The 11th ranked UNI Panthers fell victim to the upset bug on Saturday, when they dropped a Missouri Valley Football Conference game on the road at South Dakota, 28-25.

After trailing by as much as 11 points, the Panther comeback fell just short in the fourth quarter.

The first quarter ended in a 14-14 tie, after UNI and South Dakota traded touchdowns back and forth.  Aaron Bailey punched a 12-yard run into the end zone to even the score 7-7, in response to a 67-yard South Dakota touchdown run.

Then, after another South Dakota touchdown, UNI responded with a 12-play drive, capped by a 17-yard touchdown pass to Michael Malloy.

The second quarter saw UNI briefly take a 17-14 lead on a 29-yard Austin Errthum field goal.

Seconds later, South Dakota answered with a 75-yard touchdown pass.  UNI went into halftime trailing 21-17.

In the third quarter, UNI’s offense struggled, being forced to punt and also being picked off.  Late in the third quarter, South Dakota tacked on seven more points on a 29-yard touchdown pass.  This put the Coyotes up 28-17.

In the final quarter, UNI capped a long drive off with another short run by Bailey into the end zone. The Panthers were able to score the two-point conversion on a pass to Trevor Allen.

This drive pulled UNI within three, down 28-25.  The Panthers had a couple missed chances, including a 34-yard field goal to tie, and being forced a turnover on downs in the waning minute.

Offensively, the Panthers were led by Bailey’s 149-passing and 95-rushing yards.  Bailey also combined for all three of UNI’s touchdowns: two rushing and one passing.

Tyvis Smith carried the ball for 102 yards and seven UNI receivers had catches on the day.  The offense accounted for 378 total yards of offense.

Defensively, UNI gave up 385 yards of total offense, but forced one turnover.  For the second week in a row, junior defensive back Malcolm Washington had an interception, making that two on the season.

Karter Schult led the way for the defense with eight tackles.  D’Shawn Dexter and Duncan Ferch were right behind Schult with seven apiece.

UNI falls to 2-3 on the year, but hope to bounce back to .500 next week while on the road at the 13th-ranked Youngstown State Penguins.

Youngstown State is 4-1 on the season, with their only loss coming on the road at FBS West Virginia.  The Penguins are coming off of a road win at #23 Illinois State.  Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.