended for tight end Clay Harbor, but Panthers linebacker Brannon Carter stepped in front and made his league-high sixth interception of the season.
"I thought I had a guy opened and he just made a great play and picked it off," Kirby said. "It was a bad throw on my part, and it totally changed the game."
Like an elite team does, the Panthers (9-0, 5-0) capitalized on the mistake and scored on a 1-yard bootleg by Sanders to go up by 14.
Missouri State, who averaged 56 points per game at home coming into the contest, never threatened again in dropping to 5-5 on the season and 2-4 in the Gateway Conference.
"They were probably bigger and stronger, but it comes down to execution," Missouri State junior linebacker, Jeremy Dawson, said. "How well you execute doesn't depend on how big or tall you are."
Allen felt the Bears got burned on a non-fumble call earlier.
Missouri State went toe-to-toe with undefeated and top-ranked Northern Iowa for the first 30 minutes, battling toe-to-toe a 17-17 halftime tie.
"We wanted to come out and put together another half like that with the same power we played with," Bears junior cornerback, Chris Farrar, said.
The Panthers justified their No. 1 ranking in the second half. Missouri State, meanwhile, played like Bears teams of the past.
Northern Iowa finished with 471 yards of offense and held the Bears to 11 total yards in the second half to claim a 38-17 victory Saturday afternoon at Plaster Stadium.
"The better team won over the course of the second half with a ball-control offense and a defense that contained our young quarterback," Terry Allen, Bears head coach, said.
Northern Iowa marched down the field on the first series of the second half and grabbed a 24-17 lead on a 4-yard pass from Eric Sanders to Schuylar Oordt.
Still in it, the Bears would soon commit the costliest of their three turnovers.
Starting on their own 31, quarterback Cody Kirby threw a pass intended for tight end Clay Harbor, but Panthers linebacker Brannon Carter stepped in front and made his league-high sixth interception of the season.
"I thought I had a guy opened and he just made a great play and picked it off," Kirby said. "It was a bad throw on my part, and it totally changed the game."
Like an elite team does, the Panthers (9-0, 5-0) capitalized on the mistake and scored on a 1-yard bootleg by Sanders to go up by 14.
Missouri State, who averaged 56 points per game at home coming into the contest, never threatened again in dropping to 5-5 on the season and 2-4 in the Gateway Conference.
"They were probably bigger and stronger, but it comes down to execution," Missouri State junior linebacker, Jeremy Dawson, said. "How well you execute doesn't depend on how big or tall you are."
Allen felt the Bears got burned on a non-fumble call earlier.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Brett
posted 11/08/07 @ 2:17 PM CST
I am disgusted with the Missouri State fan turnout at football games. The days of losing teams are behind us. Saturday was our first loss at home this season and the lowest fan turnout. (Continued…)
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