No time for UNI football to relish recent wins with North Dakota State up next

CEDAR FALLS - As far as this season is concerned, things have gone close to perfect for Northern Iowa the past two weeks. A 38-18 win two weeks ago over then-No. 7 South Dakota State and a 19-14 win over then-No. 9 Youngstown State on Saturday has the Panthers in position to take hold of first place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with a win this Saturday over No. 2 North Dakota State (7-0, 4-0).

Well aware of the challenge they face this Saturday in Fargo, head coach Mark Farley seemed reluctant on Monday to wax poetic about his team's accomplishments in their last two games.

'I don't have the answer why we did what we did the last couple weeks,” Farley said. 'I just know that we need to find a way this week to improve from last week.”

Obviously that statement from the head coach is not completely true. Farley most definitely has insight into what's catapulted his team up the conference standings the past couple weeks, but it's North Dakota State week. Therefore the cards get held a little closer to the vest than usual.

'Our players know what to expect now in practice. They know what to expect in meetings. They know what to expect moving forward, and they know what to expect on the sideline (and) halftime adjustment(s),” Farley said. 'All those things are a part of a football game. That in-game adjustment is probably as vital as a Monday adjustment. That's where the relationships and the communication all has to be fluent to make (it) happen correctly. The last couple weeks we've been pretty fluent at it.”

UNI's seven, not-so-new-anymore assistants have been a big part of the two wins over top-10 opponents. Relationships between coaches and players have grown. Lines of communication are more fluent than they were just three or four weeks ago, and the results of that are part of what's made the personnel and schematic adjustments so successful.

'(The players) now have some experience of playing those positions, so they know how to adjust it on the field, Farley said. 'I don't know if there's anything new going on out there; it's just a matter of guys that are getting acquainted with it because we were playing with some really young players in some positions that were in decision-making spots.”

Two weeks ago, Farley and defensive coordinator Jeremiah Johnson shook up the personnel on defense with a lean toward more veteran players. Two seniors and a junior start where three freshmen were starting three weeks ago. Two weeks after their adjustments Farley credits the defense's newfound ability to make more in-game and play-to-play adjustments on those upperclassmen.

'Then maybe the other thing that happened is when we put Keelon (Brookins) in at the nickel and put Elijah back at the safety that kind of solidified some of the things that were going on mentally on the field,” Farley said. 'We had better experience on the field of guys that would be able to adapt during a game as we go through a football game.”

So whether it was holding Taryn Christion - the 2016 MVFC offensive player of the year - to a sub-50 percent completion percentage two weeks ago, or racking up 10 sacks and limiting Youngstown State to 47 rushing yards on 36 attempts this past week, the defensive adjustments came at just the right time for UNI.

Then again, knowing what lies ahead, Farley was sure to mention there's plenty of room left for improvement.

'We're a long ways from arriving on offense or defense right now,” Farley said. 'But we've made good progress the last couple games.”