University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
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UNI Panther football: Panthers head to Iowa for non-con finale
9/16/2026 6:39:00 PM | Football
The Panther football team takes on the Hawkeyes in Iowa City on September 19.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — UNI football closes non-conference play on Saturday, September 19, when the Cats visit Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes. UNI's lone FBS matchup of the season comes against the AP No.18-ranked Iowa inside Kinnick for the programs' 19th overall meeting. Iowa holds the all-time series record at 17-1, including 17 straight after the Panthers were victorious in the series-opener in 1898. The Panthers and the Hawkeyes last matched up in 2018, when Iowa took home a 38-14 victory. Eli Dunne passed for 200 yards and two touchdowns in that matchup.
Northern Iowa's roster boasts the most players from the state of Iowa out of the four Division I institutions in Iowa (Drake, Iowa, Iowa State, UNI). The Panthers' 70 student-athletes from the state nearly doubles Iowa's 39, with UNI having 37 on the week two depth chart to just 16 on Iowa's week two depth chart.
The Panthers are coming off their first victory of the 2026 season in the home opener against Drake. In that game, UNI scored 28 points in each half, while the Panther defense pitched a shutout in the second half to claim a 56-14 victory in the home opener.
Jaxon Dailey passed for 242 yards and three touchdowns in the home opener against Drake. Jaiden Ellis-Lahey and Cyrus Courtney led the UNI receiving room with 59 total yards, while Brady McCullough brought in three receiving TDs with 16 receiving yards. Caleb Kamara led the running backs with 49 yards and one touchdown on the ground. John Powers led the defense with nine total tackles and one interception.
Ben Gordon's rushing touchdown on the Panthers' opening drive was the first touchdown of his collegiate career.
Calvin Jaworski's pick six in the third quarter was UNI's first pick six since Woo Governor had a pair against Western Illinois in 2022.
Brady McCullough recorded the first multi-touchdown game of his college career. He finished with three receiving touchdowns, the first Panther with three receiving TDs since Sergio Morancy against Indiana State in 2024.
UNI's 56 points are the most by the Panthers in a home game since the Panthers scored 61 against Missouri State in 2016.
Freshman Caleb Kamara led the UNI ground game with 49 rushing yards and a touchdown. The last freshman running back to lead the Pather rushing attack was Christian Collins at Wyoming in 2025.
The UNI Panther football team leads the Missouri Valley Conference in a number of statistical categories, including blocked kicks (1), defensive TDs (1), fewest penalties (11), passes had intercepted (1), punt return defense (4.00), team sacks (3.00), team tackles for loss (8.5), time of possession (32:39), turnover margin (2.00), and fewest turnovers lost (1). The Panthers' 8.5 tackles for loss per game is the third-most in the FCS, while UNI is fourth in the country in turnover margin and fewest turnovers lost.
The Panthers have the second-best rushing defense in the conference through two games, allowing just 74.5 rushing yards per outing, second to just Illinois State in the MVFC with just 59.3 rushing yards allowed per game. The Panthers' rushing defense is the fifth-best rushing defense in the FCS.
Individually, Josiah Young leads the Valley with 2.0 passes defended per game, the second-best mark in the FCS behind Parker Vance of Southern Utah with 2.33 per contest. Young joins Calvin Jaworski and John Powers at no. 2 on the Valley's interceptions per game list with 0.5 picks per outing. Jaworski is one of 29 FCS athletes with an interception return for a touchdown, including one of just two in the Valley.
Through two weeks, Jaxon Dailey has been one of the top quarterbacks in the Missouri Valley Conference. The lefty hurler is second in the league in passing yards per game (264.5) and yards per pass attempt (10.37), third in the Valley in completions per game (18), passing yards per completion (14.69), and scoring (9.0), and is fourth in the conference with a 70.6% completion percentage, three rushing TDs, and 270.5 yards of total offense per game.
Jaxon Dailey is back under center for the Panthers after taking over the starting QB job following the Panthers' matchup at Southern Illinois. Dailey was responsible for 32% of UNI's completions, 37% of UNI's passing yards, and 44% of UNI's passing touchdowns last season. The graduate QB finished with 66 completions for 823 yards and seven touchdowns on 110 attempts in 10 games in 2025.
The Panthers' running back room sees some big changes, as Jaxon Dailey is the highest-producing running threat back from a season ago returning to the squad. Dailey accounted for just 16% of UNI's rushing yards, as all of the Panthers' rushing touchdowns depart Cedar Falls after last year. Christian Collins was responsible for 70 yards in four games last season, UNI's biggest returning running back contributor from 2025.
The wideout room gets a couple key pieces back heading into 2026, as Jaiden Ellis-Lahey and Tay Norman return to the lineup. Ellis-Lahey missed the entirety of the 2025 season due to injury, while Norman missed almost all of 2025 after suffering an injury in the first game of the 2025 season. JC Roque Jr., the Panthers' 2025 receiving leader, is back after producing 595 yards and seven touchdowns on 56 receptions. Ayden Price accounted for 365 yards and two touchdowns on 20 receptions a season ago.
UNI brings in transfer running back Xavier Terrell after three seasons at Florida Atlantic. Terrell carried the ball 54 times for 161 yards and one touchdown and caught 13 passes for 89 yards and a touchdown a season ago with the Owls.
Cyrus Courtney and Taj Hughes join the receiving room ahead of the 2026 season. Courtney comes to UNI after a pair of seasons at Iowa Western CC, where he appeared in 13 games, catching 22 passes for 308 yards and four touchdowns for the 2025 NJCCA National Champions last season. Hughes comes to Cedar Falls after four seasons with the Drake Bulldogs. While in Des Moines, Hughes was a two-time All-PFL Honorable Mention. Last season, he caught 46 passes for 510 yards and two touchdowns and ran 30 times for 139 yards.
Three high schools in the state of Iowa have produced five current athletes, leading all high schools. Cedar Falls High School (Jarrett Kies, Hayden Bishop, Kailer Smith, Connor Best, and Will Remmert), Urbandale High School (Kai Black, Graham Friedrichsen, Elijah Hoyt, Axel Ramazani, and Jack Hearne), and West Des Moines Valley High School (Ayden Price, Andrew Price, Isaiah Pinks, Rico Alvaranga-Servellon, and Ryan Kuennen) have each produced five current Panthers. Ankeny High School comes in at a close second with four athletes (Andrew Monsivais, Brady McCullough, Lamarious Clark, and Connor Kayser) on the Panther football team.
The 2026 roster of 113 players includes 70 athletes from the great state of Iowa. Of these 70, 13 of them are incoming freshmen, including a pair from across the street at Cedar Falls High School. Of the 113 athletes on the roster, 96 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 Khristian Boyd (Defensive Lineman - New Orleans Saints), Spencer Brown (Offensive Lineman - Buffalo Bills), Elijah Campbell (Safety - New York Giants), and Trevor Penning (Offensive Lineman - LA Chargers) on NFL rosters and Jared Brinkman (Defensive Lineman - Edmonton Elks) on a CFL roster.
UNI football action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Football), X (@UNIFootball) and on Instagram (@unipantherfootball). The full 2026 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
