University of Northern Iowa

UNI Football (2-3/0-1 MVFC) at South Dakota (4-1/2-0 MVFC)

• 2pm CT | Oct 12, 2024
• Vermillion, SD | DakotaDome (9,100)
• Midco Sports Plus / ESPN+ (David Brown: play-by-play / Andre Fields: analyst)
• Panther Sports Radio Network | (JW Cox: Play-by-Play / Scott Peterson: Analyst)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The UNI football team makes its first trip to conference play, traveling to Vermillion, South Dakota to face the No. 1 seed. 4 South Dakota Coyotes at the DakotaDome. The Panthers' MVFC dome tour continues on Saturday, October 12, as UNI will play its second of seven games in a dome throughout the conference.

The Panthers are coming off a 41-3 loss to No. 1 South Dakota State on Oct. 5. The match at the UNI-Dome took place on Family Weekend in Northern Iowa, where the Panthers had their largest crowd of 12,611 since October 7, 2017 against Western Illinois.

In this matchup Aidan Dunne finished the game with 113 passing yards on eight of 15 completions, with Matthew Scheklman throwing for 67 yards on nine completions. Sergio Morancy picked up 73 yards on six catches JC Roque Jr. recorded 46 yards on five receptions. On the floor, Tye Edwards ran for 62 yards on 12 carries Amauri Pesek-Hickson Carried the ball eight times for 23 yards.

The Panthers are now 17-6 in draw week under Farley and 15-10 in MVFC openers. On Saturday, Northern Iowa opened league play for just the second time in school history against the top-ranked team in the country (last game: 2004 at No. 1 Southern Illinois | L, 40-36). Northern Iowa fell to 3-11 all-time in a loss to the top-ranked team in the country. UNI's last win over the top team in the country came in 2014 with a 23-3 win over North Dakota State.

The Panthers travel to Vermillion, South Dakota to take on the Coyotes in USD's annual Dakota Days celebration. UNI holds a two-game winning streak against South Dakota in Vermillion. The last four times the Panthers have suffered a loss to the No. 1 seed. UNI is ranked #1 in the country and bounced back to win their next game (2023 – 27-0 vs. #9 North Dakota, 2022 – 58-14 at South Dakota, 2019 – 42-27 vs. RV South Dakota). 2018 – 42-28 at #24 South Dakota).

The Panthers remain one of the cleanest teams in the MVFC with just 26 penalties this season. That mark is the second-best in the Valley behind Indiana State's 20 total penalties. UNI leads the Valley with an opponent fourth down percentage of 25%.

JC Roque Jr. is the third-leading punt returner in the conference, averaging eight yards per punt return.

On the floor, Tye Edwards continues to be a force with 7.19 rushing yards (per carry). That's the 11th-best mark in the country and second-best in the conference, just 0.2 yards per carry behind Youngstown State's Beau Brungard. Edwrads' 83.4 rushing yards per game is the fourth-best mark in the Valley. Sergio Morancy has recorded an average of 19.6 yards per kickoff return. This number is the third best mark in the MVFC.

South Dakota is coming off a 59-0 win at Murray State last Saturday. This was the first MVFC away shutout in USD program history, as the Coyotes posted a season-high 582 yards of offense against the Racers. The defense forced a season-high four turnovers, two interceptions, a forced fumble in the red zone and a muffed punt recovery deep in Murray State territory on the day. Of these sales, it directly resulted in 17 USD points. On the afternoon, the Yotes rushed for 361 yards, surpassing 350 rushing yards for the first time since the 2021 Cal Poly game. The seven rushing scores on the day are the most in the Division I FCS era, most recently in 2008 against Culver-Stockton (Mo.) with seven scores.

USD has won its first two MVFC games each of the last two seasons and is looking to make its second consecutive third-place finish with a 16-6 record at the Dakota Dome since the 2021 season.

The Yotes have finished with five interceptions as a team featuring four different players to start the season with their defense. Gabriel Hardman earned his first pick as a Coyote last week against Murray State. The five team interceptions rank 31st best in the country. LB Gary Bryant III leads the defense with his 36 tackles this season. Nick Gaes leads the team in sacks (4.5), while Gaes and Mi'Quise Grace are tied for the team lead in tackles for loss (5.5). The duo at the top is tied for second in the MVFC in TFLs per game (1.10), while Gaes is tied for second in the Valley with 4.5 sacks.

UNI football action can be followed throughout the season on social media on Facebook (UNI Football), X (@UNIFootball) and on Instagram (@unipantherfootball). The complete 2024 schedule and roster, as well as the latest Panthers news and information, can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.