Trailing 25-16 less than one minute into the fourth quarter, the 2,000+ Peacock fans at Harms-Eischeid Stadium on Homecoming Saturday were thinking the same thing.  Now we have them where we want them.  Upper Iowa won its' third game thanks to a fourth quarter comeback and fourth win thanks to scoring the final points of the game in the fourth.  The Peacocks scored 15 unanswered points in the final quarter to rally and pull ahead of Augustana College by six points with just over five minutes to play.  UIU's defense stood up on the Vikings' final drive coming up with their sixth interception in the endzone on fourth down.  In all, the home team's defense forced seven turnovers to remain undefeated thanks to the 31-25 victory.  The Peacocks are now 5-0, a feat that has been 50 years in the making; the 1964 team opened their season with a 6-0 mark.

A Tim Rueb field goal from 30 yards gave the home team an early 3-0 lead, but Augustana fired back with a CJ Ham 11-yard touchdown run, a two-point conversion and a field goal of their own (32 yards) to move out in front 11-3 just seconds into the second quarter.  Chris Smith broke free and eluded a tackle to race across the goalline from 61 yards to pull UIU within one, 11-10, after the extra point.  CJ Ham scored again for Augustana on a screen pass from Chase Marso that covered 26 yards and gave the visitors an 18-10 lead heading to halftime.

Upper Iowa put the only points on the board in the third quarter as Lucas Hefty pulled in a 13-yard strike from Cole Jaeschke.  The play capped off a 5-play, 35-yard drive that came on the heels of Javon Moore's second interception.  The two-point conversion failed and UIU still trailed by two, 18-16.  

As the fourth quarter opened, the Peacocks faced a 3rd and 5 from their own 42-yard line.  Jaeschke hit Hefty on a crossing pattern and after the Peacock tight end was spun down to the ground the ball came out and it was ruled a fumble.  Chad Curry scooped it up and sprinted to the endzone for a 47 yard touchdown return and a nine-point lead, 25-16, for the Vikings less than a minute into the final frame.

Upper Iowa took the ensuing possession 64 yards in just 4 plays fueled by a 40-yard connection between Jaeschke and Derek Giesking.  Smith capped off the run with a with his second touchdown run (5 yards) of the day and twelfth of the season.

Four of UIU's six interceptions came in the redzone and two were touchback in the endzone.  UIU's Chayz Holt and Moore each picked off three passes including four in the second half.  A fumble by the Vikings midway through the fourth quarter gave the Peacocks the opportunity they needed to take the lead.  Joe Busch forced the fumble and Tyler Fisher pounced on it for the Peacocks.  Upper Iowa took over at Augie's 16-yard line and it only took two plays to score on a corner route from Jaeschke to Shay Gutman.  After a two-point pass from Jaeschke to Hefty, UIU held a 31-25 lead with 5:06 to play.

Still trailing by six, Augustana took the ball at their own 16-yard line with 3:03 showing on the clock.  Four plays later, the Vikings were at midfield.  Two plays after that, the Peacocks were now defending at their own 13-yard line in the shadow of their endzone.  After an incompletion on first down, a holding penalty backed the Vikings up to the 20-yard line.  Two more incompletions meant fourth down and the Peacocks came up big.  For the third time in the night, tying his counterpart, Holt, Moore picked off an Augie pass to spoil the Vikings' last try.

UIU held the Vikings to just 88 yards of rushing, but Augustana made up for it in their air attack with 337 yards.  The defense was led by Tyler Fisher, who recorded 12 tackles including 7 solo stops and two for loss with a fumble recovery.  Moore had a big night with three interceptions, 9 tackles (all solo) and a pair of pass breakups, while Holt also had three interceptions and a pair of tackles.  Alex Wahl made 8 tackles with one tackle for loss.  

Smith rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns bringing his season totals to 837 yards and 15 touchdowns.  Jaeschke completed 30 of his 46 passes for 286 yards and two scores and added five yards of rushing; the senior from Moorland, Iowa is now just 32 yards of total offense away from the all-time Northern Sun Conference career mark in that category.  Giesking pulled in 8 catches for 100 yards, while Gutman added 8 for 69 yards and a score.  Hefty caught 7 balls for 65 yards and a score and Trey MacTaggart had 5 catches for 48 yards.

The kickers also played well on the day.  Nate Skare punted 8 times averaging 41.4 yards per punt and resting two inside the 20-yard line, while Rueb just missed a 45-yard field goal at the end of the first half off the left upright and added 6 kickoffs with an average of 46.2 yards per kick.

The Peacocks will look to stay on a roll next week on the road in Marshall, Minnesota.  Upper Iowa will lock up with Southwest Minnesota State University on Saturday, Oct. 11, at 6 p.m.