Drive for something bigger pushing the Panthers

CEDAR FALLS – It's been 10 years since Mark Farley and the Northern Iowa football team got oh-so-close to FCS football's pinnacle.

The 2005 Panthers lost to Appalachian State in the FCS national championship game. And every day since that one has been a mission to get back. Every day a hurdle over which Farley and his team must climb in search of that dream they could see but not grasp.

That drive and fire to get back is something he's tried very hard to pass on to his players and coaches who haven't been deep in the playoffs before.

'Every year. Ever since the day I walked out that door in Chattanooga (Tenn.),' Farley said. 'You're appreciative of getting this far, but you want to make sure that they enjoy it and they know the process. Only one team is happy at the end of this whole thing. Only one walks away with a smile.'

UNI (8-4) is once again in the second round of the FCS playoffs as one of the final 16 teams alive – something the Panthers can say about five of their six playoff-qualifying teams since that 2005 season. Twice in that span their season ended in the quarterfinals (2007 and 2011), once in the semifinals (2008), once in the second round (2014), once in the first round (2010).

Even in an expanded field (FCS moved from 16 playoff teams to 24 for the 2010 season), reaching the round of 16 is no easy feat.

It's easy, then, to get away from what got a team to this point. It's easy to let the moment take over.

'We're really focused as far as making sure we're detailing our work,' Farley said. 'Sometimes the bigger the games get, you try too hard. You've got to caution yourself against that, but you also never know. It's hard to get this far. You want to make sure you put your best foot forward. That's what we're trying to do without putting ourselves in a situation that we're stressed and trying too hard to make something happen.

'We just have to be ourselves and play the game we're playing.'

Playing an opponent who's never seen you also throws a wrench into the works.

This will be the first time UNI and Portland State face each other, and as much as there's a temptation for the players to play over their heads, there's also a temptation for the coaches to put too many new things into the plan.

There's a thin line between being predictable and unpredictable and it's a tough one to walk.

'That's exactly the minefield you walk through, because we've got to be able to rush the football because that's who we are,' Farley said. 'We have to be able to throw the football to be impactful. That doesn't mean we have to throw it 50 times to be impactful. It's there. Where the time is spent right now is making sure the plan is honed to Portland State's defense. There are tweaks to everything, so we have to find a way to create the edge for our players.

'We'll do what we do, but with the edge to it that will take advantage of what (the Vikings) do or don't do.'

That challenge, plus the drive to get back to the final game and finish what Farley and his Panthers started in 2005 is what fills the hours before a 9 p.m. CT kickoff in Portland, Ore.

The 15th-year head coach said he desperately wants to win a title for his school and for its people. This journey never gets old and its meaning is never lost.

'Maybe the older you get, the more appreciative you are of the difficulty it takes to get here,' Farley said. 'You want to make sure. This might be the one, this might be the year if we hit on all cylinders and catch a break here and there.

'It's been a long time since we played in the championship. It's a process. You don't know what's going to present itself as it unfolds. Everyone has to be prepared. Get prepared mentally for all the things that can happen. It's all about January 9. We're in this for one reason.'

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