Mark Farley still wondering what UNI football will be

CEDAR FALLS — Six games into an 11-game regular season, Northern Iowa football coach Mark Farley is trying to figure out just what he has in his 2023 team.

The Panthers (3-3, 2-1) have won three of their last four games and sit in a tie for second place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings, but are coming off a 41-6 beatdown at No. 1 South Dakota State (6-0, 3-0) that featured a season-high five turnovers.

“Got some really good play at some positions and have some younger players at other positions and it (has) resulted in inconsistencies,” Farley said. “See some really good things that can happen as a unit and then inconsistencies of some other parts that break down that create the problems that we talk about.”

While offering a critique of his team, Farley pointed out he’s comparing his starters to “the elite” of seasons past.

This past Saturday’s road loss appeared more of an aberration than a continuation or beginning of something disturbing with three fumbles lost and two interceptions.

“You bite your lip on the last (game) because of your own play, not because of how it went down,” Farley said. “That’s what you’ve got to move forward from, but you’ve got to learn from it, too. You’ve got to grieve a little bit on that (game) to make sure you make the right adjustments.”

Moving forward, UNI is facing a mounting challenge due to injury, particularly at running back.

Tye Edwards (lower body) missed his second straight game, while Harrison Bey-Buie and Josh Jenkins were knocked out of Saturday’s loss against the Jackrabbits with their own injuries.

Farley confirmed Monday that Edwards remains questionable for this week’s game, while revealing Bey-Buie could be out for multiple weeks.

“It looks like it’s (a) long term (injury), yes,” Farley said of Bey-Buie’s diagnosis.

Up next for the Panthers is their annual homecoming game against No. 9 North Dakota at 4 p.m. Saturday (ESPN+). The Fighting Hawks (4-2, 2-1) are coming off an impressive home win against then No. 7 North Dakota State, 49-24.

UND is led by senior quarterback Tommy Schuster and currently ranks second in the MVFC in scoring at 38.2 points per game.

“Every matchup is going to be something to behold from here on out for us and it starts with North Dakota, give them credit, that was a great win (against) North Dakota State,” Farley said. “They got speed, size and talent. (Schuster) is just elusive.

“He’s a winner.”