CEDAR FALLS – Playoff pictures hang in the balance on Saturday inside the UNI-Dome when the No. 22/RV UNI Panthers take on the No. 9/9 North Dakota State Bison in the regular-season finale.
These two teams have met on 55 different occasions since their first meeting in 1938. The Bison hold the series record with 29 victories over the Panthers and 26 losses. Under head coach Mark Farley, UNI has a record of 4-11 against the Bison, the only losing record against a conference opponent in Farley’s career. The last time the Panthers beat the Bison was in a 23-3 matchup inside the UNI-Dome in 2014. North Dakota State has won the last eight consecutive meetings, the second-longest active streak against the Panthers behind the Iowa Hawkeye 17-game win streak.
#22/RV UNI (6-4 / 5-2 MVFC) vs #9/9 North Dakota State (7-3 / 4-3 MVFC)
4 p.m. CT | Nov. 18, 2023
Cedar Falls, Iowa | UNI-Dome (16,324)
Panther Sports Network (ESPN+ / CFU Ch. 15 / KCWI / KCRG / Marquee) (Mark Simpson: Play-by-Play / Justin Surrency: Analyst)
Panther Sports Radio Network (J.W. Cox: Play-by-Play / Scott Peterson: Analyst)
UNI PANTHERS
Quarterback Theo Day continues to lead the second-best passing offense in the MVFC. The passing offense has averaged 260.8 yards per game, the second-best mark in the conference, and averages 13.95 yards per completion, the MVFC’s top mark. Day leads the conference with 253.5 passing yards per game and 2,535 total yards. His 14.01 yards per completion is the MVFC’s second-best mark this season. Theo Day needs just 25 yards of total offense to pass Jay Johnson (1989-92) for fourth place on the all-time charts. Johnson currently sits with 7,992 total yards of offense.
The UNI receiving core continues to be led by one of the top wide receivers in the conference, Sam Schnee. Schnee is averaging 87.7 receiving yards per game and 17.9 yards per reception, both the third-best mark in the conference. He is nine yards away from cracking the UNI top-10 for receiving yards in a career. Nine more receiving yards would leap Daurice Fountain (2014-17) who currently sits in 10th place with 2,077 career receiving yards.
The UNI running back room remains dominated by Tye Edwards and Amauri Pesek-Hickson. Edwards is averaging 4.83 yards per carry, the third-best MVFC mark. Last week, the duo combined for 119 yards and have combined for 915 yards this season.
On defense, the Panthers have recovered seven fumbles this season, the second-best mark in the MFVC behind Southern Illinois’ eight fumble recoveries. Of those seven recoveries, both Cannon Butler and Caden Houghtelling have recorded two each. In the matchup against Missouri State, Butler forced a fumble on the first play of the game, his second of the season.
In last week’s matchup, placekicker Matthew Cook broke the 400-point threshold with a field goal in the third quarter. He currently sits with 404 total points in his career. He is just 13 points shy of breaking the conference record for career points scored set by SDSU’s Zach Zenner with 413 points when he finished playing in 2014. Cook continued his streak of both made PATs (152) and games with a point scored (40) last week.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE BISON
Coming off of a 34-10 victory over Southern Illinois. That matchup saw the Bison score 21 unanswered points in the second half to bring home the victory. Quarterback Cam Miller was 15 of 19 passing for 232 yards, including a 52-yard pass to Braylon Henderson and a 40-yard reception from Eli Green. RaJa Nelson led the Bison with four receptions for 81 yards, Henderson finished with three for 70 yards and Green had two catches for 62 yards. On the ground, North Dakota State had eight ball carriers combine to rush for 217 yards, the most allowed this season by Southern Illinois. TaMerik Williams led the Bison with 51 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries, and Cam Miller and TK Marshall each scored on the ground for the Bison.
The North Dakota State passing game leads both the league and FCS in completion percentage this season (72.5%). The offense also leads the conference with 447 yards of total offense per game. Not only does Cam Miller lead the quarterback room, but he is the Bison’s leading rusher this season with 529 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 90 attempts. Miller is the second-most efficient quarterback in the conference with a rating of 163.1. On top of that, he is responsible for the second-most points in the conference this year (132).
North Dakota State’s offense has scored on each of their opening drives this season. They have come away with eight touchdowns and two field goals on their 10 opening drives so far. To open the second half, the Bison are 7-for-10 on opening drives with six touchdowns and one field goal.
The NDSU defense has shown that they are one of the top defenses in the MVFC. They allow just 18.7 points per game, the fourth-least in the conference. They also allow just 169.2 passing yards per game, the second-best mark in the MVFC.
CELEBRATING 125 SEASONS OF PANTHER FOOTBALL
This year marks the 125th season of play for the UNI football program. Kicking off games in 1895, the Panthers have played every year since, with the exception of 1906, 1907, 1944 and 1945, with over 1,300 players wearing the purple and gold. UNI will celebrate the milestone season all year long with special history lessons on social media, a 125th season website and more. The Panthers will honor this anniversary season with a 125th season decal on their helmets all season long.
