UNI Travels West For Season Opener At ISU

Saturday, September 2

Ames, Iowa

7 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

Iowa State

Photo by: Mike Dunlop

UNI Travels West For Season Opener At ISU

8/29/2017 4:57:00 PM | Football

Game Notes (PDF)

UNI GAME NOTES (PDF)
IOWA STATE GAME NOTES (PDF)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Another season of football is on the horizon for the University of Northern Iowa as the Panthers prepare for a showdown in Ames against the Iowa State Cyclones.

"The expectation going to Iowa State is always the same," head coach Mark Farley said. "This is the first football game, so we will find out a whole lot about ourselves. There's going to adversity, challenges and excitement. It's going to be a four-quarter football game, so it'll be a battle. It should be fun."

The in-state battle is set to kickoff at 7 p.m. CT from Jack Trice Stadium. Saturday's contest will mark the third-straight season the Panthers have opened against the Cyclones.

ISU will broadcast the game on Cyclone.tv, those without access can listen to the game via 1540 KXEL or the TuneIn.com app.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE CYCLONES

After surviving a late push from Iowa State in 2016's season opener, UNI held on down the stretch to leave Ames with a 25-20 victory. The Panthers trailed 20-19 late, but J'Veyon Browning put UNI ahead for good after a one-yard score with 2:49 left in the game.

SERIES WITH IOWA STATE

UNI and ISU will continue a series that dates back 117 years when the two squads face off on Saturday. The Panthers and Cyclones have battled on the gridiron 30 times, with ISU holding a 21-6-3 advantage. The first contest - a scoreless draw - occurred in 1899.

The Panthers have won two out of the last three meetings against the Cyclones, with all three contests taking place in Ames. UNI downed ISU 25-20 in last season's battle in Ames.

SCOUTING THE CYCLONES

ISU is in its second season under head coach Matt Campbell and is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 3-9 campaign in 2016. The Cyclones capped the season winning two out of their last three games, defeating Kansas (31-24) and Texas Tech (66-10) before falling to No. 19 West Virginia (49-19).
The Cyclones return 22 starters from offense, defense and special teams, with quarterback Jacob Park heading up the list. The junior threw for a team-best 12 scores while splitting time under center.
Senior Wide out Allen Lazard will be a favorite target of Park's after he hauled in seven touchdowns a season ago. Allen also led the team in receiving yards with 1,018 to cap his stellar First-Team All-Big 12 year.

PANTHER SUCCESS OVER FBS FOES
uni owns an all-time record of 22-70-5 against FBS opponents in its storied history. Most of the success has come in the last 28 years, with an 11-26 mark against FBS teams since 1985. Head coach Mark Farley is 4-16 against FBS foes with, wins over Ball State (2001) and Iowa State (2007, 2013, 2016).

SEASON OPENERS

UNI is 59-51-7 all-time in season openers and 16-11 in the last 23 years. The Panthers are 8-8 in openers under head coach Mark Farley. The last time UNI opened the season with a road win over an FBS opponent was in 2016 when the Panthers downed the Cyclones, 25-20.

A LOOK BACK AT 2016

UNI finished 2016 with a 5-6 record, which goes down as only the third season below .500 for the Panthers in the 16-year Mark Farley era. The Panthers won two out of their last three contests, earning two road victories over Indiana State (39-6) and No. 17 Western Illinois (30-23). UNI also pushed No. 4 North Dakota State to the limit, before falling 24-20.
UNI's 25-20 victory over ISU on Sept. 3, moved head coach Mark Farley into the all-time wins lead at UNI before climbing to 134 to end the year.
In his final season with UNI, Karter Schult had a spectacular year for the Panthers in the trenches after earning 17 sacks. The Tripoli, Iowa native was named the MVFC Defensive Player of the Year, before earning the Buck Buchanan Award (given to the best defensive player in the FCS).

RETURNING PANTHERS

Not including special teams, the Panthers return 17 starters from last year's squad (eight on offense, nine on defense). Five of the eight returning offensive starters are skill position players, whereas four of the nine defensive returnees are on the defensive line. On special teams, the Panthers return five starters.

PREVIEWING UNI's OFFENSE

Quarterback Eli Dunne will guide the Panther offense after securing the starting job last season. The 6-foot-5 junior threw for 1,175 yards a year ago despite only playing in five games. Dunne also earn a team-high seven passing touchdowns.
Dunne will be looking down field to 6-foot-1 senior Daurice Fountain, who grabbed five scores in 2016. Fountain led the team in receptions (33) and receiving yards (413) last season.
Rising star Jalen Rima will also be a target in 2017, after turning in an impressive freshman campaign. The speedster earned four touchdowns - two receiving and two on special teams - to earn MVFC Newcomer Team honors. in 2016.

PREVIEWING UNI's DEFENSE

Senior linebacker Jared Farley will anchor the Panther defense after leading the team in tackles in 2016. The 5-foot-11 Cedar Falls native collected 80 tackles, with 46 being solo tackles. This preseason, Farley has been named to the STATS FCS All-America Team and the All-MVFC Team.
Adam Reth, a 6-foot-3, 270-pound defensive lineman, returns after missing the 2016 season. In 2015, Reth recorded 59 tackles and three sacks, while also having two pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
The senior duo of Malcolm Washington and Elijah Campbell will be patrolling the secondary after a Second Team All-MVFC junior season. The pair collected seven of the Panthers' 17 interceptions, with Washington earned four and Campbell owning three.

