ERIE — Shamar Greene shined on the ground. Liam Nadler was put there.

Repeatedly.

That combination led Slippery Rock University to a critical 41-14 college football victory over Gannon Saturday at McConnell Family Stadium.

Greene returned to the Rock lineup after missing two games with an ankle injury to rush for 100 yards and three touchdowns. That included a 21-yard scoring run that capped a 67-yard drive with 28 seconds left in the first half.

Greene's two-point conversion run then knotted the game at 14 going into intermission.

“That drive was huge for us. It changed the momentum of the game,” SRU coach George Mihalik said.

The game was played in steady rain and a stiff wind. The Rock (4-1, 1-1) chose to take the wind in the third quarter and quickly took command of the game.

Marcus Martin sacked Gannon quarterback Nadler inside the Golden Knights' 15 to force a three-and-out to begin the second half. Jaimire Dutrieuille returned the punt 32 yards to the Gannon 8-yard line and Greene scored on the next play.

Another Gannon three-and-out was followed by a 20-yard punt. Greene's 3-yard touchdown run capped a 12-play, 45-yard march and Gannon (3-2, 0-2) never threatened to get back in the game.

Greene was held to 27 yards on his first 10 carries before his first scoring run of the day.

“It took us a while to get going,” he admitted. “But once our running game finds a groove ... We believe the only thing that can stop us is us.”

Isiah Neely scored on runs of 28 and 25 yards in the fourth quarter as SRU won going away.

The Rock defensive front took over the game. Gannon was limited to 87 net yards in the second half. Nadler was sacked seven times on the day, lost two fumbles and was knocked to the ground on numerous other occasions.

The senior quarterback completed just 18 of 45 passes and saw his NCAA Division II record of 312 consecutive passes without an interception end when Mike Grata deflected a pass into the arms of cornerback Alfon Cook. Cook raced 70 yards for the game's first touchdown midway through the first quarter.

“Their defensive line just beat our offensive front,” Gannon coach Brad Rzyczycki said. “We couldn't keep them out and we made a lot of mistakes as a result.”

Mihalik agreed.

“We came in here wanting to put pressure n Nadler. He's a cool customer back there, but I think we made him uncomfortable and forced some things,” he said.

The Golden Knights committed only one turnover in their first four games combined. They turned the ball over three times in the first seven minutes Saturday, five times on the day.

“We play for turnovers,” Cook said. “You're always looking to take the ball because plays like that can be game-changers.”

Martin had 2.5 sacks for The Rock, Butler graduate Bob Vernick and Cody Conway two each.

“We changed things up today, using a lot more slants in our pass rush rather than twists,” Martin said. “We did some long slants, brought different linebackers.

“We confused their line to the point that they didn't know who to block.”

Late in the third quarter, The Rock faced a fourth down from its own 11 and Gannon had a chance to gain possession near midfield. But SRU punter Andrew Huska launched a school-record 78-yard punt and the Golden Knights were pinned back to their own 14.

SRU's previous record for longest punt was 76 yards, set by Jeff Williams in a 1982 game against Shippensburg.

“Andrew has done a tremendous job in flipping field position fior us since he's been here,” Mihalik said of his senior punter. “That was a big punt at the time and denied them a chance to get back in the game.”

Fighting the wind earlier in the game, Huska delivered punts of just 23 and 20 yards on his first two attempts.

“The elements can mess with you mentally,” he admitted. “You can hit the ball well and may only get 30 to 35 yards against a strong wind.

“I stayed with it. That (78-yarder) felt good. I'm here to help the team win, like everybody else.”

Notes: Martin had 11 tackles and Vernick nine for SRU. Grove City graduate Foster Reznor paced Gannon with nine tackles from his cornerback position. Safety Mike Zanders had nine tackles as well. “He's been our most dependable player back there,” Rzyczycki said of Reznor. ... Greene's 100-yard rushing effort was his third of the season and he moved into 11th place on The Rock's career rushing list. He needs 47 yards to crack the top 10 ... The Rock blocked both of Gannon's PAT tries Saturday, but the Golden Knights blocked SRU's first PAT try and returned it for two points. ... Gannon dropped its fifth straight homecoming game. ... SRU won a game in Erie for the first time since Gannon and Mercyhurst joined the PSAC in 2008.

SRU 41, Gannon 14

Slippery Rock 6 8 13 14 — 41

Gannon 8 6 0 0 — 14

SRU G

16 First Downs 18

50-193 Rushes-Yards 37-58

124 Passing Yards 222

13-28-0 Comp.-Att.-Int 18-45-1

317 Total Yards 280

2-1 Fumbles-Lost 6-4

10-97 Penalty Yards 7-45

First Quarter

SRU — Alfon Cook 70 interception return (kick blocked), 8:20

G — Dezmon Hopkins blocked PAT return, 8:20

G — Brock Jones 3 run (kick blocked)

Second Quarter

G — Jesstin Hamm 71 punt return (kick blocked), 4:50

SRU — Shamar Greene 21 run (Greene run), :28

Third Quarter

SRU — Greene 8 run (Mike Wainauskis kick), 12:55

SRU — Greene 4 run (kick failed), 7:10

Fourth Quarter

SRU — Isiah Neely 28 run (Wainauskis kick), 11:25

SRU — Neely 25 run (Wainauskis kick), 5:10

Individual Statistics

Rushing: SRU, Shamar Greene 26-100, Isiah Neely 6-64, Julian Durden 8-31, Dante Nania 8-3, TEAM 2-(-5). Gannon, Brock Jones 21-82, Zach Phillips 3-15, Tyler Johnson 2-3, TEAM 2-(-9), Liam Nadler 9-(-33).

Passing: SRU, Dante Nania 13-28-124-0. Gannon, Liam Nadler 18-45-222-1.

Receiving: SRU, Marcus Carter 4-46, Cornelius Raye 4-38, Taishan Ticker 2-13, Drew Scales 1-12, Leroy McClain 1-10, Brett Crensjhaw 1-5. Gannon, Eli Quinter 8-119, Brock Jones 3-42, Jesstin Hamm 3-24, Tyler Johnson 2-23, Brendan Klemensic 2-14.