University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Murray State
UNI football: Panthers return home to face Murray State
11/5/2025 2:15:00 PM | Football
UNI Panther football is back in Cedar Falls to take on the Racers of Murray State.
UNI Panthers (2-7 / 0-5 MVFC) vs. Murray State (0-9 / 0-5 MVFC)
- 1 p.m. CT | November 8, 2025
- Cedar Falls, Iowa | UNI-Dome
- ESPN+ (Brad Wells: Play-by-Play, Justin Surrency: Analyst)
- Panther Sports Radio Network | (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play / Scott Peterson: Analyst)
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The Panthers are back in the UNI-Dome for a matchup with the Murray State Racers. This will be the first meeting of these two teams as Missouri Valley Football Conference opponents and the second all-time. These teams met in the first round of the Division I-AA Playoffs in 1995. The Panthers advanced to the Quarterfinals with a 35-34 victory in Murray, Kentucky which came on a blocked PAT with under a minute and a half remaining in the contest.
The Cats are still searching for both their first MVFC victory as well as first road victory of the season after a 31-16 loss at Illinois State on November 3. That matchup saw Jaxon Dailey make his first start for the Panthers and record 142 passing yards and one touchdown on 15 completions. The redshirt-junior also led the Panthers on the ground with 40 rushing yards, the third consecutive week a Panther QB has led the Panther rushing offense. JC Roque Jr. led the Panther receivers with 53 yards and one touchdown on five receptions.
On defense, Ryan Crandall led the Panthers with 11 total tackles including three solo tackles and a half sack for a loss of five yards and one QBH. Crandall has recorded at least a half TFL in every matchup this season.
The Panther special teams unit has had a knack for blocking kicks in 2025. This season, the Panthers have blocked FIVE kicks through nine contests, including two field goals (Jaylen Pettus and Malik Stewart) and three punts (Braden McShane, Anthony Isley, and Calvin Jaworski). The Cats blocked two punts against Southern Illinois on October 25. The last time UNI blocked two KICKS in the same game was in 2017 when Adam Reth blocked a pair of field goals. The last time UNI blocked two PUNTS was in 2014 when Tate Omil and De'angelo Jennings each blocked a Redbird boot.
The Panther team sits amongst the top-10 in FCS football in a number of statistical categories after their first nine contests, including blocked kicks (3rd - 5), blocked punts (5th - 3), kickoff return defense (2nd - 13.75), and red zone defense (9th - 71.9%). The Panthers lead the Valley in blocked kicks, blocked punts, and kickoff return defense and are second in the league in red zone defense, just 1.9% behind SDSU's Valley-leading 70%.
Individually, Ryan Crandall is 14th in the FCS with 5.11 solo tackles per game. His 9.2 total tackles are 21st in the FCS while his 1.17 tackles for loss per game are 28th. Crandall's solo tackles and TFLs per game are second in the MVFC while his total tackles per game are fourth. Tucker Langenberg is not far behind Crandall with 8.9 total tackles per game, the fifth-best mark in the conference.
The Panthers return 100% of quarterback play from the 2024 season. Matthew Schecklman and Aidan Dunne return to the Panther squad for another season following a year that saw 2,231 passing yards and 16 passing touchdowns with a 61% completion percentage. 35% of UNI's wide receiver production is back in 2025. The Panthers return 65 receptions for 772 yards and four touchdowns from last season. Just 4% of running back production returns in 2025 after losing Tye Edwards and Amauri Pesek-Hickson from the 2024 roster. Harrison Bey-Buie returns to UNI after a season that saw him appear in just two games due to injury, recording 17 carries for 74 yards.
The Panthers bring in transfer Bill Jackson from Tulsa in the backfield. With the Golden Hurricanes, Jackson appeared in 10 games, totaling 319 rushing yards and 104 receiving yards, and scored two receiving touchdowns in 2024. The redshirt-senior appeared in a total of 33 games at Tulsa, totaling 919 rushing yards and one touchdown on 189 carries and 156 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 28 receptions. UNI also welcomes Owen Ostroski to the defensive line from Tulsa. In 2024, Ostroski appeared in 12 games and totaled 36 tackles (14 solo, 22 assist) and recorded 8.5 TFL for 43 yards, including two sacks for 17 yards. In his time at Tulsa, the redshirt-senior played in 35 games and totaled 91 tackles, including 22 for loss. The lineman had one forced fumble and one fumble recovery with the Golden Hurricanes.
The 2025 Panther roster includes nine new coaches to the Panther program, including head coach Todd Stepsis. On top of the coaching staff, the roster includes 33 true freshmen and 11 transfers that will be new to UNI in 2025.
The 2025 roster of 118 players includes 70 athletes from the great state of Iowa. Of these 70, 21 are true freshmen, including a trio from across the street at Cedar Falls High School. Of the 118 athletes on the roster, 97 call either Iowa or its six bordering states (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska or South Dakota) home.
The UNI Football team currently has six alumni on active professional rosters including Elijah Campbell (Safety - Miami Dolphins), Spencer Brown (Offensive Lineman - Buffalo Bills), Khristian Boyd (Defensive Lineman - New Orleans Saints), and Trevor Penning (Offensive Lineman - LA Chargers) on NFL rosters and Jared Brinkman (Defensive Lineman - Edmonton Elks) and Benny Sapp III (Cornerback - Saskatchewan Roughriders) on CFL rosters.
ÂUNI football action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Football), X (@UNIFootball) and on Instagram (@unipantherfootball). The full 2025 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
