University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
South Dakota
Panthers head to South Dakota for their first road game of the MVFC schedule
10/11/2024 9:48:00 AM | Football
UNI football looks to spoil South Dakota’s “Dakota Days” festivities and find its first win in conference play against the no. 4 Coyotes.
UNI football (2-3 / 0-1 MVFC) at South Dakota (4-1 / 2-0 MVFC)
- 2 p.m. CT | Oct. 12, 2024
- Vermillion, S.D. | DakotaDome (9,100)
- Midco Sports Plus / ESPN+ (David Brown: Play-by-Play / Andre fields: Analyst)
- Panther Sports Radio Network | (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play / Scott Peterson: Analyst)
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The UNI football team hits the road for the first time in conference play and heads to Vermillion, South Dakota where it will take on the no. 4 South Dakota Coyotes inside the DakotaDome. The Panthers' MVFC dome tour continues on Saturday, October 12 as UNI will play in their second of seven matchups inside a dome over the course of the conference slate.
The Panthers are coming off a 41-3 loss against #1 South Dakota State on October 5th. The matchup inside the UNI-Dome came over Northern Iowa's Family Weekend which brought in the Panthers' biggest crowd (12,611) since Oct. 7, 2017, against Western Illinois.
In that matchup, Aidan Dunne finished the game with 113 passing yards on eight-of-15 completions, with Matthew Scheklman throwing for 67 yards on nine completions. Sergio Morancy hauled in 73 receiving yards on six catches as JC Roque Jr. recorded 46 yards on five receptions. On the ground, Tye Edwards ran for 62 yards on 12 carries with Amauri Pesek-Hickson carrying the ball eight times for 23 yards.
The Panthers are now 17-6 in games coming off the bye week under Farley and 15-10 in MVFC opening games. Saturday was just the second time in school history Northern Iowa opened league play against the nation's top-ranked team (Last: 2004 at No. 1 Southern Illinois | L, 40-36). Northern Iowa fell to 3-11 all-time against the number-one-ranked team in the nation. UNI's last win over the top team in the country came in 2014 with a 23-3 win against North Dakota State.
The Panthers head to Vermillion, South Dakota to take on the Coyotes for USD's annual Dakota Days celebration. UNI holds a two-game win streak against South Dakota in Vermillion. The last four times the Panthers have suffered a loss to the no. 1 team in the nation, UNI has bounced back and been victorious in their next matchup (2023 - 27-0 vs. #9 North Dakota, 2022 - 58-14 at South Dakota, 2019 - 42-27 vs. RV South Dakota, 2018 - 42-28 at #24 South Dakota).
The Panthers remain one of the cleanest teams in the MVFC with just 26 penalties on the season. That mark is the second-best in the Valley behind 20 total penalties by Indiana State. UNI leads the Valley with an opponent fourth down percentage of 25%.
JC Roque Jr. is the conference's third-best punt returner, averaging eight yards per punt return.
On the ground, Tye Edwards continues to be a force with 7.19 rushing yards [per carry. That is the 11th-best mark in the nation and second-best in the conference, just 0.2 yards per carry behind Beau Brungard of Youngstown State. Edwrads' 83.4 rushing yards per game is the fourth-best mark in the Valley. Sergio Morancy has recorded an average of 19.6 yards per kickoff return. That number is the third-best mark in the MVFC.
South Dakota is coming off a 59-0 victory at Murray State last Saturday. This was the first MVFC road shutout in USD program history as the Coyotes put up a season-high 582 yards of total offense against the Racers. The defense on the day forced a season-high four turnovers, two interceptions, a forced fumble in the red zone, and a muffed punt recovery deep inside Murray State territory. Of those turnovers, it led directly to 17 USD points. On the afternoon, the Yotes rushed for 361 yards, notching 350+ rushing yards for the first time since the 2021 Cal Poly game. The seven rushing scores on the day is the most in the Division I FCS era, last putting up seven scores against Culver-Stockton (Mo.) back in 2008.
USD has won their first two MVFC games in each of the last two seasons, looking to make it three-straight for the second-straight year with a 16-6 record inside the Dakota Dome since the 2021 season.
The Yotes have hung their hat with their defense early in the season with five interceptions as a team coming from four different players. Gabriel Hardman picked up his first pick as a Coyote last week against Murray State. The five team interceptions sits 31st-best in the nation. LB Gary Bryant III leads the defense with his 36 tackles this season. Nick Gaes leads the team in sacks (4.5), while Gaes and Mi'Quise Grace sit tied for the team lead in tackles for loss (5.5). The duo up front sit tied for second in the MVFC in TFLs per game (1.10), while Gaes sits second in the Valley with 4.5 sacks.
UNI football action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Football), X (@UNIFootball) and on Instagram (@unipantherfootball). The full 2024 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