PREVIEWING UNI's SPECIAL TEAMS

The Panthers' kicking duties were split last season, with Sam Drysdale and Austin Errthum taking a majority of the field goals. Sophomore Drysdale was a perfect 6 of 6, while junior Errthum went 7 of 11 and nailed a season-long 49-yarder.
Senior Sam Kuhter was a rock for UNI in the punting game, after earning a 40.98 average on 57 attempts. Kuhter bombed two punts for a distance of 58 yards last season, while also sending 11 punts over 50 yards.
After an explosive first season with the Panthers, sophomore Jalen Rima will look to recapture his magic from a season ago. The speedster ran back two scores for 99 and 94 yards as he became a lightning rod in the return game.

UNI RANKED 18/20 IN PRESEASON POLLS

The Panthers enter the season ranked No. 18 (STATS) and No. 20 (Coaches) respectively. Last season, UNI opened the year ranked No. 5 (STATS/Coaches).
UNI has finished the year in the Top 25 in 12 of the last 16 seasons and has taken home a top-five ranking seven of the last 16 seasons.

PANTHERS AGAINST RANKED FOES

UNI has 81 wins over Top-25 opponents all-time and 20 over Top-10 foes.
In 2016, the Panthers were 1-5 against ranked teams. Four of the five ranked losses (No. 14 Montana, No. 8 Eastern Washington, No. 11 Youngstown State, No. 4 North Dakota State) were decided by an average 4.5-point margin.
This season the Panthers will face five preseason Top-25 foes (Cal Poly, Western Illinois, South Dakota State, Youngstown State, North Dakota State

FARLEY NAMED TO PRESEASON TEAMS

Senior linebacker Jared Farley earned a pair of prestigious honors ahead of the 2017 season as the Cedar Falls native was named to the STATS FCS Preseason All-America Second Team and the Preseason All-MVFC First Team. Farley was just one of 17 MVFC players selected to the STATS FCS All-America teams. In addition to the national honors, Farley was also named one of UNI's team captains.

PRESEASON ALL-MVFC

UNI is represented by seven members on the 2017 Missouri Valley Football Conference's preseason squad. Senior defensive back Malcolm Washington and senior linebacker Jared Farley were each named to the first team heading into the 2017 season.
The Panthers posted a league-high five members on the honorable mention preseason All-MVFC Team. Sophomore running back Trevor Allen, junior offensive lineman Cal Twait, senior defensive back Elijah Campbell, senior punter Sam Kuhter and sophomore return specialist Jalen Rima were all named as honorable mention selections to the preseason squad.

SACK HAPPY

Under head coach Mark Farley, UNI has been known to produce stout defenses. Since 2009 however, the Panthers have used a fierce pass rush to rank among the best in the nation when it comes to sacking the quarterback. In six of the last eight seasons, UNI has landed in the Top-30 in the FCS in sacks.
The highest the Panthers have climbed is third in the FCS for sacks, after recording a monstrous 51.0 in 2014. Over the last three seasons, the UNI defense has ranked 3rd, 20th and 18th for sacks in the FCS.

COACH FARLEY CONTINUES RECORD WIN TOTAL

After defeating the Cyclones last season, head coach Mark Farley set the program record for career wins at UNI. The win over Iowa State gave Farley 130 for his career at UNI, before finishing the season at 134.
In addition to being UNI's all-time winningest coach, Farley also holds the most league wins in MVFC history after earning an impressive 82-38 mark over his storied coaching career.

TOP OF THE LEAGUE

UNI has had 47 student-athletes named to the MVFC All-Conference First Team since 2007, the most in the league. Last season, Karter Schultz continued the tradition after claiming First Team All-MVFC honors following his sensational final season with the Panthers.

ROAD WARRIORS

UNI will spend four of the first six games on the road this season with six total road games on the docket. Out of those five games, UNI will face one FBS opponent in Iowa State and five teams either ranked in the Top-25.

HOME SWEET DOME

UNI holds a mark of 203-54-1 all-time in the UNI-Dome. The Panthers started playing home games in the UNI-Dome in 1976.

NEW TURF FOR 2017

UNI will be playing on a new AstroTurf for the upcoming 2017 season. The surface will be made of PureGrass® with Armacell® pad. The surface measures over 77,000 square feet and will come in 26 rollable panels that are secured by a Velcro® system. The total cost of the new turf was $900,000.

NEW ADDITIONS TO COACHING STAFF

Two coaches joined the UNI staff over the offseason that had previous ties to the football program. Head coach Mark Farley announced the addition of D.J. Vokolek and D.P. Eyman over the summer of 2017.
Vokolek will fill the role as assistant head coach and will serve as the linebackers coach. Vokolek is returning for his second stint on the Panthers coaching staff, with his previous tenure at UNI coming as a defensive coordinator on the 2005 Panther team that reached the FCS National Championship game. Vokolek also helped UNI to a pair of MVFC regular season titles in 2003 and 2005.
Eyman will serve as an offensive assistant coach and will handle the duties as the running backs coach. Eyman is coming back to his alma mater following recent coaching stops at Florida Atlantic and San Jose State. Eyman was a member of the UNI football team from 2005-2009, where he played quarterback and wide receiver.

TEAM CAPTAINS NAMED FOR 2017

Linebacker Jared Farley, wide receiver Daurice Fountain, defensive lineman Adam Reth and defensive lineman Preston Woods were named as the 2017 team captains by head coach Mark Farley before the start of the season.
All four players are seniors.

SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on the UNI football program, follow the Panthers on Twitter at "@UNIFootball" and on Facebook at "UNI Football."