Northern Iowa begins MVFC play at Indiana State

CEDAR FALLS - Throughout the early stages of the college football season, Northern Iowa Coach Mark Farley and the Panther players have talked about getting to conference play.

Because after two years of subpar - by their standards, at least - conference seasons, the Panthers are eager to get back to challenging for a Missouri Valley Football Conference title and a return to the FCS playoffs.

That starts today, on the road against Indiana State - a team they haven't played since their last trip to the playoffs in 2011. Farley is looking for two things from his team as they start the conference season, and it's the two things he thinks can vault them back into contention.

'You've got to have the emotion in the game, but you also have to have the poise in the game,” Farley said. 'We've got to keep our heads about us and play smart. The turnovers are always there to talk about, the penalties are always there. You have to play right on the edge of tenacity and poise to be successful. We've got to get this team to that level every Saturday, and to do so it's got to come from the players. There isn't a speech or some great game plan. It's the consistency of a team being focused on game day.”

The biggest challenge headed into the matchup with the Sycamores is the unfamiliarity despite being in the same conference.

The three-year gap in playing leaves the UNI coaching staff essentially had to treat it as a new opponent with such different personnel from the last time the teams played. Indiana State has the No. 9 passing offense in the country, compared to the No. 112 run offense, so the Panthers have to find a way to change their defense up a bit.

'We haven't played against them, so we haven't seen their personnel year to year. I think their quarterback is excellent,” Farley said. 'There will be a little bit of a shift because they do rely on the passing game, and they're very confident in the passing game. So we're going to have to shift our coverages and find a way to create some pressure. There's not many people who have gotten pressure on him. They're 3-1 for a reason.

'You can kind of see their growth through the season so far.”

With those changes, it's not just the players who have to step up. Farley said the coaches have to be crisp and decisive with their plan and its execution.

He said communication errors have happened a few times this season from the coaches' box in the press box down to the field. If the Panthers are going to reverse course from the last couple seasons, that has to change, too.

'Our mistakes we make from the press box to the huddle - we've got to clean those things,” Farley said. 'When I say press box to the snap, we made some of those errors the other night (against Tennessee Tech) in the red zone. And we can't afford to get in the red zone and make those errors. They take you out of field goal range, they take you out of seven points and get three instead.”

On the field, the only major concern going forward is big plays coming against the defense.

Tennessee Tech was held to 92 yards of total offense, but would've been held much lower than that if not for an 84-yard touchdown run in the second half. Farley knows his team could be much less fortunate against MVFC teams with those kinds of plays.

'Those explosive plays in the secondary, you're always cautious about, and then those explosive runs like they caught us with (Saturday),” Farley said. 'You can play a great game, give up one or two plays and you're beat. You've got to play every play and defend the game you're in because scores and what's happening throughout the game keeps changing all the time. So it's how you handle that type of environment because statistics don't tell the whole story.”

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