Iowa State got one last chance for a miracle. It wasn’t enough.
Northern Iowa’s David Johnson should’ve scored at the goal line, but a fumble with 1:44 to play gave the Cyclones a final opportunity to make a comeback.
But they started at their own 1-yard line and would’ve needed a miracle. They didn’t find one Saturday night, losing 28-20 to UNI after Sam Richardson’s pass on fourth-and-7 came up 3 yards short.
Northern Iowa, which went 5-6 last season, never trailed after taking a 14-7 lead and took its final lead on a Sawyer Kollmorgen 29-yard touchdown pass to Johnson. Kollmorgen threw for 218 yards and two scores.
Iowa State was undone by having to punt on three of its final four drives before the last-second effort out of its own end zone. Richardson threw for 242 yards and rushed for 74, but he couldn’t muster much in the fourth quarter in which ISU produced 45 total yards.
With the loss, the Big 12 went 2-2 against FCS schools on its opening weekend, and the Cyclones joined Kansas State at 0-1. ISU has a week off before its big rivalry game with Iowa.
