The UNI Panthers (5-4) come in winners of 3 straight games after going 2-4 to open the season. This seems to always be the case with the Mark Farley led squad. Start really really rough and then finish strong. The Panthers have flipped their team strengths this year from their previous versions. The offense is carrying this team right now while the defense is still struggling to find an identity.
Offense
The UNI offense is on fire over the last three weeks scoring 41, 41, and 37 points. On the season they are averaging 31 ppg by rushing for 158 ypg (4.5 ypc) and passing for 280 ypg. They are balanced, deep at the skill positions, and have a huge offensive line. All this talent is leading to success. They convert on 53.5% of their 3rd down opportunities and have scored on 32 of 36 attempts into the redzone; 23 of the touchdown variety. They hold the ball for 29:34 per game.
The offensive surge has been lead by quarterback #12 Theo Day (6-5, 231). Day was a 4 star recruit in high school and originally attended Michigan State. He was fine last year as UNI’s starter but he seems to have really hit his stride this year. On the year, he is completing 66% of his passes for 2,471 yards, 19 TDs, and just 4 INT. Those are certainly impressive passing numbers! What makes him a challenge is he also has the capability to tuck and run and he is hard to bring down for sacks because he is so big and strong. He has 181 gross yards rushing and 2 TD.
When Day drops back to pass, he has an abundance of weapons to throw to. The Panthers have five different receivers who are averaging over 15 ypc! What is interesting is that they have had two guys emerge as playmakers this season when previously they had maybe just been “guys” in the offense. #23 Sam Schnee (5-10, 195) leads the way with 41 receptions for 630 yards and 2 TD. Honestly, it feels like he has come out of no where but if you watch UNI games, he looks like an absolute stud right now. The next guy up is #1 Deion McShane (5-9, 171) who is still as shifty as ever. He made a terrific contested catch for a TD against SIU and still is hard to bring down in the open field. On the year he has 29 receptions for 467 yards and 2 TD. Another breakout player is #82 Sergio Morancy (6-3, 185) who has 20 receptions for 310 yards and 5 TD. Morancy is a long wide receiver that is really physical. After him is #17 Logan Wolf (6-4, 202) who has 14 receptions for 263 yards and 2 TD. #4 Quan Hampton (5-9, 180), a former Kansas transfer, gave the Jackrabbits fits in the spring season and has 16 receptions for 176 yards and 2 TD. An Iowa transfer by the name of #81 Desmond Hutson (6-3, 215) had two great TD catches last week against SIU and was named MVFC newcomer of the week and has 13 receptions for 150 yards and 2 TDs on the season. Mark Farley shared with the media that #89 Alex Allen (6-6, 253) will miss this game which is unfortunate for the Panthers because he has had a big year with 17 rec for 264 yards and 2 TD. His replacement is #45 Layne Pryor (6-3, 251) who has 7 receptions for 87 yards.
The Panthers feature a nice 1-2 punch at running back with #7 Dom Williams (5-10, 200) and #20 Vance McShane (5-6, 190). Williams had a big game against Missouri State with 4 touchdowns and on the year has 632 yards (5.8 ypc average), 9 TDs with a long run of 47 yards. He’s a powerful young man and you can see why he originally earned a scholarship at Kansas before transferring to UNI. Vance is Deion’s younger brother and brings plenty of juice to the field. He has 558 yards (5.3 ypc) on the year with 1 TD. #25 Harrison Bey-Buie (5-10, 215) is a player I really liked in high school. He attended Eastern Illinois last year before hitting the portal and ended up at UNI. He may not get much playing time this week but he is a player to watch for future Panther squads. He has 115 yards this year with 1 TD.
The offensive line for UNI is huge. From left to right they go #77 Matthew Vanderslice (6-8, 318), #75 Jared Penning (6-6, 338), #67 Erik Sorenson (6-6, 317), #72 Justin Peine (6-6, 329), and #78 Tristan Roper (6-5, 307). Vanderslice, Sorenson, and Peine, all red-shirt seniors, have played a ton of football for UNI and Penning and Roper have too as red-shirt sophomores. Vanderslice was named MVFC offensive lineman of the week for his efforts against SIU. They have only surrender 15 sacks on the season but are coming off a game in which they allowed 3 to SIU. They ran the ball for 3.4 ypc vs. SIU.
