UNI To Host Montana In Top-25 Battle Saturday

UNI NOTES | MONTANA NOTES
Game 2 vs. Montana
Date: Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016
Time: 4 p.m. CT
Place: UNI-Dome (Cedar Falls, Iowa)
TV: Panther Sports Network (CFU Ch. 15/HD415; KCRG Ch. 9.2; WHO Ch. 13.2; KGCW Ch. 26, Comcast SportsNet Chicago Plus), ESPN3
Radio: Panther Radio Network, TuneIn.com

The Basics: The University of Northern Iowa football program will host the Montana Grizzlies for its home opener on Saturday, Sept. 10 in the UNI-Dome. The Game will also serve as the Hall of Fame game.

About the Grizzlies: The Montana Grizzlies opened the 2016 season at home with a 41-31 win over Saint Francis. The Grizzlies are under the direction of second-year head coach, Bob Stitt, who led Montana to an 8-5 season in 2015 and a playoff berth. The Grizzlies bring a young, but talented squad to Cedar Falls on Friday after starting 11 new faces in their season opener. The star attraction for the Grizzlies is senior defensive end Caleb Kidder who was named to the national preseason Defensive Player of the Year watch list and selected as the preseason Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year.

Panther Quicks Hits:
• UNI landed at No. 3 in the Coaches, STATS and Hero Sports polls after week one with Montana earning No. 14, No. 14 and No. 15 rankings, respectively.
• Head Coach Mark Farley earned his 130th career win against Iowa State (9/3), making him the all-time wins leader in program history.
• 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
• 8 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 Montana will air live on Panther Sports Network (CFU Ch. 15/HD415; KCRG Ch. 9.2; WHO Ch. 13.2; KGCW Ch. 26, Comcast SportsNet Chicago Plus, ESPN3). Fans can also listen in on 1540 KXEL or TuneIn.com as Gary Rima and Scott Petersen call the action.

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 Montana: UNI faced off against the Grizzlies in the FCS quarterfinals in 2011, falling 48-10. The Panthers entered the game as the No. 5 seed in the playoffs, taking on the No. 2 ranked Montana Grizzlies. UNI scored first in the game with a 27-yard pass from Tirrell Rennie to Jarred Herring, but Montana scored 14 unanswered points to take the lead in the game for good. The last time Montana has played a game in Cedar Falls was 1987, their only trip to the Cedar Valley in the series' history.

UNI against the Big Sky: UNI has had success against the current members of the Big Sky Conference, racking up an all-time record of 52-23-1. UNI holds a winning record over 10 of the 13 schools, with Montana being the only series with a Big Sky opponent that the Panthers trail in.

Farley Wins: Head coach Mark Farley earned his 130th career win at the helm, beomcing the all-time wins leader in program history, passing Stan Sheriff who held a record of 129-101-4 from 1960-82. He was already the all-time wins leader in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and all-time conference wins leader with 78 in 15 seasons.

Top-5 Coaching Records at UNI

Coach	W	L	T	Years	Titles
Mark Farley	130	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

Home Openers: Under the direction of head coach Mark Farley, the Panthers are 14-1 in home openers. UNI has won nine consecutive home openers, including their 38-35 victory against #7 Eastern Washington in 2015.

Home Openers under Mark Farley

2001	Wayne State	W, 34-14
2002	Wayne State	W, 34-0
2003	Northern Michigan	W, 62-0
2004	Minnesota State	W, 40-0
2005	Drake	W, 57-17
2006	North Dakota	L, 35-31
2007	Minnesota State-Mankato	W, 41-14
2008	South Dakota	W, 24-13
2009	South Dakota	W, 66-7
2010	North Dakota State	W, 16-9
2011	Western Illinois	W, 38-10
2012	Central State	W, 59-0
2013	Drake	W, 45-14
2014	Northern Colorado	W, 46-7
2015	Eastern Washington	W, 38-35

Success Comes in Threes: Prior to UNI's win over Iowa State (9/3), 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 has now won three of the last six meetings between the Panthers and the Cyclones.

MVFC Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 3): Junior linebacker Jared Farley was named the Valley Defensive Player of the Week for his exceptional performance in UNI's 25-20 win over Iowa State. The Cedar Falls, Iowa native racked up a team-high eight tackles, along with an interception that sealed the Panther victory and gave his father, Mark Farley, his 130th career win at the helm.

Starting Right: In his first collegiate football game and first collegiate start, redshirt freshman Hezekiah Applegate shined on the Panther defensive line against Iowa State (9/3). He was a part of the line that allowed only 51 rushing yards by the Cyclones, adding in his career-high seven tackles that included a sack and 2.5 TFLs.

Leading the Way: UNI named its four captains for the season in Karter Schult, Robert Rathje, D'Shawn Dexter and Aaron Bailey. The four have combined for 80-plus starts between 2013-2016.

Fumble Master: D'Shawn Dexter had a hand in both of Iowa State's fumbles on Sept. 3, recovering one and forcing the other. He recovered a fumble in the second quarter that set up the Aaron Bailey scoring drive that tied the game 7-7 before then forcing the fumble late in the fourth quarter that was a part of three turnovers by the Cyclones in the final two minutes of the game.

Newcomer Note: Out of UNI's 22 starters against Iowa State (9/3), eight were starting for the first time in a Panther uniform. UNI also saw nine freshmen or redshirt freshmen either earn a start or see significant playing time against the Cyclones.

Newcomers to the Field

WR	#83 Jaylin James	R-FR (Starter)
DE	#64 Hezekiah Applegate	R-FR (Starter)
FS	#19 Elijah Campbell	Transfer (Starter)
SS	#1 Tyrell Lyons	Transfer (Starter)
WR	#21 Christian Jegen	FR (Saw Action)
DB	#24 Nikholi Jaghai	FR (Saw Action)
LB	#54 Trey Recknor	FR (Saw Action)
OL	#74 Jackson Scott-Brown	R-FR (Saw Action)
TE	#86 Briley Moore	FR (Saw Action)
WR	#87 Jalen Rima	FR (Saw Action)
DL	#95 Seth Thomas	R-FR (Saw Action)

Ground Running: Aaron Bailey hit the ground running with his 114 rushing yard performance against Iowa State (9/3). He had 25 carries, averaging 4.6 yards per carry for his seventh game in a Panther uniform to reach 100-plus rushing. He scored a two-yard rushing touchdown, giving him 20 touchdowns since stepping on campus last season.

Breaking Through: Senior Karter Schult turned in a game-high 3.0 tackles for loss against the Cyclones (9/3), giving him a total of 35.0 in his career. It ties him for No. 5 all-time in career tackles for loss, tying him with William Freeney (1989-92).

Multi-Talented: Charles Brown, who played wide receiver for the Panthers the last two seasons, started at cornerback at Iowa State (9/3), racking up three tackles and a key interception.

UNI against the FBS: UNI has an all-time record of 22-70-5 against FBS opponents. Most of the success has come in the last 27 years, with a 11-26 mark against FBS teams since 1985. Farley is 4-16 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 | 25-20, Sept. 3, 2016).

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