Jaxon Dailey Accounts for Three Scores as Northern Iowa Holds Off Illinois State
Jaxon Dailey went 13 of 17 for 217 yards, threw two touchdown passes, ran for a third, and Northern Iowa had a 28-14 lead before Illinois State got another score. The Panthers held on for a 28-21 win, and both teams sit at 2-1 afterward.
It started even. Dailey hit Ayden Price from 6 yards out in the first quarter, Illinois State's Gage Roy answered with a 14-yard touchdown to Dylan Lord, and that was the only tie of the day at 7-7. From there Northern Iowa pulled away. Dailey ran in a 28-yard score early in the second quarter, then found Kai Black from 7 yards with 4:33 left in the half for a 21-7 lead.
Illinois State cut it to 21-14 on a 9-yard Victor Dawson run with 7:30 left in the third. That lasted 1 minute and 42 seconds. Xavier Terrell took the next handoff 43 yards to the house and it was 28-14. Nobody scored again until Roy found Alex Herrera from 26 yards with 2:20 to go, which made the final margin seven. The Redbirds never got back in front after that 7-7 tie, so the late touchdown was a footnote, not a scare.
The ground game was the difference. Northern Iowa ran 32 times for 200 yards and Illinois State 31 times for 119. The Redbirds lost a fumble, while the Panthers lost no turnovers.
Fantasy-wise, the best score came from the winning side, but the second best came from the losing one. Lord caught 12 passes (yes, twelve) for 88 yards and a touchdown, a season high for him. Roy threw two touchdowns and no interceptions, though three carries cost him 11 yards. A quiet 18.6 for a quarterback who lost.