UNI Opens FCS Playoffs at Home Against Monmouth

UNI GAME NOTES

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – No. 20 Northern Iowa will test its recent surge of momentum against No. 23 Monmouth on Saturday, Nov. 25 as the Panthers host the Hawks for the opening round of the FCS Playoffs.

The Panthers and Hawks will kick off from the UNI-Dome at 4 p.m. CT. UNI and MU have never faced off on the gridiron, while the FCS Playoff appearance for the Hawks from Long Branch, N.J., is their first in school history.

HOW TO TUNE IN
The game against MU will be televised on ESPN3. Fans can also listen in on 1540 KXEL or www.UNIPanthers.com as Gary Rima and Scott Petersen call the action.

LIVE STATS
Live stats for Saturday's game will be made available via the NCAA website. Fans and media can visit @UNIFootball on Twitter for links to the feed.

TICKETS
Fans can purchase playoff tickets through UNITIX. Call 319-273-4849 or visit www.UNITIX.uni.edu.

NEED TO KNOW

UNI returns to the FCS Playoffs for the 19th time in program history and the 10th time under head coach Mark Farley.
The Panthers won five out of their last six games to close out the regular season.
UNI's last home playoff game came against Eastern Illinois on Nov. 28, 2015. The Panthers won that contest convincingly, 53-17.
UNI's 2015 playoff run was cut short by North Dakota State in the quarterfinals after the Panthers fell to the Bison, 23-13.
Last time out, the Panthers cut down the Sycamores 41-3.
Junior Marcus Weymiller earned his fourth 100-yard game rushing as he paced the Panthers offensively.
Defensively, UNI picked off Indiana State three times while allowing a lone field goal on the first possession of the game.

SERIES WITH MONMOUTH

UNI has never faced the Hawks from New Jersey.

SCOUTING THE HAWKS

Last time out, Monmouth lost to Kennesaw State on the road 52-21.
If the Hawks had defeated Kennesaw State, MU would have clinched the Big South title.
Kennesaw State forced Monmouth into a season-high five turnovers.
Monmouth's lone losses this year have come to Kennesaw State and Albany (28-14).
MU's redshirt freshman Pete Guerriero leads the Hawk rushing attack with 1,017 yards on the ground this season and nine touchdowns.
Sophomore Kenji Bahar has thrown for 2,227 yards this season at quarterback with 15 touchdowns.

DOME SWEET DOME

The Panthers are 207-55-1 at the UNI-Dome all-time.
UNI has built a 4-1 record at home this season, with the lone loss coming on a nail-bitter to Western Illinois on Oct. 7.

PANTHERS IN THE PLAYOFFS

UNI is 23-20 all-time in postseason play and 22-18 in the FCS Playoffs. Overall the Panthers have made 21 postseason apperances and 19 FCS playoff berths.
The Panthers are 17-5 at the UNI-Dome in postseason action, having won their last three contests and at and not losing since 2010's defeat to Lehigh (14-7).

FARLEY EARNS 10TH FCS PLAYOFF APPEARANCE

Over his 17 seasons at UNI, head coach Mark Farley has led the Panthers to 10 FCS Playoff appearances overall, which tops the Missouri Valley Conference.
Among coaches at their current schools, Farley has outpaced the pack, with only John Stiegelmeier at South Dakota State coming close with his seven appearances at South Dakota State.

PANTHER DEFENSE VERSUS THE RUN

Last season, the UNI defense held opponents to 119.7 yards per game to rank 16th in the FCS.
The Panthers rank 34th in the country this season, allowing 130.1 yards on the ground per game.
This week's foe - Monmouth - owns the 20th-ranked rushing attack, earning 210.8 yards on the ground per game.

PANTHERS AGAINST THE PASS

The Panther defense has allowed a total of 243.5 yards passing per game this season, to rank 93rd overall in the FCS.
UNI has given up 19 passing touchdowns this season, with four coming against Cal Poly.
This week's opponent - Monmouth - is ranked 65th overall in the FCS for passing yards per game, collecting 202.5 per contest.

