GRAND FORKS, N.D. – In a back-and-forth game inside the Alerus Center, it was North Dakota (1-1, 1-0 MVFC) coming away victorious over No. 24 Northern Iowa (0-2, 0-1 MVFC), 29-27, on Saturday afternoon.
Tommy Schuster went 21-for-24 through the air for 297 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing seven times for 11 yards and a score in the win. Schuster's two points on a successful two-point conversion early in the fourth quarter ended up being the difference. With his 21 completions, Schuster has now completed the most passes in UND's Division I history with 429, breaking the previous record of 428 held by Keaton Studsrud (2014-17).
Bo Belquist and
Isaiah Smith were Schuster's favorite targets. Belquist had five receptions for 85 yards and a score, while Smith had five grabs for 65 yards.
Tyler Hoosman rushed 17 times for 101 yards and a touchdown, averaging 5.9 yards per carry.
Devon Krzanowski was the top Hawk defensively with five tackles.
Josh Navratil led UND with two sacks in key moments of the game, which is a career high to go with four tackles.
North Dakota scored on its first drive of the game, marching 41 yards down the field and ending with a three-yard touchdown pass from Schuster to Zavalney to put the Hawks up 7-0 early. The drive started with great field position, following a 58-yard opening kickoff return from
C.J. Siegel.
Northern Iowa found the scoreboard at the end of the first quarter, connecting on a 22-yard field goal attempt after eating up over six minutes of clock and racking up 78 yards of offense. In the early moments of the second quarter, the Panthers picked off Schuster in UNI territory and scored seven plays later, capped off by a 41-yard touchdown scamper from Dom Williams to give the Panthers the 10-7 lead.
North Dakota had a chance to even the score up at 10 as time expired with a 38-yard field goal attempt at intermission but it went wide right. To open the second half, the Panthers marched down the field and looked to be knocking on the door before a Navratil sack dropped Theo Day at the UND 12 and forced a field goal. Matthew Cook connected from 22-yards out to put UNI up 13-7 with 11:27 left in the third quarter.
UND reclaimed the lead with seven minutes left in the third quarter when Schuster connected to
Bo Belquist with a 39-yard touchdown pass to give the Fighting Hawks a 14-13 lead. On the following Northern Iowa possession, the Panthers were driving and in North Dakota territory until Navratil found Day for the second time of the day and dropped him for a loss. On the next play, the Panthers missed a field goal from 47-yards out.
Neither team would score again until the opening play of the fourth quarter when Hoosman punched it in from six yards out to put the Hawks up 20-13. Instead of opting for the extra point, UND chose to go for two and Schuster converted the try with his feet, juking a defender and reaching the end zone to make it a two-score game early in the fourth quarter.
Four plays later, Northern Iowa responded with a 47-yard scamper from Williams to trim the UND lead to 22-20.
Northern Iowa got the ball back following a UND punt, but
Wyatt Pedigo put an end to that drive with an interception with 10:00 minutes left in the game. North Dakota capitalized on the turnover and marched 77 yards down the field, scoring on a six-yard Schuster scamper to extend the Fighting Hawk lead to 29-20 with 7:08 left in the contest.
The back-and-forth contest continued with Northern Iowa scoring on the next play, with a 72-yard touchdown pass from Day to Deion McShane.
UND took over with 6:51 remaining in the game and picked up four first downs to hold on for the victory. The Panthers had a shot to get the ball back late in the game, but Schuster connected with Zavalney for a 24-yard completion to bring up the final first down of the game.
Postgame Notes
- North Dakota has now won 36-straight home openers, the longest home opening streak in the country.
- UND is now 44-12 in Potato Bowl USA history and is on a three-game Potato Bowl USA winning streak.
- UND has now either had the lead or a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter in each of its last 13 games.
- The Fighting Hawks piled up 134 yards on the ground and had 304 yards through the air for 438 yards of offense. Comparatively, the Panthers had 115 yards rushing and 334 yards passing for 449 yards of total offense.
- There were only three punts in the entire game, with UND having two punts to UNI's one.
- Zavalney has now caught a touchdown pass in the red zone in both of UND's games this season and is currently tied for No. 5 on UND's Division I history in career touchdown receptions with 9.
- With Belquist's touchdown grab in the third quarter, he now moves into a tie for No. 5 in UND's Division I history in career touchdown receptions with 9.
- Hoosman rushed for 101 yards, the first 100-yard game of his career.
- Caden Dennis recorded the first reception of his career, a 30-yard reception early in the opening quarter.
- Pedigo recorded the second interception of his career and now has two on the season.
- Navratil had two sacks in the game, good for a career high.
- Schuster went 21-of-24 passing for 297 yards through the air for two touchdowns while allowing one interception. With his 21 completions, Schuster has now completed more passes than anyone else in UND's Division I history in a career with 429, bettering the record of 428 set by Keaton Studsrud (2014-17).
How It Happened
First Quarter
13:27 – UND | Tommy Shuster finds
Adam Zavalney for a 3-yard touchdown pass. (Stevens kick). 4 plays, 41 yards, 01:23.
0:00 – UNI | Matthew Cook connects on a 22-yard field goal attempt. 13 plays, 78 yards, 06:17.
Second Quarter
05:52 – UNI | Dom Williams scampers in from 41-yards out to give the Panthers a 10-7 lead. (Cook kick). 7 plays, 68 yards, 03:37.
Third Quarter
11:27 – UNI | Matthew Cook makes a 22-yard field goal to extend the UNI lead to 13-7. 11 plays, 63 yards, 03:33.
07:00 – UND |
Bo Belquist scores on a 39-yard touchdown grab from
Tommy Schuster. (Stevens kick). 7 plays, 75 yards, 04:27.
Fourth Quarter
14:54 – UND |
Tyler Hoosman runs it in from six-yards out. (Schuster 2-point conversion). 9 plays, 70 yards, 4:40.
13:06 – UNI | Dom Williams scores on a 47-yard scamper. (Cook kick). 4 plays, 75 yards, 01:48.
7:08 – UND | Schuster rushes in for a six-yard TD. (Stevens kick). 5 plays, 77 yards, 02:49.
6:51 – UNI | Theo Day finds Deion McShane for a 72-yard TD pass. (Cook kick.) 1 play, 72 yards, 00:11.
