Upper Iowa took a 19-14 lead into halftime of their game on Saturday night in Fayette, but Southwest Minnesota State University put 20 points on the board in the second half while shutting out the Peacock offense to post a 34-19 victory.  Blake Gimbel passed for 454 yards and 4 touchdowns to lead the Mustangs to victory and improve SMSU's record to 6-2 overall and 2-2 in the conference.  UIU is now 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the Northern Sun.
 
Midway through the third quarter, the Mustangs used a 10-play drive to take a 21-19 lead on a 3-yard pass from Gimbel to Dalton Jones.  The score put the visitors ahead by two, 21-19.  UIU's offense, which gained 199 yards of offense in the first half, was forced to punt on each of their first five possessions of the second half. 
 
Southwest Minnesota State pushed their lead to 28-19 with just over nine minutes to play as Gimbel connected on his third touchdown of the night.  On Upper Iowa's ensuing possession, the team had a fourth down run come up shy of the first down marker turning the ball over at their own 34-yard line with seven and a half minutes to play.  On a fourth and goal from the 15-yard line, the Mustangs closed out the game with Gimbel's fourth touchdown pass to the deep corner.
 
Trailing 34-19 with just over four minutes to play, the Peacocks' returner Jesse Vizzini claimed his second big kick return of the night.  Vizzini set up the Peacocks at the SMSU 34-yard line after a 49-yard return.  The return was the redshirt freshman's second longest of the night; in the first quarter he ran back a kick 70 yards to set up Brady Beuschel's first of two field goals on the night.  UIU couldn't take advantage of Vizzini's second big return falling by the 15-point margin.
 
The Mustangs came in with a very balanced offense, but abandoned the run early in the game as their passing game began to click.  The Peacocks held the normally-robust Mustang running game to just 22 yards on 31 carries, but allowed the 454 yards of passing to Gimble and his receivers. 
 
The Peacock offense went through freshman quarterback Brent Lammers after former starter Dimitri Morales was sidelined for the season following an injury at Winona State University during last week's game.  UIU put points on the board on their first drive when Lammers hit Jalen Amis over the middle for a 20-yard score, but the extra point attempt hit the upright and bounced away.
 
Following a score by SMSU, the Peacocks got a 26-yard field goal from Brady Beuschel.  The Mustangs found the endzone again on a Devontay Stevens 1-yard run, but Upper Iowa scored ten points in the final four minutes of the half.  Beuschel's second trifecta from 34 yards pulled UIU within two, 14-12.  Upper Iowa's final points of the half came after a punt was mishandled by the Mustangs and recovered by Vincent Otdoerfer at the 1-yard line.  Portis scored on the first play giving the home team their 19-14 halftime lead.
 
Lammers threw for 206 yards and a touchdown on 21 completions with 14 rushes for 41 yards.  Amis pulled in 8 catches for 69 yards and the game's first touchdown with a great one-handed grab.  Trey MacTaggart added 6 grabs for 56 yards.  Derrick Portis added 77 yards and a score on the ground.
 
Cole Stephen and Alex Wahl both accounted for 12 tackles apiece with 6 solo stops each.  Tate Thompson recorded 11 tackles, while Marcus McCoy, Isaac Freese and Zach Gardner all posted 7 tackles.  The team registered 8 tackles for loss with Jevell Rollins leading the way with 2 for loss.
 
The Peacocks will head to Sioux Falls, S.D. next Saturday to face Augustana University on Halloween.  The Vikings defeated the #5 Cougars of the University of Sioux Falls, 35-28, this afternoon.