Northern Iowa edges Lamar 16-13 in FCS playoffs

Nov 25, 2018, 01:39 am

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.