FARLEY REMEMBERS NOVEMBER

Over his 17 seasons at UNI, head coach Mark Farley has amassed a 52-9 mark in November.
Farley has gone undefeated during November nine times (2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015) while having a losing record once during the month (2002).
Overall this November, the Panthers are 3-0 as UNI seeks to cap the month with an undefeated record on Nov. 25.

CLUTCH CATS

This season, the Panthers have been extremely efficient in the red zone with UNI scoring on 35 out of 38 attempts. UNI is tied for first in the FCS for that category.
UNI has earned the majority of its red zone scores through the air, with 15 passing TDs inside the 20. That total is tied for 11th in the FCS.
Kicker Sam Drysdale has connected on 12 field goals inside the 20, which is tied for eighth in the FCS and first in the MVFC.

NO FLY ZONE

The Panthers have earned 16 interceptions this season, with the bulk of those (9) coming in the last four games for UNI.
Opposing quarterbacks have thrown six multi-interception games against the Panthers, with UNI earning four-straight contests with at least two or more picks.
Freshman Xavior Williams has collected one interception in three-straight games, to become the first Panther since Malcolm Washington achieved the feat late last season.

BROOKINS' BREAKOUT

Redshirt senior and Wisconsin transfer Keelon Brookins has made an impact for the Panthers over the last few weeks. The defensive back/linebacker hybrid has earned 27 tackles, 3.0 sacks, four pass breakups and two interceptions.
Brookins' interception return for a score helped vault the Panthers past No. 6 South Dakota 34-29 on Nov. 4, while also helping the senior claim the MVFC Defensive and Newcomer Player of the Week honors.

WEYMILLER'S COMEBACK

Over the last six weeks, Marcus Weymiller has earned 676 yards rushing on 170 carries and eight touchdowns. Weymiller had not run the ball this season before the SDSU game.
The 42 carries for Weymiller against South Dakota State in his first game back with the Panthers rank as the most by any player in the FCS this season.
Weymiller also became the first Panther back since David Johnson to earn at least two 170-yard rushing performances for his career. The back-to-back 100-yard rushing games for Weymiller are the first for a Panther since Aaron Bailey in 2015.

FOUNTAIN LEAPS INTO RECORD BOOKS

Senior Daurice Fountain has put up monster numbers in his final season at UNI. The 6-foot-1 receiver has hauled in nine touchdowns this season, with 776 yards receiving.
This season, Fountain has earned three 100-yard receiving games (all in consecutive weeks).
The senior has 137 catches as a Panther, which ranks eighth all-time, while his 20 career touchdowns are tied for seventh all-time at UNI.
Fountain is the first Panther wide receiver this decade to grab nine touchdowns in a season and 776 yards receiving.

MULTI-TOUCHDOWN GAMES FOR DUNNE

Dunne has earned 10 multi-touchdown games for his career, with seven coming in 2017.
The junior threw a pair of touchdowns against Missouri State, North Dakota State and Western Illinois in 2016, while throwing three in 2017's season opener against Iowa State, four against Cal Poly, three against SIU, four against WIU, and a pair against SDSU, NDSU and USD.

UNI CLIMBS TO NO. 20/21 IN POLLS

UNI continued its climb in the STATS FCS Top 25 this week, as the Panthers jumped up four spots to No. 20 overall.
The Panthers finally cracked the top 25 for the FCS Coaches Poll, after spending the last few weeks receiving votes.
The Panthers have defeated two teams from this week's FCS Coaches Poll, No. 6 South Dakota State (No. 7 on Oct. 9) and No. 18 South Dakota (No. 6 on Nov. 4).
Overall, UNI has played against five teams currently ranked in the FCS Coaches Poll Top 25 with No. 4 North Dakota State, No. 6 South Dakota State, No. 10 Western Illinois, No. 13 Southern Utah, No. 18 South Dakota and after this Saturday, No. 23 Monmouth.

PANTHERS AGAINST RANKED FOES

UNI has 84 wins over Top-25 opponents all-time and 23 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 are 3-2 after wins over No. 6 South Dakota, No. 7 South Dakota State and No. 9 Youngstown State.

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

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