Panthers having fun, winning

Mark Farley is having fun.

Winning, of course, has a lot to do with that and his second-ranked University of Northern Iowa football team is doing plenty of winning right now.

The Panthers have won five in a row since a 20-19 season-opening loss at Iowa State and stand 4-0 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference after Saturday's 31-14 win at South Dakota State.

UNI returns home - for only the third time this season - to host Southern Illinois (1-3, 2-4) on Saturday (3 p.m.) before an Oct. 29 showdown with No. 3 North Dakota State (3-0, 6-0) in Fargo.

The Salukis are struggling this season, but have won three in a row in this series. Farley, however, remains unconcerned about his team psyche midway through the season.

“They are really focused on the task at hand,” he said Monday after his weekly news conference in Cedar Falls. “We talk about it and guard against (over confidence) ... They are policing themselves.”

Part of that, Farley said, is this team gets along really well. While players spend most of their time with their particular units, he said he often sees defensive players mingling with offensive players after practice and games.

“Each team is different,” Farley said, “... only the players can make that happen.

“They are just connected right now. It's been fun, it's been a fun season. It's fun to be around this group of players.”

Of course, the fun can end with a bad performance or a loss. Farley doesn't see that happening.

“We're consistently playing at a good level,” he said.