Nebraska Football Opponent Preview: Northern Iowa

Date: Saturday, September 14th, 2024

Location: Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, NE

Time: 6:30 p.m.

TV Broadcast Info: BTN – Guy Haberman, Yogi Roth and Rhett Lewis

Radio Info: Husker Radio Network with Greg Sharpe, Damon Benning and Jessica Cody. A list of affiliates can be found at Huskers.com/Listen.

Northern Iowa – Nebraska History: None. This is the first ever meeting between these schools.

Preview: Northern Iowa enters Saturday’s game with a 2-0 record after a 17-10 victory at St. Thomas (Minn.) on September 7th. UNI trailed 10-7 entering the fourth quarter but scored 10 points in the final quarter, including the game-winning touchdown with 2:47 remaining. The Panthers opened the season with a win over Valparaiso on Aug. 31. UNI has controlled the line of scrimmage through two games, averaging 298.5 rushing yards per game, while allowing just 79.0 rushing yards per contest. The Panthers are ranked No. 21 in this week’s FCS coaches’ poll.

As noted above, this is the first ever meeting between the two programs. I have to admit, I’m actually a little surprised by this given the “proximity” of the two schools and how many seasons of college football there have been. So, for those of you going, get ready to witness some history at Memorial Stadium Saturday night (no kegs and eggs for Coach Rhule).

Photo by David K Purdy/Getty Images

The Panthers come into this contest scoring 26 points per game, while only giving up 8.5 points per game. Northern Iowa only averages 107.5 passing yards per contest, so expect the run defense to get their jerseys dirty. The battle in the trenches will be a big one for the Blackshirts. Redshirt Junior Aidan Dunne has started both games at quarterback, completing 55% of his passes, while throwing for 3 touchdowns and zero interceptions. Graduate Senior Tye Edwards leads the Panthers in rushing with 310 yards and averaging a very healthy 10.7 yards per carry. Senior receiver Sergio Morancy and Senior tight end Layne Pryor lead the team with 5 receptions each.

Defensively, the Panthers don’t give up a lot, yet. They give up 138 yards through the air and 79 yards on the ground per game. The Panthers defense gives up only 2.9 yards per rush, so the front seven has been pretty stingy. Having said that, UNI has yet to force a turnover this season despite the caliber of teams they have faced.

Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

This matchup should be pretty straightforward for Nebraska (I know, I don’t want to jinx things). Play the usual solid run defense and things will seemingly solve themselves. This will be the final non-conference game of the season, so this should be another tune-up for a lot of guys. Get a better rhythm, play a solid 60 minutes, and for the love of God DO NOT give the refs an excuse to call a hold. That second half seemed to take so long I was about to call into work saying I was going to be late on Monday. This is the second of three straight night games, so hopefully you have retrained yourself into staying up late. Go Big Red!