UNI Football Hits the Road to Face South Dakota

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THE GAME
UNI Football hits the road for the second Valley Football road trip of the season. The Panthers head to Vermillion, S.D. to face South Dakota at the DakotaDome. UNI is 2-3 on the season and 1-1 in MVFC play. USD enters the week with a 3-2 mark and a 2-0 record in conference after topping Missouri State at home last weekend.

The Panthers fell to top-ranked North Dakota State 56-31 Saturday in Cedar Falls. The score of the game was 35-31 with just over six minutes to play before the Bison scored three times in the final few minutes when turnovers on downs gave the Bison shorts fields on three straight possessions. The Panthers put up more passing yards on NDSU then any team since early in the 2016 season. Eli Dunne was 27-41 for 362 yards and three touchdowns in the effort.

After facing back-to-back run-heavy offenses, the Panthers face a Coyote team that is one of the nation's leaders in pass yards per game. USD is ninth in the FCS with 319.8 yard per game through the air.

Austin Simmons leads the Coyotes from the quarterback position. He is ranked fourth in the FCS in passing yards per game and sixth in total passing yards this season. Dakarai Allen is his favorite target with three touchdowns and 392 yards on the season.

The ball-hawking Coyote defense is fourth in the country in turnover margin but gives up 26.8 points per game. Alex Gray leads the team with 41 tackles.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

NEED TO KNOW
• The Panthers are receiving votes in the STATS FCS Poll and the FCS Coaches' Poll.
• UNI is one of just five teams in FCS football that has scored on every trip into the red zone this season. In 18 trips inside the 20, the Panthers have six rushing touchdowns, six passing TDs and six field goals. The Panthers are the only MVFC team to be perfect in red zone trips.
• Running back Marcus Weymiller, offensive tackle Cal Twait, quarterback Eli Dunne and linebacker Duncan Ferch were announced as captains for the 2018 season by head coach Mark Farley.
• Redshirt freshman Chris Kolarevic has produced in a big way in his first year on the field. He is currently tied for second in the MVFC for total tackles at 54. Duncan Ferch is fourth at 48 tackles.
• Brothers Trevor and AJ Allen, sons of Panther Hall of Famer Andre Allen, are both making waves for UNI early this season. Trevor is UNI's leading rusher through four games. AJ is one of two Panthers with multiple interceptions and is third on the team in total tackles
• Since USD joined the MVFC before the 2008 season, UNI is 7-2 against the Coyotes. Last year, UNI won the game 34-29 in the UNI-Dome.
• UNI leads the series 28-19-1.
• South Dakota coach Bob Nielson is an alum of Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. He began his coaching career at Wartburg before coaching at Ripon, Wisconsin – Eau Claire, Minnesota Duluth and Western Illinois before taking the helm at South Dakota before the 2016 season.
• UNI tallied consecutive shutouts for the first time since 2008 with wins over Hampton and Indiana State. The Panthers went nine quarters without giving up a point.
• Cal Twait was named the Missouri Valley Conference Lineman of the Week after leading the Panther o-line unit in a dominant performance over Indiana State.
• Deion McShane was named the MVFC Newcomer of the Week after picking up seven catches for 117 yards and a touchdown.
• Chris Kolarevic was named to the Stats Jerry Rice Award Watch List. He is one over only 15 players on the list and the only student-athlete from the MVFC.
• The game will be available live on ESPN+.

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UNI Football Hits the Road to Face South Dakota

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Players Mentioned

Eli Dunne

Duncan Ferch

Chris Kolarevic

Deion McShane

Cal Twait

Marcus Weymiller

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