While the offensive tempo dropped off in the second half, Carnes did not turn the ball over.

"It was a real good day," said Carnes. "We came out strong at the beginning of the game. We kind of slowed down in the second half, but we just had to eliminate the mistakes we were doing, keep moving forward, and that's what we did."

Remember those games when David Johnson was the workhorse? Welcome back.

Saturday, UNI's senior running back enjoyed his busiest day of the season. Carrying 29 times, Johnson rushed for 146 yards. He scored twice on bruising runs. The first, an 8-yarder, put UNI up, 10-0, in the first half. The last, a 17-yard power trip down the left sideline, widened the Panther lead to 27-7 in the fourth quarter.

Along the way, Johnson became UNI's career record holder in touchdowns with 51.

"I mean, David has always been a workhorse for us," said Carnes. "I was pretty much just going through my reads and (the Leathernecks) kept giving me the opportunity to keep giving David the ball. I know he was pretty tired today, but he stayed in there and kept going and kept pushing."