UNI defensive backfield stays confident

CEDAR FALLS - Back-to-back weeks facing up-tempo, no-huddle offenses with star-studded receiving corps might make some defenses shudder.

The idea of going from guarding Allen Lazard to Cooper Kupp - who only had 15 catches for 246 yards and three touchdowns against Oregon - could keep some defensive backs up at night.

But not at Northern Iowa.

No, for Deiondre Hall, Jordan Webb, Makinton Dorleant and Tim Kilfoy, starting the season against two high-powered offenses is exactly what they want. While that may seem crazy, it makes perfect sense to a group that wants to prove itself as one of the best in the country.

They know 'in order to do that, we're going to have to beat the best.”

'We have the confidence in ourselves, so this is exciting to us,” Kilfoy said. 'Me, Deiondre and Makinton have been playing together for three years now, whereas when we were freshmen or sophomores, it might be a little intimidating. But now, having experience with each other, more than anything it's exciting. With the experience we have, I know exactly what Makinton's feeling, I know what Deiondre's feeling.

'We're an experienced group. Things kind of just flow when we're out there.”

It'll take plenty of flow to stop what No. 7 Eastern Washington brings to the table offensively.

The Eagles (0-1) put up 549 total yards (438 through the air) in a 61-42 loss to FBS No. 7 Oregon to open the season. Quarterback Jordan West had three receivers to choose from - including Kendrick Bourne and Shaq Hill, but chief among them was Kupp, who after just one game as a junior now has 212 catches for 3,348 yards and 40 touchdowns in 29 games played.

Even if the group is excited, numbers like those are a very real concern for defensive coaches. Head coach Mark Farley has always been focused on that side of the ball, so he - as much as anyone - knows getting off the field and managing field position will be vital to keeping his defense fresh.

That actually starts on offense for his Panthers (0-1). If they can even come close to matching the pace of Eastern Washington in the second game of offensive coordinator Joe Davis' new system, it'll go a very long way toward keeping things even and allowing them a chance to control the game.

'It's a huge concern. You've got to get off the field (defensively) because it ties to special teams,” Farley said. 'No production on offense, thus your defense is out there to hold the line and keep you in the game, yet your special teams is made up of defensive players.

'That's been my concern is how we perform late in the game on defense because that's where the wear and tear shows up. But when you do move the ball - you did see on the (scoring) drive (at Iowa State) it did move the way it's supposed to look - there wasn't enough of those drives to carry over to the rest of the game. It's a learning experience.”

Some questioned the flow of UNI's new no-huddle offense that was touted as a shift to up-tempo as not being so against Iowa State. But Farley isn't concerned with the number of plays specifically.

He's focused on the flow of the game and making sure however the offense manifests itself - whether they run many plays or few - that it's efficient in doing so.

'I just want to win. I don't care if we run 60 plays or 90 plays, it's about winning. That's your typical thing that happens with the no-huddle stuff,” Farley said. 'Look at Oregon and Eastern Washington. That's just two teams going up and down the field. Three years ago that's the same thing as 21-16 in two power offenses.

'It all goes together. It all correlates. It's not some magic that happens. It's a correlation of the whole game being put together.”

If the Panthers want to avoid 0-2, they will have to figure out a way to find the flow coaches and players talked about and live up to the challenge they're eagerly anticipating.

And if confidence is the first step in achieving that, UNI is right on schedule headed into Saturday's 1 p.m. kickoff at the UNI-Dome.

'We know they're going to bring their best game and we're going to bring ours. It'll be a good test to see where we're at. We're definitely confident about it,” Kilfoy said. 'Like Iowa State, they're going to be more of a 70 percent to 30 percent pass to run. As a defensive backfield, playing our first game in the Dome this year, this is exactly what we want.”

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com