CEDAR FALLS, Iowa—Northern Iowa's defense limited South Dakota to 81 yards and four first downs over the final three quarters to lead the 21^st-ranked Panthers in a 20-7 win against the Coyotes Saturday at the UNI-Dome.
 
It was the second straight win for UNI (4-4, 2-3 MVFC), which limited South Dakota State to seven points last week. It was the first loss in three games for the Coyotes (4-4, 2-3), which play their next two games in Vermillion.
 
Panther quarterback Aaron Bailey passed for a career-high 231 yards on a day he was limited to 44 on the ground on 23 carries. He threw a 14-yard touchdown to Braden Lehman to tie the game at 7-7 with 7:31 left in the second quarter. He snuck in from a yard away on the next drive to put UNI ahead 14-7 with 3:32 to go before halftime.
 
South Dakota scored on a 23-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Ryan Saeger to Brandt Van Roekel with 1:25 left in the first quarter. It capped a 13-play, 81-yard drive that soaked up six minutes. Van Roekel caught six passes for a career-high 89 yards. He's caught a touchdown in three of his last four games.
 
Michael Schmadeke field goals of 48 and 50 yards within a two-minute span in the third quarter accounted for all of the second-half scoring. The Panthers marched 44 yards in 10 plays on the opening possession of the second half to set up the first field goal. Deiondre' Hall picked off Saeger's first pass of the second half to set up the second.
 
The two offenses combined to net 93 yards during the game's final 23 minutes as the two punters took over. Sam Kuhter averaged 52 yards on five punts and pinned the Coyotes on their 3 and 1 for their last two possessions. Miles Bergner countered with a 46-yard average on eight punts which included a season-long of 63.
 
Michael Fredrick carried 25 times for 50 yards for South Dakota and the Coyotes netted 54 yards on 36 rushing attempts. Saeger completed 11 of 21 passes for 133 yards.
 
Panther running back Savon Huggins had a game-high 66 yards rushing on nine totes. UNI needed 51 rushes to gain 163 yards. Bailey completed 16 of 27 passes. Lehman was the team's leading receiver with 45 yards.
 
The Valley's two sack leaders – UNI's Karter Schult and South Dakota's Andrew Van Ginkel – both added two to their totals. South Dakota's defense had five sacks, 11 tackles-for-loss and recovered two fumbles. Coyote cornerback Adam Harris was credited with five pass breakups.
 
South Dakota returns home to host Southern Illinois at 1 p.m. next Saturday inside the DakotaDome.