North Dakota State rallies to beat Northern Iowa 31-28

By foxsports
Published

FARGO, N.D. (AP) Carson Wentz threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Darrius Shepherd with 35 seconds remaining to lift North Dakota State over Northern Iowa 31-28 in a game between two top-10 FCS teams on Saturday.

After Northern Iowa (2-3, 0-2 Missouri Valley) missed a 38-yard field-goal attempt, Wentz led a 10-play, 79-yard drive capped by Shepherd's twisting catch while blanketed by two defenders in the corner of the end zone.

Wentz threw 33 yards to Shepherd with 7:49 left to lead 24-21 but on the first play after the ensuing kickoff Northern Iowa's Aaron Bailey broke loose for an 83-yard scoring run.

Wentz finished 26 of 40 for 335 yards and four scores but also threw his first two interceptions this season. Wentz had 143 attempts without a pick until then.

Bailey ran for 157 yards and Daurice Fountain had 110 yards receiving for the Panthers.

The Bison (4-1, 2-0) have won four straight.