After a tough loss last week in Southern Utah, the Panthers showed how well they could recover as they cruised past Southern Illinois with a final score of 24-17.

The Panthers’ offense enjoyed a great day in Carbondale, as quarterback Eli Dunne completed his first game this season with no interceptions. He threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns, connecting with Daurice Fountain, Elias Nissen and Trevor Allen in the endzone. The running game totalled 161 yards on 44 carries but went without a touchdown.

Fountain enjoyed his third straight game with a great performance, this time catching seven passes for 106 yards and a touchdown. Over the last three games, Fountain has racked up more than 320 yards and four touchdowns, emerging as Dunne’s number one target on deep plays.

Running back Allen also showed how effective he could be both on moving the ball on the ground and through the air. Running for 77 yards on 18 carries as well as catching three passes for 17 yards and a touchdown, Allen has proven himself early in his collegiate career.

With the emergence of an improved running game, Dunne threw the ball 36 times this week, as opposed to the 48 he threw last week.

This week, senior linebacker Jared Farley enjoyed nine total tackles. Huge impact interceptions from Malcolm Washington and Jake Hartford put the Salukis offense on their heels, and tackles for a loss of yardage shunted their run game early. The Panthers have been forcing many turnovers this season, grabbing at least one in every game so far.  

However, UNI’s pass rush failed to get to Southern Illinois quarterback Sam Straub. This quarterback pressure is needed and missing.

The next game for UNI will be their Homecoming matchup against Western Illinois, who has dominated several opponents — some by over 40 points. However, they did lose a close five-point game to South Dakota. The game will be played on Oct. 10th at the UNI-Dome. Kick-off is set for 4 p.m.