South Dakota State 24, Northern Iowa 20

Recap

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Freshman quarterback Mark Gronowski threw for two touchdowns in his collegiate debut, including the game-winning 1-yard pass to Pierre Strong, Jr., with 19 seconds remaining as fifth-ranked South Dakota State recovered late for a 24-20 season-opening win Friday night at third-ranked Northern Iowa.

A native of Naperville, Illinois, Gronowski led the Jackrabbits on a 10-play, 75-yard game-winning drive that consumed more than five minutes. SDSU, which had not picked up first down in its five previous second-half drives, moved the chains three times before the decisive score, the last coming on a 43-yard pass from Gronowski to tight end Zach Heins down the left sideline to the UNI 3.

Full Recap (South Dakota State) | Full Recap (Northern Iowa) | Box Score

Stadium: UNI-Dome

Location: Cedar Falls, Iowa

Attendance: 2137

Duration: 04:45

SDSU: Mark Gronowski (194 PASS); Pierre Strong (91 RUSH); Zach Heins (90 REC);

UNI: McElvain,Will (165 PASS); Williams,Dom (28 RUSH); Hampton,Quan (65 REC);