Changes on both sides of the ball led to UNI’s upset of South Dakota State

CEDAR FALLS - A lot can change in a week. Proof of that came Saturday in Brookings, S.D., with Northern Iowa's 38-18 road upset of No. 7 South Dakota State.

Coming into the game ranked 111th of 128 FCS teams in rushing yards the Panthers (3-3, 2-1) churned out 218 yards on 60 carries against the Jackrabbits (4-2, 1-2), led by the return of junior running back Marcus Weymiller and his 42-carry, 170-yard performance.

'Marcus really did a nice job for us,” UNI coach Mark Farley said. 'It was good to have him back somewhat healthy. He was definitely a factor in that football game. Really didn't know he carried it 40 times until the game was over, but he really made the difference for us on offense.”

A productive combination of run and pass fixed a lot of issues that had plagued the UNI offense through its first five games.

The offensive line protected Eli Dunne better as his number of dropbacks shrunk due to the effective run game. The offensive line also, on paper at least, had its best run-blocking performance this season. Both of those positives came despite injuries to starting tackles Spencer Brown and Cal Twait.

'It was one of those games that we finally hit on all cylinders and (the offensive line was) a big part of having everything go right for us. Once you get a little momentum like that, little energy like that, it kind of spreads and the offensive line is a big part of doing that,” Farley said. 'You go back to Marcus Weymiller - break a tackle and you make a 1-yard run into a 10-yard run - that also brings a lot of confidence and more energy to a team on a drive. It was a combination of Marcus, the tight ends, and the offensive line. It was a good balance of the rush and the pass to keep them off balance and make the big plays when we could.”

Similar to what took place on offense, the defensive effort from UNI was also more productive while looking different.

Farley and defensive coordinator Jeremiah Johnson debuted, or, re-debuted, a 3-4 defensive front with new personnel, previously unseen blitz actions, and many more never before seen wrinkles.

Xavior Williams started at cornerback in place of Elijah Campbell. Campbell shifted to free safety in favor of freshman Suni Lane who had started the previous three games. A.J. Allen moved from nickel linebacker back to boundary safety in favor of freshman Korby Sander. Also, senior transfer Keelon Brookins got his first ever start at nickel linebacker.

All those changes led to a dominant performance against one of the Missouri Valley Football Conference's most potent offenses. Coming into the game, SDSU was first in the FCS converting third downs at a 62-percent rate. Take a deep look into SDSU's uncharacteristic 18-point total against the Panthers on Saturday and you'll find that it converted just three of 12 third-down opportunities, completed only 40 percent of its passes, and ran for just 52 yards.

'We did change some things up and I thought it was very good by our staff as much as our players to be able to adjust like that,” Farley said. 'Then, how they played and how they executed was even more important than just having it (installed). Their execution was good. We'll take the field (against Youngstown State) with the dudes we had against South Dakota State.”

Between the offense and defense it was undoubtedly Northern Iowa's first ‘firing on all cylinders' performance of 2017, and it couldn't have come at a more important time.

While fans continue to enjoy the upset win that displayed a formula for UNI to be competitive against the MVFC's finest, Farley went off-script at Monday's press conference giving an opening statement (usually he opens up for questions immediately) entirely about this week's opponent, No. 9 Youngstown State (3-3, 1-2).

'It was a good win (against SDSU), but it was one win,” Farley said. 'Now we have to move on and make sure that our sight is on what we need to do this week to get ready for Youngstown (State).”