Panthers' victory hurts YSU chances

Northern Iowa beat Southern Illinois to earn the conference's automatic bid.
STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Jamie Goodwin caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Eric Sanders with 2:38 left, giving Northern Iowa a 25-24 victory over Southern Illinois on Saturday and a share of the Gateway Conference championship.
Northern Iowa (7-3, 5-2 Gateway) tied Southern Illinois (7-3, 5-2) and Youngstown State for the title and gets the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs because it beat both teams.
Goodwin's touchdown catch, his second of the game, gave Northern Iowa its only lead after the Panthers trailed 24-10 heading into the fourth quarter.
Southern Illinois drove to its own 49 with less than a minute to play, but Northern Iowa's Darin Heideman stopped Arkee Whitlock a yard short of a first down on a fourth-down reception. The Panthers then ran out the clock.
Heideman made another big play earlier in the quarter, recovering a Southern Illinois fumble at his own 24. Northern Iowa then drove 76 yards in seven plays to get a touchdown on Sanders' 13-yard pass to Patrick Hunter, cutting the lead to 24-19 with 6:56 to play.
After the Salukis went three-and-out, Northern Iowa drove 79 yards in eight plays for the winning touchdown.
Joel Sambursky staked Southern Illinois to its 14-point lead with touchdown passes of 25 yards to Kellen Allen and 28 yards to Micah Turner. Brian Wingert started Northern Iowa's comeback with a 21-yard field goal 40 seconds into the fourth quarter.
Sanders also threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Goodwin and finished 22-of-33 for 272 yards and no interceptions. Sambursky was 22-of-29 for 253 yards and no interceptions
It marked the second straight season the Panthers had rallied at the end of the season. A year ago they won their final four games to finish at 7-4 and just missed out making the playoffs.
W. Illinois 34, Missouri St. 24
MACOMB, Ill. -- Steve LaFalce completed 21 of 30 passes for 236 yards Saturday to lead Western Illinois in a 34-24 win over Missouri State,
LaFalce also ran 13 times for 58 yards and two touchdowns. Travis Glasford added 210 rushing yards and two touchdowns for Western Illinois (5-6, 3-4 Gateway), which gained 514 total yards.
A.J. Porter led Missouri State (4-6, 2-5 Gateway), completing 18 of 25 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bears scored 17 points in the second quarter to take a 17-14 halftime lead. But the Leathernecks responded with 17 unanswered points to start the second half.
Missouri State managed only 45 rushing yards in the loss.
Illinois St. 70, Indiana St. 28
NORMAL, Ill. -- Luke Drone completed 24 of 33 passes for 440 yards and five touchdowns to lead Illinois State on a 70-28 rout of winless Indiana State on Saturday.
Laurent Robinson caught 14 of Drone's passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns. Drone also connected with Pierre Jackson and Jason Horton on scores of 51 and 14 yards, respectively.
Cortes Rice added 121 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries for Illinois State (7-4, 4-3 Gateway), which gained 708 total yards in the win.
Andre Forte led Indiana State (0-11, 0-7 Gateway), running for 142 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries.
Forte gave the Sycamores a 7-0 lead on a 9-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, but the Redbirds scored 35 unanswered points to take a 28-point halftime lead.