UNI Set To Open Season At Iowa State

GAME NOTES IN PDF FORMAT
Game 1 at Iowa State
Time: 7 p.m. CT
Place: Ames, Iowa (Jack Trice Stadium)
TV: Cyclones.TV (Brent Blum, Sage Rosenfels)
Radio: 1540 KXEL, TuneIn.com

The Basics: The University of Northern Iowa football program kicks off the 2016 season with a road trip to Ames, Iowa for a battle against the Iowa State Cyclones. The game is set for a 7 p.m. kick on Cyclones.TV.

About the Cyclones: Iowa State returns a total of 16 starters to the gridiron (5 offense, 8 defense, 2 specialist) along with first-year head coach Matt Campbell. Campbell comes to the Cyclones after compiling a 35-15 record as the head coach at Toledo for four seasons. Iowa State is coming off a 2015 season where they finished 3-9 overall and 2-7 in Big 12 play. Like the Panthers, the Cyclones have a loaded season, matching up against five teams that landed in the preseason Top-25 polls (FBS).

Panther Quicks Hits:
• UNI landed at No. 5 in both the STATS and Coaches preseason polls after finishing off 2015 ranked No. 8 and No. 6, respectively.
• Head Coach Mark Farley earned his 129th career win against Portland State in 2015, tying him with Stan Sheriff as UNI's coaching wins leader.
• UNI welcomed the sixth-best recruiting class to campus this summer, ranked by Hero Sports.
• UNI had 14 All-MVFC selections in 2015, a league high.

Panthers by the Numbers:
• 18 appearances in the FCS playoffs
• 7 trips to the FCS semifinals
• 1 FCS National Championship appearance
• 7 Top-5 rankings since 2001
• 16 Missouri Valley Football Conference titles
• 6 seasons of 10+ wins since 2001
• 201 wins in the UNI-Dome
• 79 wins over Top-25 opponents
• 2 NFL MVPs (Kurt Warner, Bryce Paup)
• 46 first-team All-MVFC selections since 2007, the most in the league
• 78 wins in the MVFC under the direction of Mark Farley
• 23 student-athletes to the NFL since 2001

Tickets: Fans can purchase season and single game tickets to UNI football home games through UNITIX. Call 319-273-4849 or visit www.UNITIX.uni.edu.

How to Tune In: The game against Iowa State will air live on Cyclones.TV (Mediacom). Fans can also listen in on 1540 KXEL or www.UNIPanthers.com as Gary Rima and Scott Petersen call the action. Live stats will also be available via the Iowa State Athletics website (www.Cyclones.com).

Follow the Panthers Online: UNI fans can get all their Panther news and notes on UNIPanthers.com. Fans can also follow UNI on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/UNIAthletics and Twitter at @UNIAthletics. The UNI Football program also has individual accounts on Facebook (UNI Football) and on Twitter (@UNIFootball/@ CoachMarkFarley).

Join us at Pepper's: UNI will host a weekly press luncheon at Pepper's in Cedar Falls on Mondays at noon. All of the in-season head coaches will address the media with a weekly recap/preview of their team and then will be open to questions. All media and fans are welcome to attend.

Last Time Against Iowa State: UNI and Iowa State took the field in 2015 with the Cyclones topping the Panthers, 31-7. The game tied for the largest crowd in Jack Trice Stadium history with 61,500 in attendance. Out of the top-10 largest crowds in Iowa State history, three go to games against the Panthers (2015, 2013, 2007).

Farley Against the Cyclones

2001	ISU 45, UNI 0	Attendance: 47,092
2003	ISU 17, UNI 0	Attendance: 48,088
2004	ISU 23, UNI 0	Attendance: 42,865
2006	ISU 28, UNI 27	Attendance: 55,518
2007	UNI 24, ISU 13	Attendance: 56,795
2010	ISU 27, UNI 10	Attendance: 48,874
2011	ISU 20, UNI 19	Attendance: 54,672
2013	UNI 28, ISU 20	Attendance: 56,800
2015	ISU 31, UNI 7	Attendance: 61,500 (Jack Trice Record)

UNI against the FBS: UNI has an all-time record of 21-70-5 against FBS opponents. Most of the success has come in the last 27 years, with a 10-26 mark against FBS teams since 1985. Farley is 3-16 against FBS opponents with wins over Ball State (42-39, Sept. 22, 2001) and Iowa State (24-13, Sept. 8, 2007 | 28-20, Aug. 31, 2013).

Season Openers: UNI is 58-51-7 all-time in season openers and 15-11 in the last 22 years. UNI is 7-8 in season openers under Mark Farley. The last time UNI opened the season with a road win over an FBS opponent was in 2013 when UNI defeated the Cyclones, 28-20.

UNI in Non-Conference: UNI has the most victories among league members over top-25 non-conference opponents with 33 since 1985. UNI posted back-to-back wins against non-conference top-25 opponents in 2015 for the first time since the 2008 playoffs (Maine, New Hampshire) when they beat No. 7 Eastern Washington (9/12/15) and No. 17 Cal Poly (9/19/15). UNI plays Eastern Washington in week three of the 2016 season.

