UNI football not complacent, ready for MVFC

CEDAR FALLS - Through the first four weeks, it's hard to tell exactly what kind of team is the Northern Iowa football team.

The first two weeks were self-sabotaged losses, and the second two have been non-competitive blowouts.

But with Missouri Valley Football Conference play coming like a freight train on Saturday, Coach Mark Farley and his team are about to find out for sure. What they believe at this point, though, is they've made strides in the last two weeks they haven't in the past.

'I don't know how to compare this team to (past teams). I think this team has made strides the last two weeks and are getting better in Game 3 and Game 4, where I think other teams haven't made that progress in Game 3 and Game 4,” Farley said. 'The last two weeks in practice have been very productive for us. We've gained some things to use for future games that maybe you haven't seen yet in those practices because of the growth they've made. We're in a good spot right now going into league play, but I'll tell you what, league play is a lot different than what we've been playing against. It'll be more like playing against Iowa, so we've got to get in that mode.”

Maybe the biggest plus of winning big - aside from the morale boost that comes with - is the ability to rest starters and preserve health, while also giving second string players invaluable game reps that would lessen the drop-off should a starter get injured.

Farley has preached 'next man in” for years, but as he said, in years past there hasn't always been a live opportunity to prepare said man.

'I think we have a feel for identifying who the next person is, and that next person has game reps that have been corrected so they should be better when they get in the game,” Farley said. 'I feel good that those groups have the number of reps they have going into league play - that'll be very important.”

There's always a danger, too, of complacency setting in with a string of dominant performances.

But to asks both coaches and players, that hasn't happened yet with the Panthers. They know the caliber of opponents they've played and are about to play, and haven't lost sight of the goal.

'I haven't seen one bit of (complacency) in the locker room,” said Iowa City Regina grad and tight end Braden Lehman, who caught his first touchdown pass of the season last Saturday. 'We're about the ultimate goal of winning a national championship, and we know we can't do that just by showing up just when the playoffs start. We have to make it to the playoffs first. We have to beat opponents every week. Everyone's striving to do their part week in and week out, and it's helping us in the long run.”

That's evidenced, Farley said, with how players have responded by actions in the wake of the 50-7 win against Tennessee Tech on Saturday.

Farley said many of the players - both starters and second-string players - came in on their off day Sunday to watch film. Making that extra step, he said, could be the difference as the conference season gets going.

'I just like when they come in and see how they did because we take the Sundays off,” Farley said. 'They come in after a loss to see what happened to them, but when they come in after a win, that's very good. And when you have the numbers we did come in after they only played 20 snaps, and they're all in there watching tape, you know it means a lot to them and they're invested. It gives you a better opportunity to be successful throughout the season.”

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