Ace Hunt
GoSycamores.com

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State scored late and the defense held at the end as the Sycamores earned a hard-fought 20-19 victory over No. 10 Northern Iowa in a thriller on a chilly afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

The Sycamores' win over a nationally-ranked opponent for the second time in as many weeks increased their overall record to 4-1 and 1-0 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference while UNI fell to 2-3, 0-1 MVFC. The No. 10 Panthers are tied for the highest ranked team to fall to the Sycamores at Memorial Stadium since joining the league 29 seasons ago. This victory is tied with a 1990 victory over a No. 10 Northern Iowa squad for the highest nationally-ranked opponent to fall to Indiana State in Terre Haute.

The Sycamores' are 4-1 for the first time since the 2011 campaign which also marks the last time Indiana State won its league opener. The victory also snapped a nine-game losing skid to Northern Iowa as the Sycamores downed the Panthers for the first time since 2002. Additionally, the win was the first for an Indiana State football team when both the Sycamores and the opponent were nationally-ranked at the time of the game. It is the eighth time that has happened since 1983.

Indiana State used some trickery to take the lead on a fourth quarter drive which began at their own 17-yard line with 5:51 to go. Indiana State faced 3rd-and-15 from their own 25 when Mike Perish found A.J. Johnson for a 22-yard completion. The Sycamores then faced third-and-six from midfield when Perish found Chris O'Leary for a seven yard gain. After Perish found Jamar Brown for eight yards, O'Leary then took a backwards pass from Perish who found a streaking Gary Owens for a 38-yard touchdown pass to push the Sycamores ahead 20-19 with 2:12 to play.

After a failed two-point conversion, Northern Iowa survived an early quarterback sack and fumble by Connor Underwood and eventually converted a third-and-12. On third-and-six, Sawyer Kollmorgen found Brett LeMaster for a 12-yard completion and the Sycamores were flagged for a personal foul to move the ball to the Indiana State 34.

Kollmorgen completed the next pass to Chad Owens, but he was met behind the line of scrimmage for a two-yard loss by Mark Sewall and Tsali Lough with 44 seconds left. Kollmorgen then completed a 10-yard pass on the sideline to Owens, but Owens went out of bounds before catching and the Panthers were penalized for illegal touching, a penalty which calls for a loss of down. Kollmorgen's pass on third down to LeMaster was short which set up a fourth-and-12 from the ISU 36-yard line.

After timeouts by both teams, the reigning national special teams player of the week Michael Schmadeke went on the field to attempt a 53-yard field goal. Schmadeke had made four field goals earlier in the game, but this attempt was into a stiff Southwest wind and came up short as the Sycamore sideline celebrated. One kneel down by the Sycamores then sealed the 20-19 victory.

Perish finished the game 22-of-32 passing for 193 yards. O'Leary completed his only pass attempt of the game -- the 38-yard game-winner to Gary Owens. Buck Logan led the ground attacked with 17 rushes for 62 yards and the first touchdown of the game.

Owens once again led the Sycamore receivers with six receptions for 79 yards, including the big 38-yard score in the fourth quarter. A.J. Johnson had five receptions for 60 yards while Dimitri Taylor had a 47-yard reception on a swing pass.

Kendall Walker and Conlan Cassidy tied for team-high honors with nine total tackles each. Mark Sewall was just behind them with eight while Connor Underwood and Donovan Layne tallied seven stops each. Underwood had the only quarterback sack of the game, and now has at least one in each of the Sycamores' five games.

The Sycamore defense recorded seven tackles for a loss in the game, including two from Sewall. Walker, Underwood, Layne, Lough, Alex Stowers and Patrick McCown also each made a tackle for a loss. Underwood forced a fumble on the Panther's final drive while DeJuan Lang had an interception.

Indiana State won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. The Indiana State defense allowed just one first down before forcing a punt. The Sycamores took over a their own 22-yard line where Perish found Owens for an eight-yard completion. After picking up a first down, Perish then connected with Kyani Harris for 20 yards over the middle to move into UNI territory. The Panthers were flagged for pass interference to move to the 14, but Logan was stopped for a three-yard loss on the ensuing play. Logan then burst through the left side for a 17-yard touchdown and Eric Heidorn tacked on the extra point for the 7-0 lead with 7:45 remaining in the first quarter.

The defense came right back to force a three-and-out and the Sycamores took over on their own 33-yard line. On the first play, Perish found Taylor on a 47-yard catch and run which moved the ball down to the UNI 20. After losing 10 yards on a completion, Perish found Johnson for 18 yards down the left sideline to get to the 12. Perish went right back to Johnson to 12 and Logan rushed to the one. Perish used a pair of quarterback sneeks to plunge in on third-and-goal for the 14-0 lead at the 3:15 mark of the first quarter.

UNI got on the board with 6:48 remaining before the half on a five-yard rush by Kollmorgen to trim the Sycamore advantage down to 14-7. UNI would then get down to the ISU two-yard line before the defense stopped David Johnson for a two-yard loss and the Panthers settled for a 21-yard Schmadeke field goal to make it 14-10 with 1:54 on the clock.

Perish was intercepted on the first play of the next drive by Deiondre' Hall to set the Panthers up with a short field. UNI would move it just nine yards on four plays and Schmadeke came in to connect on a 48-yard field goal with 1:02 remaining as Indiana State held a 14-13 lead at the break.

The Panthers took the lead on a 30-yard field goal from Schmadeke at the 9:46 mark of the third quarter as both teams' defenses took over. UNI moved down to the 14-yard line and Kollmorgen's pass to the end zone was knocked down by Garrick Ratliff and Schmadeke hit a 31-yard field goal as the Panthers edged their lead out to 19-14 with 14:48 left to play.

The two teams exchanged defensive stands before the Sycamores took over at their own 17-yard line and went 83 yards on nine plays as O'Leary found Owens on the trick play for the 20-19 lead.

Johnson led the Northern Iowa offensive attack with 24 rushes for 127 yards in the contest.

The Sycamores will look to make it three wins in a row over a nationally-ranked opponent when they host Illinois State on Saturday, October 11 in the annual Homecoming contest. Kick-off is set for 3:05 p.m. (ET) and will be televised on Comcast Chicago as well as ESPN3.