Cedar Falls, Iowa - Northern Iowa turned five
South Dakota turnovers into 35 points to hand the Coyotes a 66-7 loss in front of 12,688 fans on Saturday at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. USD fell to 1-1 on the season, while the No. 5-ranked Panthers improved to 1-1.
The Coyotes scored a touchdown on their first play from scrimmage, getting on the board courtesy of a little trickery. Quarterback Noah Shepard (Sr., Thornton, Colo.) handed the ball off to running back Chris Ganious (So., Houston, Texas), who made his way toward the line of scrimmage, before flipping the ball back to Shepard. Wide receiver Ben Oberle (Sr., Vermillion, S.D.) snuck behind the defense and Shepard found him for a 70-yard touchdown completion on the flea flicker at the 11:24 mark of the first quarter, drawing the Coyotes even after UNI scored an early touchdown.
USD's touchdown tied the game at seven, but it was all UNI after that. The Panthers capitalized on all of the Coyotes mistakes, turning two interceptions and three fumbles into five touchdowns. Northern Iowa's offense rolled behind quarterback Pat Grace, who finished the game 24-for-32 for 445 yards and four touchdowns despite leaving the game midway through the third quarter. UNI wide receivers D.P Eyman and Jarred Herring finished with 197 and 129 yards receiving, respectively. The Panthers did not punt in the game and faced just two fourth downs.
Shepard finished the game 15-for-24 for 168 yards with one touchdown. Oberle claimed a career-high 112 yards on six receptions, which also tied a career-high. Dan Skelly (Sr., Champlin, Minn.) also had six receptions for 44 yards. Ganious ran for 57 yards. Cornerback Dion Price (So., Tampa, Fla.) and linebacker Adam Broders (So., Bloomfield, Neb.) had nine tackles apiece, which were career highs for both. Jim Thompson (So., Hayward, Wis.) added seven stops, while Ryan Routh (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.) had six.
Cole Zwiefelhofer (Fr., Chippewa Falls, Wis.) averaged 49.3 yards on three punts for USD.
The Coyotes continue their season by hosting Drake in the DakotaDome on Sept. 19, as part of USD's Hall of Fame weekend. Kickoff is set for 4:05 p.m.
