Panther football squares off against reigning champion Jackrabbits on Saturday

RV/RV UNI (3-2 / 2-0 MVFC) at #1/1 South Dakota State (5-0 / 2-0 MVFC)

2 p.m. CT | Oct. 14, 2023
Brookings, S.D. | Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium (19,300)
ESPN+ (Tom Nieman: Play-by-Play / Kurtis Riggs: Analyst / Darron Wallace: Sideline)
Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play / Scott Peterson: Analyst)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI football will look to spoil South Dakota State's annual Hobo Day celebration as the Panthers head north to Brookings to take on the defending FCS national champion and top-ranked Jackrabbits on Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers have won their last three games and join SDSU and South Dakota as the only unbeaten teams remaining in Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) play. Despite falling short against the Jackrabbits last season in a 31-28 loss in the UNI-Dome, UNI has won its last two matchups at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, including a 13-10 postseason victory in 2019. The Panthers are the last team to have beaten the Jackrabbits at home having defeated SDSU 26-17 in 2021. South Dakota State has since won 12 straight at home.

UNI PANTHERS
No stranger to facing nationally ranked opponents, UNI will attempt to knock off the nation's top-ranked team for the fourth time in school history. Northern Iowa's three prior wins over the FCS' number one team came in 1997 against Youngstown State, in the 2005 Division I-AA postseason at New Hampshire and most recently in 2014 at home against North Dakota State. UNI has also knocked off the reigning national champion twice in its history (1998 at Youngstown State / 2014 vs. North Dakota State).

The Panthers conclude their two-game road swing following a narrow 27-20 win at Indiana State last Saturday, which featured a breakout game by running back Harrison Bey-Buie, who notched a career-high 137 yards with three touchdowns. Indiana State came out swinging in the fourth quarter, pulling within one possession and recovering an onside kick before Dalesean Staley secured the win with a game-sealing interception at the Panther two-yard line.

Quarterback Theo Day finished his night against the Sycamores with 176 passing yards on 16 completions. Despite his school-record of 26 games with a touchdown pass being snapped, Day continues to lead the MVFC in multiple offensive categories, including passing yards (1,414), passing yards per game (282.2) and passing efficiency (139.9). Day, who has thrown 50 career touchdown passes at UNI, can tie former Panther passer Eli Dunne (2015-18) for fifth on the program's all-time list with his next touchdown pass. He also sits just 60 total offensive yards away from becoming the seventh player in program history to surpass 7,000 total yards of offense in his career and first since Eric Sanders in 2007.

Sam Schnee continues to command the purple and gold's receiving core, leading the league with four receiving touchdowns, and ranking in the top-15 nationally in receiving yards (453), receiving yards per game (90.6) and receiving touchdowns. Schnee hauled in 75 yards on five catches last Saturday at Indiana State with a game-long catch of 25 yards.

On defense, Cordarrius Bailey etched his name into the UNI record books against the Sycamores with a three sack performance. Bailey became the fifth Panther in school history to record multiple three-game sacks in his career (Karter Schult, Matt Michell, Andre Allen, William Freeney). He also became only the third player in UNI history to achieve the feat multiple times in the same season (Allen, Freeney).

Jahsiah Galvan and Tucker Langenberg both rank in the top-ten in the MVFC in tackles per contest, with Galvan ranking fifth with 7.8 tackles a game. Langenberg, who led the Panthers for a second consecutive game with 11 stops at Indiana State, is eighth in the MVFC with 7.4 tackles per contest.

Matthew Cook enters Saturday's game with 74 made field goals in his career and is a perfect 139-for-139 on PAT attempts. The senior from Cedar Falls, who made his fourth career field goal of 50+ yards against the Sycamores last week, in four points from passing Billy Hallgren (2007-10) as UNI's second all-time leading scorer. Cook has scored 361 points since his freshman season in 2019.

In the punting game, Noah Pettinger ranks second in the MVFC and 18th in the FCS with a 43.5 yards per punt average. He recorded a career-best 55-yard punt for UNI against Indiana State on Saturday.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE JACKRABBITS
The defending FCS national champions have rattled off 19 consecutive wins dating back to week two of the 2022 season, the longest active winning streak in the FCS. This run includes 11 straight wins against FCS opponents.

Following the retirement of John Steigelmeier last season, the Jackrabbits have gotten off to a hot 5-0 start in defense of their national title under new head coach Jimmy Rogers. The Jackrabbits have defeated Western Oregon, Montana State, Drake, North Dakota and most recently Illinois State last week in Normal.

SDSU totalled 374 yards of offense in its 40-21 win at Illinois State last Saturday, posting the nation's second best scoring offense (43.4 points per game) and the FCS' third most efficient running offense (273 yards per game).

Quarterback Mark Gronoswki leads the MVFC with 12 passing touchdowns on the season with 869 yards, with a third of those yards going to top receiver Jaxon Janke, who leads the Jackrabbits with three receiving touchdowns. Isaiah Davis meanwhile leads the punishing SDSU running game as the league's top rusher with 491 yards on the season (98.2 yards per game) and six rushing touchdowns.

The Jackrabbit defense has also made its mark as the midway point of the season approaches, allowing the third-fewest yards in the nation (260.2 yards per game) and the fifth-fewest points per game (14.4). Savieon Williamson, who leads South Dakota State with 36 total tackles on the year, is among six different Jackrabbits to have notched 10+ solo tackles this year, including Jason Freeman (15), Tucker Large (13), Isaiah Stalbird (11), DyShawn Gales (11) and Daeton Mcgaughy (11).

CELEBRATING 125 SEASONS OF PANTHER FOOTBALL
This year marks the 125th season of play for the UNI football program. Kicking off games in 1895, the Panthers have played every year since, with the exception of 1906, 1907, 1944 and 1945, with over 1,300 players wearing the purple and gold. UNI will celebrate the milestone season all year long with special history lessons on social media, a 125th season website and more. The Panthers will honor this anniversary season with a 125th season decal on their helmets all season long.

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