UNI, SDSU Set for Playoff Rematch

UNI GAME NOTES

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – After a dominating performance to open the playoffs, No. 20/21 Northern Iowa (8-4) sets its sights to Brookings, S.D., as the Panthers travel to No. 6 South Dakota State (9-2) Saturday for a rematch between the two MVFC squads.

The Panthers took the Oct. 14th meeting against the Jackrabbits, 38-18, as junior Marcus Weymiller carried UNI to victory following his 170-yard rushing performance.
Kickoff for Saturday's playoff rematch is slated for 2 p.m. CT on Saturday, Dec. 2.

HOW TO TUNE IN
The game against SDSU 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 and South Dakota State have never met in the postseason.
The Panthers won their last contest against SDSU, 38-18, back on Oct. 14 against the then seventh-ranked Jackrabbits.
UNI has won six out of the last nine meetings in Brookings.
Head coach Mark Farley is 8-4 all-time against SDSU.
Last time out, UNI blew out Monmouth in the first round of the FCS Playoffs, 46-7.
Junior Eli Dunne led UNI, with 260 yards passing and four touchdowns in his first FCS Playoff appearance at quarterback for the Panthers.
The Panthers have scored back-to-back 40-point games for the first time since Nov. 21 and Nov. 28.

SERIES WITH SOUTH DAKOTA STATE

UNI holds a 30-20 advantage over South Dakota State, with the Panthers winning six out of the last nine meetings in Brookings.
The Panthers upset the Jackrabbits earlier this season, after beating SDSU 38-18 on the road to begin their turnaround.
Since the win against SDSU this season, the Panthers have won six out of their last seven games down the stretch.
The Panthers and Jackrabbits have never met in postseason play.

SCOUTING THE JACKRABBITS

South Dakota State earned the fifth seed in the FCS Playoffs after finishing the season 9-2 overall and winning five-straight games to close out the season.
UNI handed SDSU its last defeat on Oct. 14 after trouncing the Jackrabbits, 38-18.
Although the Jackrabbits have won five-straight games, their last two contests have each been decided by three points.
SDSU is led by quarterback Taryn Christion, who has thrown for 2,854 yards and 28 touchdowns.

UNI VERSUS THE MVFC IN THE FCS PLAYOFFS

Against current MVFC members, the Panthers are 1-3 overall.
UNI lost its last postseason contest to a Valley member, after North Dakota State ended the Panthers playoff run in 2015.

PANTHERS IN THE PLAYOFFS

UNI is 24-20 all-time in postseason play and 23-18 in the FCS Playoffs. Overall the Panthers have made 21 postseason appearances and 19 FCS playoff berths.
The Panthers are 18-5 at the UNI-Dome in postseason action, having won their last four contests and not losing since 2010's defeat to Lehigh (14-7).

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 29th in the country this season, allowing 124.3 yards on the ground per game.
This week's foe - South Dakota State - owns the 38th-ranked rushing attack, earning 176.8 yards on the ground per game.

PANTHERS AGAINST THE PASS

The Panther defense has allowed a total of 235.0 yards passing per game this season, to rank 87th overall in the FCS.
UNI has given up 20 passing touchdowns this season, with four coming against Cal Poly.
This week's opponent - South Dakota State - is ranked 17th overall in the FCS for passing yards per game, collecting 272.3 per contest.

ALL-VALLEY PANTHERS

UNI earned 10 All-MVFC selections on Monday, with four first-teamers in Elijah Campbell (FS), Jared Farley (LB), Daurice Fountain (WR) and Adam Reth (DE).
The Panthers had three student-athletes earned second team honors, with Lee Carhart (C), Sam Kuhter (P) and Rickey Neal (DE) earning spots while Briley Moore (TE), Malcolm Washington (CB) and Marcus Weymiller (RB) claimed honorable mention.
The four first-team selections were the most for UNI since 2015's five.

CLUTCH CATS

This season, the Panthers have been extremely efficient in the red zone with UNI scoring on 44 out of 47 attempts. UNI is first in the FCS for that category.
UNI has earned the majority of its red zone scores through the air, with 19 passing TDs inside the 20. That total is tied for fourth in the FCS.

NO FLY ZONE

The Panthers have earned 20 interceptions this season, with the bulk of those (13) coming in the last five games for UNI.
Opposing quarterbacks have thrown seven multi-interception games against the Panthers, with UNI earning five-straight contests with at least two picks.
Freshman Xavior Williams has collected one interception in four-straight games, while Nikholi Jaghai has snagged three picks in the last two games.

PANTHER RECORD WATCH

For his career, wide receiver Daurice Fountain is fourth all-time in catches (147), sixth all-time in receiving touchdowns (22) and ninth all-time receiving yards (2,049). Fountain is tied for fifth all-time in single-season receiving touchdowns (11) and is one reception and 78 yards shy of cracking the top-10 for catches (63) and yards (915) in a season.
Junior quarterback Eli Dunne is 10th all-time for career passing touchdowns (32), while his 25 touchdowns through the air this season is tied for fifth-most in a single season. Dunne has also completed 198 passes this season, which rank seventh-most at UNI.
Senior linebacker Jared Farley is tied for eighth all-time at UNI for career tackles (303).

WEYMILLER'S COMEBACK

Over the last seven games, Marcus Weymiller has earned 750 yards rushing on 187 carries and eight touchdowns. Weymiller had not run the ball this season before the Oct. 14's game against South Dakota State.
The 42 carries for Weymiller against SDSU 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-2 receiver has hauled in 11 touchdowns this season, with 915 yards receiving.
This season, Fountain has earned four 100-yard receiving games, with the most recent coming against Monmouth.
The senior has 147 catches as a Panther, which ranks fourth all-time, while his 22 career touchdowns rank sixth all-time at UNI. Additionally, Fountain is ranked ninth all-time at UNI with 2,049 receiving yards in his career.
For a single season, Fountain is tied for the fifth-most receiving touchdowns (11) in UNI history.

MULTI-TOUCHDOWN GAMES FOR DUNNE

Dunne has earned 11 multi-touchdown games for his career, with eight coming in 2017.
The junior has thrown four touchdowns three times this season, with Dunne earning four against Cal Poly, Western Illinois and Monmouth.

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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