University of Northern Iowa
Eastern Washington
UNI football: Panthers set to take on Eastern Washington in a Family Weekend matchup
9/10/2025 3:06:00 PM | Football
UNI football is back in the UNI-Dome for Family Weekend against the Eastern Washington Eagles.
UNI Panthers (1-1 / 0-0 MVFC) vs. Eastern Washington Eagles (0-2 / 0-0 Big Sky)
- 4 p.m. CT | September 13, 2025
- Cedar Falls, Iowa | UNI-Dome (12,200)
- PSN / CFU 15 / 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 UNI Panther football team is back in Cedar Falls and turns its focus to Eastern Washington for a Family Weekend matchup on September 13 inside the UNI-Dome. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. CT in Cedar Falls.
The last time these teams matched up, EWU took home a 19-9 victory at home in 2021. That game saw Theo Day throw for 189 yards on 12 completions with one touchdown to Sam Schnee. Schnee led the receiving corps with 118 yards and a touchdown on eight receptions.
UNI is coming off its first loss of the season in a 31-7 defeat at Wyoming. In that matchup, Bill Jackson recorded his 1,000th career rushing yard in the first quarter. The running back tallied the first rushing yard of his career at War Memorial Stadium in 2022 as a member of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Matthew Schecklman finished the game with 107 passing yards on 15 completions. Harrison Bey-Buie recorded the Panthers' lone touchdown of the contest.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Panthers recorded their first sack of the season in the matchup at Wyoming and followed it up with three more for a total of four sacks against the FBS offense. Jamarion Augustus recorded a pair of sacks for 23 yards, Owen Ostroski tallied one for 15, and Jonathan Cabral-Martin laid the boom for a 13-yard sack fumble. The fumble was recovered by Jack Kriebs, the first recovery of his career.
The Panthers seek their seventh victory against the Eagles of Eastern Washington as UNI holds a 6-2 record, with its last victory coming in 2015 at home. The Cats are 6-0 against EWU in Cedar Falls.
The Panther team sits amongst the top-25 in FCS football in a number of statistical categories after their first two matchups including third-down conversions (25th - 44%), fumbles lost (1st - 0), fumbles recovered (23rd - 2), passes intercepted (18th - 2), fewest sacks allowed (17th - 1.00), fewest TFLs allowed (12th - 3.5), turnover margin (14th - 1), turnovers gained (15th - 4), fewest turnovers lost (25th - 2), and winning percentage (18th - 50%). The Panthers lead the MVFC in fumbles lost (0) and are third in third-down conversion percentage (44%) and passes intercepted (3). Individually, Jonathan Cabral-Martin leads the nation and the MVFC with 2.5 passes defended per game after four pass breakups and an interception against Butler. The cornerback is ninth in the FCS with 0.5 forced fumbles per game and 21st with 0.5 interceptions per game. Both are second-place marks in the Valley.
Both Jack Kriebs and Caleb Frazer are 7th in the FCS and second in the MVFC with one fumble recovery. Frazer recovered a fumble against Butler, while Kriebs picked up a fumble recovery against Wyoming. Joe Hall III is tied with Cabral-Martin for 21st in the FCS and second in the Valley with 0.5 interceptions per game after a pick in the red zone against Butler. Along with Cabral-Martin, Kriebs and Ethan Schoville are tied for ninth in the FCS with 0.5 forced fumbles per game. Matthew Schecklman's four passing touchdowns are 12th in the FCS and second in the Valley behind North Dakota's Jerry Kaminski with five passing TDs. Jamarion Augustus recorded a pair of sacks against Wyoming. The defensive lineman sits 11th in the FCS and second in the MVFC with 1.0 sacks per game.
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 five 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 - New Orleans Saints) on NFL rosters and Jared Brinkman (Defensive Lineman - Edmonton Elks) in the CFL.
UNI 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.
