Heavyweight Bout Against Cal Poly Highlights Home Opener

UNI GAME NOTES | CAL POLY GAME NOTES
COACH FARLEY PRESS CONFERENCE

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Seeking to bounce back from last week's result in Ames, the 21st-ranked Northern Iowa Panthers (0-1) host the Cal Poly Mustangs (0-2) this Saturday to open the home slate at the UNI-Dome.

Kickoff between the Panthers and Mustangs is slated for 4 p.m. CT.

"We're playing a very quality team this Saturday, who went to the playoffs last year," head coach Mark Farley said. "We will test our toughness, discipline and durability against Cal Poly. We'll need all three of those phases in this football game. There will be a lot of hitting, I don't care if you're on offense or defense. It's just how Cal Poly plays."

The game will mark the first visit for Cal Poly to the UNI-Dome since head coach Mark Farley's first season at the helm (2001).

HOW TO TUNE IN
The game against Cal Poly will air on Panther Sports Network and 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 UNI athletics website (www.UNIPanthers.com). Fans and media can visit @UNIFootball on Twitter for links to the feed.

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.

STUDENT TAILGATE
UNI students can take part in a tailgate, which includes free food, drinks and prizes throughout the event. There will also be live entertainment as well as a face painting booth and games. The festivities will begin at 1 pm. CT, with the tailgate located on the east entrance of the UNI-Dome.

HALL OF FAME CEREMONY
The Hall of Fame induction class of Mike Furrey (1997-99) Jacqui Kalin (2008-13), Bre Payton (2008-11), Ben Boothby (2010-11), Jim Sullivan and the 1977-78 UNI wrestling team will be honored with a ceremony at halftime on Saturday. For more on the group, visit here.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE MUSTANGS

UNI downed a ranked Cal Poly squad during its last visit to San Luis Obispo in 2015, winning 34-20 over the Mustangs. Quarterback Aaron Bailey finished the game 15-for-20 with 218 yards and a touchdown. Bailey also added 57 yards on the ground and two scores.
Daurice Fountain, a sophomore at the time, caught eight passes for 123 yards.

SERIES WITH CAL POLY

UNI and Cal Poly have faced off seven times on the gridiron, with the Panthers owning a 6-1 advantage. The two squads played for six-consecutive years starting in 1997, before reviving the series in 2015.
The Mustangs have not played in Cedar Falls since 2001, which was head coach Mark Farley's first season at the helm.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS

Cal Poly is in its ninth season of the Tim Walsh era, as the head coach holds a 50-44 record with the Mustangs.
Cal Poly earned its fourth FCS playoff berth in 12 seasons last fall, after finishing with a 7-5 mark and tied for fourth place in the Big Sky with Southern Utah.
The Mustangs will feature an offense built on the triple option, with Cal Poly averaging 203 rushing yards per game this season.

UNI IN HOME OPENERS

Under head coach Mark Farley, the Panthers are 14-2 in home openers. Last season's loss to a ranked Montana squad (20-14) broke a nine-game winning streak for UNI in home openers at the UNI-Dome.
The Panthers have never opened with Cal Poly at home.

PANTHERS AGAINST BIG SKY FOES

UNI has had success against the current members of the Big Sky Conference, racking up an all-time record of 52-25-1. UNI holds a winning record over 10 of the 13 schools, with Montana being the only series with a Big Sky opponent holds the edge in.
The Panthers faced two Big Sky opponents last season, hosting Montana for the 2016 home opener before traveling to Eastern Washington the next week.
UNI follows that same pattern this season, with a home opener against Cal Poly and a road trip to Southern Utah to cap the non-conference slate.
The last Big Sky opponent the Panthers beat was Cal Poly in 2015.

THE PANTHER-MUSTANG CONNECTION FOR STAN SHERIFF

The field at UNI is named after famed football coach (1960-82) and athletic director (1970-83) Stan Sheriff, who was also a Cal Poly alum (1950-53).
Sheriff was an All-American with the Mustangs and spent three seasons playing professionally with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1954), San Fransisco 49ers (1956) and the Cleveland Browns (1957). He played center, guard and linebacker.
Sheriff also has his namesake on the University of Hawaii's Stan Sheriff Center, the arena hosts events for Rainbow Warrior basketball and volleyball.

HOME SWEET DOME

The Panthers are a dominating 203-54-1 all-time in the UNI-Dome. The UNI football team started playing home games in the UNI-Dome way back in 1976.

