North Dakota State Stops Northern Iowa 23-13 in FCS Quarterfinal

Saturday, December 12

Fargo, N.D.

11 a.m.

North Dakota State

11-2

Northern Iowa

9-5

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Northern Iowa	7	3	0	3	13
North Dakota State	7	0	7	9	23

Photo by: Richard Svaleson

North Dakota State Stops Northern Iowa 23-13 in FCS Quarterfinal

12/12/2015 3:00:00 PM | Football

Box Score

FARGO, N.D. - Bruce Anderson returned the second half kickoff for the go-ahead touchdown and North Dakota State's defense stiffened for a 23-13 victory over Northern Iowa in the NCAA Division I FCS quarterfinals Saturday, Dec. 12, before a crowd of 18,041 at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome.

Anderson spun away from two tacklers and went 97 yards to give NDSU a 14-10 lead at the start of the third quarter. King Frazier rushed for a game-high 107 yards including a four-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter that made it 21-10.

North Dakota State (11-2) limited Northern Iowa to 71 yards in the second half and a season-low 221 yards of total offense. The Bison forced the Panthers (9-5) into four straight three-and-outs after intermission before UNI got a field goal to cut the deficit to 21-13.

NDSU punter Ben LeCompte averaged 45.0 yards on six punts with five inside the 20 and a long of 62 yards. He pinned the Panthers at the 7-yard line with a well-placed 33-yard punt after UNI forced the Bison into a three-and-out with 3 minutes to play.

Defensive tackle Brian Schaetz sacked quarterback Aaron Bailey in the end zone for a safety on the first play of UNI's final drive to give NDSU a 23-13 lead. Zach Vraa recovered the on-sides kick and the Bison ran out the clock after Frazier gained a first down with a powerful nine-yard run to the UNI 26.

Linebacker Nick DeLuca made a game-high 16 tackles including eight solo stops for NDSU, and linebacker Pierre Gee-Tucker was in on 11 stops. Defensive tackle Nate Tanguay had a sack and cornerback CJ Smith broke up two passes.

NDSU quarterback Easton Stick was efficient completing 13 of 17 passes for 116 yards with zero interceptions. Bailey was 10 of 16 passing for 101 yards and one touchdown for UNI.

Bailey and running back Tyvis Smith, the first dual 1,000-yard rushers in UNI history, combined for 91 yards on 34 carries. UNI receiver Brandon Smith caught a 25-yard touchdown pass on the game's opening drive and kicker Michael Schmadeke kicked field goals from 32 and 23 yards for the Panthers' only points.

No. 3 seed North Dakota State will host a semifinal round game against No. 7 seed Richmond next Friday, Dec. 18, or Saturday, Dec. 19. The Spiders won at No. 2 seed Illinois State 39-27 in the quarterfinals.