MANKATO, Minn. --- It may have been cold Saturday afternoon at Blakeslee Stadium, but it was not cold enough to cool off the top-rated Minnesota State football team as it defeated the Upper Iowa Peacocks 45-14 to claim its second NSIC Championship in as many seasons.

With the win, MSU improves to 11-0 on the season, while Upper Iowa finishes its season with a 6-5 record. The Mavericks have now won 33 straight NSIC games dating back to week one of the 2012 season. This is the third straight season MSU has completed a perfect 11-0 regular season.

Minnesota State started off fast as it marched right down the field on its opening possession that was capped off by a 22-yard touchdown run from senior Andy Pfeiffer. Upper Iowa would respond quickly as Cole Jaeschke threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first quarter to give the Peacocks a 14-7 lead at the end of the first.

It would be all Mavericks from the second quarter on as MSU scored 38 unanswered points to claim a 45-14 win.

Sophomore Ricky Lloyd knotted up the score with a one-yard touchdown run with 14:37 left in the second quarter, before redshirt freshman Nick Pieruccini ran in a touchdown run from 32 yards out to give the Mavericks a 21-14 lead. Junior Alden Haffar added a 20-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter to give the Mavericks a 24-14 lead heading into the half.

On MSU's first drive of the third quarter senior Dorian Buford caught his 13th touchdown pass of the season off a 12-yard pass from Pieruccini. Buford is now tied with Tywan Mitchell for the second-most touchdown catches in a season at MSU.

The Mavericks added another touchdown one possession later as Pieruccini connected with junior Bryce Duncan from eight yards out to put MSU up 38-14. Freshman Dylan Oleszak notched MSU's final touchdown of the game as he returned an interception 60 yards to pay dirt to bring the final score to 45-14.

Pieruccini finished the day connecting on 8-of-13 passes for 111 yards, including two touchdown passes. He also ran for 83 yards and a touchdown as well. Junior Connor Thomas led the Maverick rushing attack with 92 rushing yards.

Senior Austin Rieder led the Maverick receiving corps with 51 receiving yards. He also returned five punts for a total of 49 yards.

Junior Tyler Henderson led the Maverick defense with 12 tackles, including one for a loss. MSU also notched four interceptions as Oleszak, senior Nathan Hancock and juniors Rob Myers and Rumeal Harris each came away with an interception.

As a unit, the MSU defense held the Peacocks to just 217 yards of total offense, including 54 rushing yards.

Minnesota State will learn its postseason fate on Sunday during the NCAA Selection Show at 4 p.m. The selection show will be streamed online on NCAA.com. Fans are also invited to join the Maverick football team at Hooligans for a selection show watch party.
 
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