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IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Northern Iowa football team was seven seconds away from springing the biggest upset in the program’s history.

After driving 69 yards in approximately two minutes, the Panthers needed just a 40-yard field goal from Billy Hallgren to upend 22nd-ranked Iowa on Saturday at Kinnick Stadium.

But in a game filled with twists and turns, UNI had its heart broken twice in a 17-16 defeat.

“It hurts a lot,” UNI receiver and former Burlington standout Jarred Herring said.

Hallgren had his 40-yard field goal try blocked by Broderick Binns, but since the Panthers attempted the kick on first down and the ball didn’t pass the line of scrimmage, it was ruled a live ball.

UNI tight end Ryan Mahaffey jumped on it, giving the Panthers a second field goal attempt with one tick remaining. Once again, Hallgren’s kick was swatted away – this time by Jeremiha Hunter to secure the Hawkeye victory.

“They’ll remember this game for the rest of their lives,” UNI coach Mark Farley said. “And it will hurt for the rest of their lives.”

UNI, which hadn’t knocked off Iowa in 101 years, built a 13-3 lead after Hallgren nailed a 34-year field goal early in the third quarter.

Iowa charged back with two touchdowns.

Quarterback Ricky Stanzi, who struggled with his accuracy in the first half, completed 16 of 21 passes in the closing half for 179 yards.

Redshirt freshman Adam Robinson ran for 63 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to three.

The Hawkeyes (1-0) snared the lead for good when Stanzi hooked up with tight end Tony Moeaki for a 6-yard touchdown strike with 13-plus minutes left in the game.

Moeaki, the frequently injured senior, caught a career-high 10 passes for 83 yards.

“It was great having Tony out there because he brings a lot of versatility; not only on the passing team but he is a heck of a blocker,” Stanzi said.

Iowa had a chance to pad its lead, but UNI stopped the Hawkeyes on fourth down inside its 35-yard line.

The Panthers responded with a 12-play drive that resulted in Hallgren’s third field goal with 4:26 remaining.

After UNI forced an Iowa punt, the Panthers started their final series at their own 8 with 2:14 left.

Quarterback Pat Grace, who threw for 270 yards, completed six of seven passes to get UNI into Hallgren’s range.

But UNI’s upset quest ended with a bang. Or in this case, it was two thuds.

“We knew that he was kicking the ball real low so I just told the defensive linemen to put their hands up and give it all they got,” Hunter said.

Meanwhile, it was a bitter pill to swallow for the Panthers.

“We came here to win this football game,” Farley said. “It’s not a matter of if UNI will beat Iowa. It’s a matter of when it’s going to happen.

“It should have happened today, and we didn’t make the play at the end. That’s football.”

Iowa 17, Northern Iowa 16

Northern Iowa 3 7 3  3 — 16

Iowa 3 0 7  7 — 17

First Quarter

Iowa - Daniel Murray 39 field goal, 9:17

UNI - Billy Hallgren 39 field goal, 4:22

Second Quarter

UNI - Ryan Mahaffey 14 pass from Pat Grace (Hallgren kick), 5:40

Third Quarter

UNI - Hallgren 34 field goal, 12:27

Iowa - Adam Robinson 11 run (Murray kick), 9:41

Fourth Quarter

Iowa - Tony Moeaki 6 pass from Ricky Stanzi (Murray kick), 13:18

UNI - Hallgren 39 field goal, 4:26

Team statistics

 UNI Iowa

First downs 18 19

Rushes-yards 32-84 31-87

Passing yards 270 242

Comp-Att-Int. 23-38-0 22-34-0

Return yards (-2) 1 

Punts-avg. 7-38.4 5-42.8

Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-2

Penalties-yards 10-71 2-15

Time of possession 31:56 27:59

Individual statistics

Rushing

UNI — Carlos Anderson 24-75, Jarred Herring 2-12, Team 1-0, Pat Grace 5-(-3).

Iowa — Adam Robinson 15-63, Paul Chaney 1-28, Paki O’Meara 9-16, Brett Morse 1-16, Ricky Stanzi 5-(-36).

Passing

UNI — Grace 23-37-0, 270 yards, TD.

Iowa — Stanzi 22-34-0, 242 yards, TD.

Receiving

UNI — Jarred Herring 6-100, D.J. Hord 3-46, Ryan Mahaffey 3-29, Anderson 3-28, Maurice Turner 3-27, Schuylar Oordt 2-25, D.P. Eyman 3-15.

Iowa — Tony Moeaki 10-83, Trey Stross 3-61, Marvin McNutt 5-48, Derrell Johnson-Koulianos 1-22, Allen Reisner 1-12, Chaney 1-9, Morse 1-7.