Farley Wins: Head coach Mark Farley has 129 career wins at the helm of the UNI football program, tying Stan Sheriff who held a record of 129-101-4.

Top-5 Coaching Records at UNI

Coach	W	L	T	Years	Titles
Mark Farley	129	61	0	2001-Present	7
Stan Sheriff	129	101	4	1960-82	6
Clyde Starbeck	95	58	10	1936-42, 45-57	8
Terry Allen	75	26	0	1989-96	6
Darrell Mudra	43	16	1	1983-87	2

Key Numbers: Out of UNI's 11 opponents in 2016, five finished the 2015 season ranked in the top-25 and nine are ranked or receiving votes in the 2016 preseason polls.

Team   Stats/Coaches Poll
North Dakota State   1/1
South Dakota State   8/14
Montana   13/13
Eastern Washington   14/17
Western Illinois   20/24
Youngstown State   RV/RV
South Dakota   RV/RV
Indiana State   RV/--
Southern Illinois   RV/--

Road Warriors: The Panthers will take on six road games this season, including another trip out west. In total, the Panthers will travel 3,180 miles with the first trip to Ames covering 100 miles.

Double-Trouble: Leading the attack this fall will be the dual threat combo of senior Aaron Bailey and Tyvis Smith. In 2015, both rushed for 1,000-plus yards, giving UNI two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season for the first time in program history. The Panthers finished the season with a school record 3,266 yards on the ground, ranking them No. 15 in the country in rushing offense.

1,000 Yard Rushers In Farley Era

Aaron Bailey	1,334 yards	2015
Tyvis Smith	1,079 yards	2015
David Johnson	1,553 yards	2014
David Johnson	1,291 yards	2013
David Johnson	1,021 yards	2012
Tirrell Rennie	1,291 yards	2010
Corey Lewis	1,314 yards	2008
Corey Lewis	1,513 yards	2007
David Horne	1,141 yards	2005
Terrance Freeney	1,100 yards	2004
Terrance Freeney	1,261 yards	2003
Adam Benge	1,133 yards	2002
Adam Benge	1,383 yards	2001

Sack Attack: Karter Schult, a senior out of Tripoli, Iowa, wrapped up last season with a school record 23.0 tackles for loss along with 15.0 sacks that ranked him No. 2 all-time at UNI. He has moved up to No. 6 in career tackles for loss, No. 7 in yards from sacks, racking up 116 yards lost since 2012. He also holds the school record in quarterback hurries in a career, passing head coach Mark Farley in 2015 to total 16.

Staffing: UNI welcomes back UNI alum and former tight end Ryan Mahaffey to the 2016 staff after he spent the past two seasons at Notre Dame. The Grinnell, Iowa, native will serve as UNI's offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. Joining Mahaffey as a newcomer to the staff this season is Kansas State alum, Collin Klein. Klein comes to UNI after serving as an offensive graduate assistant at his alma mater after he was a Heisman Trophy finalist during his playing days. Klein will work primarily with the quarterbacks.

High Ranks: UNI is coming off its 18th FCS playoff appearance and 13th quarterfinal game in program history. The Panthers had six wins against Top-25 opponents in 2015. UNI has finished the year in the Top 25 in 12 of the last 15 seasons and is one of only five Division I football programs (FBS and FCS) that have been ranked in the top five in the final polls at least seven times since 2001 - USC, Ohio State, Appalachian State, Montana, UNI.

Players of the Year: UNI had two student-athletes earn MVFC Player of the Year honors in 2015 with Aaron Bailey securing Newcomer of the Year and Deiondre' Hall earning Defensive Player of the Year. Since 2001, UNI has had 15 player of the year selections.

Consistently Ranked: Since 1985, UNI has been the only MVFC team ranked in a preseason or regular season poll every season. The Panthers finished 2015 ranked No. 6 in the coaches poll and No. 8 in the STATS top-25.

Defensive Scheme: The Panthers have consistently been ranked in the top-25 in numerous defensive categories, especially thanks to the defensive line. In five of the last seven seasons, UNI has landed in the top-30 in the FCS in sacks.

Year	Rank	No.
2009	27th	26.0
2010	7th	37.0
2011	73rd	24.0
2012	112th	11.0
2013	19th	32.0
2014	3rd	51.0
2015	20th	38.0

Ball Control: UNI controlled the game on both sides of the ball in 2015, ending the season ranked No. 15 in the country in rushing offense and No. 18 in rushing defense. The Panthers averaged 233.3 yards on the ground in 2015 while holding opponents to only 124.2 yards.

Records are Meant to be Broken: Just one season after David Johnson set the UNI record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 17, senior Aaron Bailey sparked the Panther offense in 2015, running in 19 touchdowns to break the record for the second season in a row. His 19 rushing touchdowns is also an MVFC record for rushing scores in a season by a quarterback.

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