For 54 minutes, Northern Iowa dictated play on offense with dual-threat quarterback Tirrell Rennie and on defense forcing four Iowa State turnovers.

That changed with just under six minutes remaining.

ISU quarterback Steele Jantz overcame his early struggles by leading two scoring drives in the final 5:37 of the game, giving Iowa State a 20-19 season-opening victory over Northern Iowa in front of 54,672 fans, the largest crowd to ever see an ISU home opener.

“I figured those people deserved to see a 60 minute football game and they certainly got to see it,” ISU head coach Paul Rhoads said.

The Lowdown

It took him three tries but with 40 seconds remaining in the game, Steele Jantz ran into the ISU offensive line spun to his left and stumbled into the South end zone at Jack Trice Stadium giving Iowa State a 20-19 lead. Northern Iowa got the ball back but an attempted hook and lateral play was intercepted by defensive end Willie Scott, sealing the victory for Iowa State.

After a slow and penalty-filled first half, the offenses for both teams ignited in the fourth quarter as both Jantz and Rennie completed six passes apiece as the teams traded touchdowns in the final four and a half minutes.

Jantz connected with wide receiver Josh Lenz in the back right corner of the end zone on a 26-yard pass play with 4:30 remaining. The Panthers responded with an 80-yard pass play by UNI quarterback Tirrell Rennie to running back David Johnson who sprinted down the left sideline to put UNI ahead 19-14.

“What I issued the guys on the last two drives is that you have to go out and execute and do your jobs, guys started doing their jobs,” Rhoads said.

After a miserable performance last season in Iowa State’s 27-0 win over Northern Iowa, Rennie keyed the Panthers’ offensive attack and did not commit a turnover. Rennie ended the night with 181 yards passing and a touchdown on 15 of 32 attempts and led all rushers with 127 yards on 18 carries.

“It’s real difficult but the best thing about this game was that it showed our improvement,” Rennie said. “If we linger on this loss, all we’re going to do is fail.”

After UNI kicker Tyler Sievertson booted a 42-yard field goal on the opening drive, ISU went scoreless on their first five offensive drives. They got the ball back with 3:23 remaining in the first half and drove down to the red zone with under a minute remaining. After a pair of reviewed catches in the end zone and two pass interference calls on UNI cornerback Varmah Sonie, Jantz scored on a one-yard touchdown run as time expired in the first half.

Turning Point

Facing a 13-7 deficit with 5:37 left in the game, the ISU offense took the field starting on their own 39-yard line. Jantz, who had only completed 42 percent of his passes and had thrown three interceptions, took to the air completing passes of 10 and 25 to move the Cyclones into UNI territory. 

After three incomplete passes, Iowa State faced a 4th and 10 from the UNI 26 and down by six they lined up in a must-convert situation. Jantz rolled out to his right and heaved the ball to the back right corner of the end zone, nailing Lenz just before he went out of bounds. 

“That fourth down play Steele did a great job of scrambling out and as soon as he started to scramble out I just went opposite of the field to the end zone and he found me,” Lenz said.

The play was called a touchdown, reviewed and then confirmed as a touchdown giving Iowa State a 14-13 lead with 4:30 left to play.

“It was fourth down so it was do or die,” Jantz said. “I was running out of room I saw Josh and I gave him a shot and he made an amazing play. I give all the credit to him on that one.”

X Factor

Steele Jantz, Iowa State quarterback

After three interceptions through the first three quarters, Jantz switched gears in the final quarter, throwing for 113 yards and a touchdown and rushing for the game-winning touchdown, a 1-yard plunge with 40 seconds remaining.

“What I told him in the locker room was that I saw him do things that he had never done,” Rhoads said. “There were throws he made off of the wrong foot, there were throws where his hips were open. We saw flashes of the guy that he is and that he can be.”

The junior college transfer from City College of San Francisco accounted for 267 of ISU’s 328 yards in the game, completing 18 of 40 passes for 187 yards and rushing for 80 yards on 20 carries.

By the Numbers

4: Turnovers for Iowa State. Jantz threw three interceptions and sophomore running back Shontrelle Johnson lost a fumble.

113: Fourth-quarter passing yards by Jantz. He had thrown for only 74 yards through three quarters.

134: Combined penalty yards for both teams in the first half. UNI’s 10 penalties for 78 yards totaled more than either team’s passing yardage during the first half.

207: Total rushing yards by Jantz (80) and Rennie (127). Each player led his team in rushing and ran for more yards than all of the team’s running backs combined.

54,672: Fans in attendance at Jack Trice Stadium. The fourth largest crowd in Jack Trice Stadium history and the largest crowd to ever see an ISU home opener.

Up next for Iowa State

The Cyclones will be back in Jack Trice Stadium to host the Iowa Hawkeyes in the annual Cy-Hawk rivalry game at 11 a.m. next Saturday. The Hawkeyes rolled over FCS opponent Tennessee Tech 34-7 to open the season at Kinnick Stadium. Leading the Hawkeyes was quarterback James Vandenberg who threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Marvin McNutt caught six passes for 140 yards and both touchdown tosses from Vandenberg. Iowa has won three straight against the Cyclones and leads the all-time series 39-19.