How good are these Panthers?

University of Northern Iowa Coach Mark Farley admits his Panthers are playing about as well as they can three games into the college football season.

The Panthers remain No. 2 in the FCS Top 25 after an impressive, 38-10, win over Western Illinois. They have won two in a row, are averaging 30.3 points and allowing just 17.7.

They aren't unbeaten, but the “one” in UNI's 2-1 record was a 20-19 decision at an undefeated Iowa State team on the verge of making the FBS Top 25.

Times are good inside the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, but that doesn't mean the veteran coach doesn't have any worries.

“You want to be confident,” Farley said Monday. “But sometimes confidence goes the wrong direction.”

Teams can get too confident when seemingly tough games turn into 28-point wins and when victories start piling up. Farley has coached long enough to know there will be bumps in the road, an odd twist, a bad bounce.

“We can plan for (bumps) and, hopefully, avoid a few,” he said.

But like any good parent trying to share some wisdom with their child, Farley knows talk can only go so far. That's why he's happy he has seniors who have “been there, done that.”

“We've been through that trap before,” said Farley, whose team travels to Missouri State on Saturday. “We have guys who have been through it themselves ... Right now, I don't sense that (over confidence).

“You have to be able to sustain playing well. You can't get too high, you can't get too low. We realize that sustaining that is up to themselves.”

One of the reason Farley remains so optimistic is because of that sane youth. He said several players made their UNI-Dome debuts on Saturday and the young group, as a whole, are good listeners.

“They are accepting the leadership,” he said, adding the entire team is playing well but “we're young enough that we will get better.

“I think we have an opportunity to continue getting better.”