Cedar Falls, IA -- (Sports Network) - Pat Grace threw for 255 yards and ran for 84 yards and two scores while Terrell McMoore's 36-yard interception return for a TD in the third quarter put Northern Iowa ahead for good, as the Panthers held on for a 36-34 win over New Hampshire at the UNI-Dome.

The Panthers (12-2) advance to take on Richmond in the semifinals after the Spiders upset three-time defending national champion Appalachian State with a convincing 33-13 victory earlier Saturday.

Grace was 18-of-26 passing with a pick while the Panthers' defense forced six turnovers and recorded two sacks, including one late in the fourth that helped seal the win.

New Hampshire (10-3) got rushing touchdowns from Chad Kackert, Robert Simpson and R.J. Toman, who also threw for a score on 16-of-30 passing for 243 yards with four picks.

Terrance Fox hauled in the TD pass as part of a three-catch, 82-yard performance while Kackert led the stymied Wildcats' rushing attack with 37 yards.

Trailing by one to open the second half, Billy Hallgren knocked through a 35- yard field goal, allowing UNI a 29-27 advantage a little over two minutes into the frame.

Things stayed tight until McMoore's pick and ensuing score opened up a nine- point lead for the Panthers with 3 1/2 minutes to play in the third.

Simpson's one-yard score just about 2 1/2 minutes into the fourth got the Wildcats back to within two, but, Toman was picked off on UNH's next series.

The Wildcats had one last try for the win -- getting the ball back with nearly 3 1/2 minutes to play -- but Toman was sacked to force a 4th-and-9 and the ensuing play saw Toman's pass fall harmlessly to the turf, sealing the UNI win.

Grace logged the game's first TD on a 14-yard run but Kackert answered with a 17-yard scoring run midway through the first to tie the score. Following a UNI safety, Hallgren drilled a 45-yard field goal to put the Panthers up by five with 53 seconds left in the opening quarter.

Toman and Fox hooked up for a 67-yard score to open the second. The extra point was no good but Toman took it in himself on the next series for a nine- yard score to push the Wildcats' lead to 20-12.

Corey Lewis' one-yard TD run got the Panthers within one, 20-19, and Grace's second rushing score of the game, this time from five yards out, allowed UNI a 26-20 lead with 3 1/2 minutes left until the break.

However, John Clements picked off a Grace offering and took it back 100 yards for a score on the last play of the second quarter -- giving UNH a 27-26 lead at the half.