PANTHER DEFENSE VERSUS THE RUN

Last season, the UNI defense held opponents to 164.1 yards on the ground per game to rank 16th in the FCS.
The Panthers allowed 134 yards to Iowa State during last Saturday's season opener in Ames.
In 2015's battle against Cal Poly, the Mustangs gained 350 yards rushing on 67 attempts against the Panther defense.
The 350 allowed by the Panther defense to Cal Poly is the most rushing yards given up since Wofford gained 457 yards on Dec. 3, 2011. The Panthers won that FCS Playoff battle, 28-21.

STREAK OF FORCING TURNOVER REACHES 10-STRAIGHT GAMES

The Panther defense continued its success against opposing offenses to open the season as the UNI D posted its 10th-consecutive game forcing at least one turnover.
The streak dates back to last season's game against Eastern Washington.
The Panther defense earned a turnover in 10 of 11 games last season, with the contest against Montana being the only game without forcing a turnover.

FOUR EARN CAREER FIRST STARTS FOR PANTHERS

UNI's season opener against Iowa State was a momentous one for four Panthers, as Spencer Brown, Nikholi Jaghai, Isaiah Nimmers and Seth Thomas all earned their first collegiate starts on the field.
Sophomores Jaghai and Thomas saw playing time last season, but did not receive starts on the defensive side of the ball.
For redshirt freshmen Brown and Nimmers, the season opener against the Cyclones was their first debut as Panthers.

NEWBIES MAKE A SPLASH IN SEASON OPENER

UNI had its fair share of newcomers making a significant impact in the season opener against Iowa State, with two redshirt freshmen starting and 11 seeing playing time against the Cyclones.
Redshirt freshman Isaiah Weston made the biggest splash for Panther newcomers, as the 6-8, 207-pound wideout caught four passes for 72 yards and a touchdown.
Fellow redshirt freshman Alfonzo Lambert II turned in a stellar performance at linebacker, making 10 tackles to rank second behind senior Jared Farley's 14 against the Cyclones.

UNI RANKED NO. 21 IN COACHES/STATS POLLS

The Panthers slid back one spot in this week's FCS Coaches Poll, tying for 21st overall with North Carolina A&T (1-0). UNI and NCAT earned 124 points in this week's rankings.
UNI fell three spots in the STATS FCS Top 25, owning sole possession of No. 21 overall.
This week's opponent, Cal Poly, was ranked outside of the Top 25 in both polls, but was receiving votes.

ANOTHER MULTI-TOUCHDOWN DAY FOR DUNNE

Junior signal caller Eli Dunne earned three touchdowns through the air against Iowa State in Saturday's season opener, earning a career-high mark for the Panther quarterback.
Dunne has earned four multi-touchdown games for his career, with three coming in 2016.
The junior threw a pair of touchdowns against Missouri State, North Dakota State and Western Illinois.

DUNNE SPREADS THE BALL AROUND

Quarterback Eli Dunne found nine different targets during Saturday's season opener against Iowa State, with three of those catching touchdowns.
The 2015 win over Eastern Washington on Sept. 12 marked the last time the Panthers had three different receivers catch touchdowns.
The nine receivers making a catch is also the most for UNI since Dunne found 10 targets in a 61-7 route over Missouri State on Oct. 22, 2016.

I-N-T MACHINE DUNCAN FERCH

Junior linebacker Duncan Ferch continued to be a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks after he earned another interception in the season opener against Iowa State.
The State Center, Iowa native has earned a total of four picks as a Panther.
Last season, Ferch picked off three passes and returned two for touchdowns.

ALLEN JUST SHY OF 100-YARD MARK

Sophomore tailback Trevor Allen had a stellar day against the Cyclones to open the 2017 season, with the Panther earning 87 yards on the ground to lead all rushers for the game.
Allen averaged 7.3 yards a carry on just 12 attempts with a long of 28 to go along with his totals as well.
The Waukee, Iowa native also caught two passes for 18 yards against Iowa State to add to his impressive performance.

DRYSDALE BOOTS CAREER LONG

In a tight game at 14-7, sophomore Sam Drysdale nailed a career-long. 43-yard field goal in the season opener against Iowa State. The field goal brought the score to 14-10 with 5:31 remaining in the second quarter.
Last season, Drysdale was a perfect 6-for-6, with his long being 40 yards to cap a successful freshman season with the Panthers.

JERSEY SWAP FOR CAMPBELL

Junior defensive back Elijah Campbell turned in his #19 jersey for #1 this season with the Panthers.
This isn't the first time Campbell has made a number change in college however, prior to joining UNI Campbell was #9 at Northern Illinois.

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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