CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI football will get its first opportunity to face off against Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) competition early on Saturday afternoon as the Panthers host the No. 23/19 Penguins of Youngstown State in their league opener in the UNI-Dome.
Having won its last three games against the Penguins, UNI will look to even its record on the season coming off the bye week last Saturday. The Panthers are 14-6 under head coach Mark Farley after a bye week as well as conference openers, and have won 59 games against top-25 ranked opponents under Farley.
UNI PANTHERS
UNI enters league play after being picked third in the MVFC preseason poll. The Panthers have finished in the top-five in the conference standings seven times in the last ten seasons, including a second place finish in 2019.
Northern Iowa looks to replicate its success from its last outing on Sept. 16, a 41-17 win at Idaho State. In Coach Farley's 175th career victory, the Panthers scored big in the passing game with receiver Sam Schnee setting a career-high with 174 yards on seven catches and a pair of touchdowns. Schnee enters this week as the MVFC's leader in receiving touchdowns (3), receiving yards per game (101.7) and all-purpose yards per game (131).
Quarterback Theo Day also produced a career game at Idaho State, throwing for a career-best 388 yards and two touchdowns, moving him up to sixth on UNI's all-time passing yards list (6,306). The redshirt senior gunslinger ranks fifth in the nation with 288 passing yards a game, the second-best mark in the conference, while also commanding the nation's ninth-best passing offense (291 yards per game).
UNI's offensive line and defense also showed signs of improvement, not giving up a sack all game against the Bengals, earning Chase Arends MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week honors last week. Cordarrius Bailey recorded three sacks against Idaho State, while Jahsiah Galvan recorded ten tackles. Galvan enters the fourth game of the season in the top-five in the MVFC in tackles per game (8.3), with Edwin Dearman ranking 13th in the league (6.7 tackles per game).
On special teams, placekicker Matthew Cook continued to make history with his 71st career field goal made, becoming the first Panther kicker to reach 70 in his career. The Cedar Falls, Iowa native also remained perfect on his career with his 131st made PAT kick. In the punting game, Noah Pettinger, despite only punting once against the Bengals, continues to lead the MVFC and rank sixth in the FCS with a 45.2 yard average.
YOUNGSTOWN STATE PENGUINS
The Penguins, also coming off their bye week last weekend, will be in search of their first win in the UNI-Dome since 1999. After a dominant season-opening win against Valparaiso and a 35-7 loss at Ohio State, Youngstown State bounced back with a convincing 48-28 win against Robert Morris (PA) on Sept. 16.
With a run-heavy offense, the Penguins average 219 rushing yards a game and have scored 12 touchdowns on the ground this season. Running back Tyshon King, last week's MVFC Newcomer of the Week, leads the YSU run game with 294 yards on 35 carries and five touchdowns, averaging just under 100 rushing yards per contest. King ran for a career-high 117 yards and three scores two weeks against vs. Robert Morris
Through the air, quarterback Mitch Davidson is coming off a career day with 339 passing yards on 21 completions against Robert Morris, with one passing and rushing touchdown to his name. First Team Preseason All-MVFC receiver Bryce Oliver and teammate C.J. Charleston became the first pair of Penguin receivers to eclipse 100 receiving yards since 2017 as Oliver totaled 108 yards on seven catches, while Charleston tallied 119 yards on six targets, including three receptions of 20+ yards.
Defensively, Youngstown State posts the second-best red zone defense in the league, holding its opponents out of the endzone 71.4% of the time. The Penguins bring four defenders into Saturday's matchup with double-digit tackles on the year, including Alex Howard (21), Tyjon Jones (15), Marcus Hooker (13) and Greg Benton Jr. (11). Howard also leads the Penguins with four tackles for loss and three sacks).
FAMILY WEEKEND
The University of Northern Iowa will celebrate Family Weekend, Sept. 29-Oct. 1. All tickets for Saturday's home football game against Youngstown State at 1 p.m. CT can be used to get into UNI volleyball's home match the same day at 6 p.m. CT vs. UIC. Please contact the UNI Ticket Office at 319-273-4849 for inquiries or more information, or visit unipanthers.com/tickets.
