CEDAR FALLS, Iowa  -  Western Illinois was held to 112 yards of total offense as No. 11 Northern Iowa's 398 total offensive yards drove past the Fighting Leathernecks, 34-0, Saturday in the UNI-Dome.

“UNI is a very good team and we are not where we want to be right now on offense and that showed tonight,” Western Illinois acting head coach Mark Hendrickson said. “They did what they showed on tape, which means they outplayed us up front. We were successful running the ball early, but not consistently.”

The Leathernecks (1-9, 0-7 MVFC) were held to only six first downs in the game, with half coming in the first quarter. Dre Gibbs rushed for five of the six first downs and accounted for the team's 52 net rushing yards as he gained 80 rushing yards. Although he was held under 100 yards rushing, Gibbs now has over 1,000 yards (1,007) in his ground game this season.

The Panthers (7-3, 5-2 MVFC) drove down the field in their first opportunity. Pat Grace's seven-yard touchdown completion to Ryan Mahaffey capped a nine-play, 73 yard scoring drive. Derrick Law had a 28-yard rush in the drive.

At the 8:40 mark of the second quarter, Grace found Jarred Herring in the end zone with a 56-yard pass for a 14-0 lead. The Leatherneck defense held Northern Iowa on its final scoring drive of the half, but a 42-yard field goal by Billy Hallgren extended the lead by 17 into halftime.

Another field goal in the third and a passing touchdown in the fourth increased the Panthers' score, 27-0. Quentin Scott picked off a Wil Lunt pass with 13:20 remaining in the game and returned it 45 yards for one final UNI score.

Lunt was 9-for-20 with three picks, while Grace went 9-for-17 with three touchdowns. Redshirt-freshman quarterback Cody Reardon made his first appearance as a Leatherneck.

“Wil Lunt had three interceptions and was hit on all three just before the ball left his hand,” Hendrickson explained. “They got to him more than we wanted them to. We weren't very consistent up front on the offense.”

Defensively, Kyle Glazier recorded 12 total tackles, putting him at a career-high 108 total tackles this season. Brandon Kreczmer chipped in nine tackles, including a sack for a loss of six yards, and recovered a fumble for Western.

Chris Fuchs averaged 45.2 yards per punt as he had eight punts for 362 yards, exceeding his previous game average (37.2). He had one punt inside the 20 and his long was 52 yards, also the longest this season.

Northern Iowa becomes only the fourth team in school history to shutout Western Illinois and the shutout is the the fifth in Western Illinois history.

“Our team knows there is only one way to approach this final week and it is to do it as we did the last 10 weeks. We will work hard all week and do all we can to win this ball game. The players and coaches will not alter from that plan,” Hendrickson stated.

The Fighting Leathernecks host South Dakota State at 1:05 p.m., Saturday at Hanson Field. The game marks the final game of the 2009 season.