In a slugfest between Missouri Valley Football Conference heavyweights, the fifth-ranked Jackrabbits landed a late one-two combo to stun the No.
But the night grew downright painful in the closing minutes after UNI had seemed to find its groove.
Thanks to a fumble recovery by Benny Sapp III on SDSU's 19-yard line, which was soon followed by a Will McElvain-to-Tysen Kershaw touchdown pass, UNI grabbed a 20-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Then, after the Panthers stuffed SDSU twice at the goal line, Gronowski took the snap with 24 seconds left and no timeouts remaining, rolled out and lobbed the ball over the rush to running back Pierre Strong Jr. in the right flat for the go-ahead score.
The defense got stingy and allowed SDSU only 8 yards total through its first five drives of the second half, but that simply set the stage for the Jackrabbits' final flurry.
Worse yet, another standout receive, Quan Hampton, left in the third quarter with an apparent head injury after getting flipped on an attempted catch.
- South Dakota State takes down Northern Iowa on late Pierre Strong touchdownSioux Falls Argus Leader
- UNI football: What we learned from the Panthers' last-second loss to South Dakota Statedesmoinesregister.com
- Gronowski's 3 total TDs help S. Dakota St. top N. Iowa 24-20FOXSports.com
- UNI football falls to South Dakota State in spring season-opener decided in final secondsThe Gazette: Eastern Iowa Breaking News and Headlines
- No. 5 South Dakota State scores late touchdown to beat No. 3 Northern IowaDraftKings Nation
- #3 UNI opens spring season with 24-20 loss to #5 SDSUKCRG
- Northern Iowa Panthers begins spring football seasoniHeartRadio
- UNI Set To Kick-off Historic Spring Football SeasonAM 950 KOEL
- UNI begns unique Spring season with loss to SDSUKCCI Des Moines
