A touchdown by Tyler Peschong in the final 25 seconds of the fourth quarter lifted the Mustangs to a 38-37 victory over Upper Iowa University. In the matchup, Peschong connected on 27 of 43 pass attempts, throwing for 252 yards and a touchdown. Peschong also rushed for 37 yards and a touchdown. Running back Warren Matthews finished the game with 108 rushing yards and two touchdowns. This was Matthews’ eighth 100-yard rushing game in his career, ranking him fifth in school history.

Gannon Moore caught six passes for 58 yards, as well as rushing for 40 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver Adam Olson caught a career-high five passes for 44 yards.

Leading the Mustang defense were Tate Bunkers, AJ Page, and Dashawn Miller, who racked up nine tackles apiece. Da’Ronte Smith had four tackles, on interception, and one pass break-up.

Offensively, UIU and SMSU  had big days, with the Peacocks racking up 457 yards and the Mustangs finishing with 437. This marks the fifth 400-yard offensive game of the season for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs started their final drive with a false start penalty on the 25-yard line. Peschong picked up the slack, completing four consecutive passes to advance the ball to the Mustang 46-yard line. Later in the drive, Peschong picked up an eight-yard run from the Peacock 43-yard line. After two consecutive completions, Peschong connected on an 11-yard pass to Moore, moving the ball to the UIU 14-yard line with one minute left on the clock.

After two incomplete passes, Peschong knocked down a 7-yard pass to junior tight end Cody Condon, advancing to the UIU 7-yard line with 31 seconds left in the game.

Following two Mustang timeouts, Peschong picked up the first down after running up the middle before pushing his way to the goal line, tying the game with 25 seconds remaining. Senior kicker Lance Schuveiller knocked down the PAT to give the Mustangs a one-point advantage.

The Peacocks began their own final drive at their own 14-yard line. They picked up a first down, but an interception by Smith on the final play sealed the Mustangs’ victory.

UIU started the game by taking the kickoff and moving the ball for 85 yards on 11 plays. The Peacocks capped off their first drive with a touchdown, missing the extra point for a score of 6-0.

After the Mustangs went three-and-out on their first drive, the Peacocks pushed their lead to 12-0 with a touchdown late in the first quarter, missing the two-point conversion.

SMSU came back early in the second quarter with a touchdown by Moore to cap off a 68-yard drive.

A 34-yard kickoff return by the Peacocks, in addition to an SMSU personal foul, started off a drive for UIU. UIU moved the ball to the 15-yard line, settling for a 32-yard field goal, increasing their lead to 15-7.

In the Mustangs’ next drive, Peschong connected with junior wide receiver Anthony Dean on a 41-yard reception, moving the ball to the Peacock 17-yard line. Soon after, Matthews pushed through UIU defense to score on a 17-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit to 15-14.

The Peacocks were forced to punt on their next drive. The punt landed on the Mustang 7-yard line.

The Mustangs put together an impressive drive, finishing off the 93-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown by Dean to give the Mustangs a 21-15 lead at halftime.

SMSU started off the second half with a punt following three plays, allowing UIU to regain a 22-21 lead with a 1-yard touchdown.

The Mustangs bounced back with a touchdown by Matthews after an 82-yard drive, giving them a 28-22 lead with just under five minutes left on the clock.

After exchanging punts, UIU scored on a 1-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, taking back a 29-28 lead. However, the Mustangs fought back with a 49-yard field goal by Schuveiller, making the score 31-29 with just under nine minutes left in the game.

Three minutes later, the Peacocks picked up an 8-yard touchdown with 5:37 left in the game, taking back a 37-31 lead before the Mustangs would put together a final, game-winning drive.

The Mustangs improve to a record of 3-5 in the NSIC (2-2 in the NSIC South), while the Peacocks drop to 2-6 in the NSIC (0-4 in the NSIC South).