Northern Iowa edges Lamar 16-13 in FCS playoffs
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Marcus Weymiller rushed for 128 yards, Trevor Allen ran for 112 and Austin Errthum kicked three field goals as Northern Iowa edged mistake-prone Lamar 16-13 in a first-round FCS playoff game on Saturday.
The Panthers (7-5), making their 20th appearance in the FCS playoffs, will travel to play No. 6 seed UC Davis next Saturday.
Errthum kicked field goals in the first, second and fourth quarters, the final one a 35-yarder with 13:09 left for the final three-point margin.
Northern Iowa's Eli Dunne threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Rima to tie the game at 13 with two minutes left in the first half.
Lamar scored on a 73-yard pass play from Darrel Colbert to Kirkland Banks on the second play of the game but a botched conversion attempt left the score 6-0. Colbert connected with Case Robison on a 25-yard score later in the first quarter for a 13-3 lead.
But the Cardinals (7-5), making their first FCS playoff appearance, lost two fumbles in the red zone and had two field-goal attempts go wide right, all in the second half. Elvin Martinez's second miss, a 36-yarder, came with 2:50 left in the game and the Panthers were able to run all but 15 seconds off the clock.
Colbert was 14-of-25 passing for 268 yards, two TDs and an interception. Dunn was 8 of 21 for 107 yards, a TD and a pick.
Lamar outgained Northern Iowa 417-346.
Game Information
2023 Southland Conference Standings
Team | CONF | OVR |
---|---|---|
Nicholls | 7-0 | 6-5 |
Incarnate Word | 6-1 | 8-2 |
Lamar | 5-2 | 6-5 |
Houston Christian | 4-3 | 5-5 |
SE Louisiana | 3-4 | 3-8 |
Texas A&M-Commerce | 2-5 | 1-9 |
McNeese | 1-6 | 0-10 |
Northwestern State | 0-7 | 0-6 |
2023 Missouri Valley Football Conference Standings
Team | CONF | OVR |
---|---|---|
South Dakota State | 8-0 | 15-0 |
South Dakota | 7-1 | 10-3 |
Northern Iowa | 5-3 | 6-5 |
North Dakota | 5-3 | 7-5 |
North Dakota State | 5-3 | 11-4 |
Youngstown State | 5-3 | 8-5 |
Southern Illinois | 4-4 | 8-5 |
Illinois State | 4-4 | 6-5 |
Missouri State | 3-5 | 4-7 |
Murray State | 1-7 | 2-9 |
Indiana State | 1-7 | 1-10 |
Western Illinois | 0-8 | 0-11 |