The University of Northern Iowa Panthers suffered another setback, this time at the hands of the fourth ranked FCS superpower, North Dakota State on Saturday.

UNI, down by double digits early in the fourth quarter, was not able to complete the comeback.

UNI fell 7-0 in the first quarter after a pass from Eli Dunne was intercepted and returned to the 24, giving NDSU good field position.  UNI’s Austin Errthum tacked on a field goal on the ensuing drive, making it 7-3 early in the second quarter.

NDSU punched another score into the end zone, and UNI answered with a second field goal to head into halftime with a 14-6 score in favor of the Bison.

In the third, NDSU found the end zone yet again to go up 21-6.  Then, the UNI offense woke up a bit.

Capping off a solid drive, Dunne found Jaylin James for a 17-yard touchdown to pull the Panthers to 21-13.  On the subsequent drive, NDSU tacked on a little security with a field goal early in the fourth quarter.

However, UNI wasn’t done yet, and put together another solid drive capped by a Dunne to Briley Moore for a touchdown pass.  This made the score 24-20 with a little over 12 minutes left, but that score would stand.  NDSU shut down UNI after that point and held on to win.

UNI was led offensively behind two touchdowns and 216- passing yards from Dunne.  Dunne, however, threw four interceptions and was sacked three times.

Defensively, Damon Hendrix led the way with a dozen tackles.  Karter Schult added yet another sack to his list, extending his NCAA Division 1 lead.

Malcolm Washington and Elijah Campbell pulled down an interception each.

This setback drops UNI to 3-5 on the season, with only three games left.  The Panthers travel to Terra Haute, Indiana next week for a matchup with the Sycamores of Indiana State.  The game is set to kick off at noon.