Defense
The UNI defense is certainly different than what we have seen in the past. They are giving up 26.44 ppg, 157.7 ypg rushing (4.6 ypc), and 239.78 ypg passing. Opponents are converting on 48.28% of their 3rd down opportunities and are 29 for 35 in the redzone but UNI has allowed just 18 touchdowns in those redzone visits. The Jackrabbits must be better than that in order to keep pace with this UNI offense. Against SIU, the Panthers bounced between a 3-4 and a 4-2-5 defense. SIU is also a fairly balanced offense, like the Jackrabbits, so I would expect the same treatment from the UNI defense. I’ve made this comment before but UNIs defense is just built different because of how big they are across the board. It is much more of a downhill attacking defense than maybe some of the more agile defenses that most teams now run to combat the passing game.
The defensive line for UNI has decent size and has been pretty productive this season. The interior duo of #99 Khristian Boyd (6-4, 317) and #57 Jack Kriebs (6-3, 280) is stout. Boyd has 30 total tackles, 4 TFL, 1 sack, and 2 forced fumbles. Kriebs has 16 tackles, 2 TFL, and 1 sack in his redshirt freshman season. When the Panthers drop to a 3-4, Boyd becomes the nose guard. At the end positions are #1 Cordarrius Bailey (6-3, 243) and #8 Devin Rice (6-5, 248). Bailey has 23 tackles, 3.5 TFL, and 2 sacks along with a forced fumble while Rice is tied for the team lead with 3 sacks and has added 15 tackles and 5.5 TFL. #96 Cannon Butler (6-6, 241) is a reserve end who has been productive with 14 tackles and 3 sacks, and 5 more QBHs. Certainly a player to watch! #2 Caden Houghtelling has 27 tackles, 4.5 TFL, and 2 PBUs as a reserve as well. Depth on the interior is limited right now for the Panthers.
The linebacking corp is always a strength for the Panthers and this team is no exception. #41 Spencer Cuvelier (6-3, 239) and #22 Bryce Flater (6-2, 240) are two of the best in the MVFC. The redshirt senior duo has amassed 612 total career tackles between the two of them! This year, Cuvelier leads the team with 77 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 3 Sacks, 4 PBUs, and a forced fumble. Flater has 57 tackles, 3 PBU, and a QBH. #0 Jevon Brekke (6-3, 196) plays the rover position and will be all over the field. He has 30 tackles and a sack this season. #48 Caleb Frazer (6-2, 211) and #33 Ben Belken (6-4, 228) are reserve linebackers.
The secondary has plenty of experience as well. #19 Stefan Black II (6-0, 180) was a highly sought after recruit out of Kansas City and he is playing well at corner. He has 43 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 INT, and 2 PBUs. Opposite him is Central Michigan transfer #32 Woo Governor (5-10, 176). Governor has 50 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 3 INT, and 3 PBU. Governor had a two interception game against WIU earlier this season. #21 Edwin Dearman (5-11, 200) is the nickelback and he has added 51 tackles, 4.5 TFL, and 1 sack along with a forced fumble, 1 INT, and 4 PBUs. The safety duo of #9 Benny Sapp Jr. (6-1, 205) and #5 Korby Sander (6-1, 224) have been around the block a time or two. Sapp has 42 tackles, 3 INTs, 2 PBU, and a forced fumble. Sander, who looks like a linebacker, is second on the team with 61 tackles, 3.5 TFL, and 1.5 sacks.
Special Teams
The Panther special teams feature one of the MVFCs best kicker and then a bunch of solid special teams units around him. #97 Matthew Cook is that kicker and he is 11-14 on the season with a long of 42 yards. He has made 8 consecutive FG attempts. He also handles the kickoff duties and has 28 touchbacks on 55 attempts. #91 Noah Pettinger is the Panther punter. The true freshman is having a solid season with 9 attempts for a 41.56 average and long of 52. He has forced 4 to be fair caught, landed 1 inside the 20 and has just 1 touchback. #15 Cael Loecher, listed on the roster as a reserve wide receiver has 13 attempts for a 41.46 average and long of 55 on the year. He has not attempted a punt since the Western Illinois game.
The Panther return units have plenty of speed. The punt return production has been limited. Deion McShane returned 1 punt for 17 yards against Utah Tech but the team has -1 yards on the other two punts it has attempted to return this season. The kick return game has struggled to find traction this year as well. #4 Quan Hampton, #20 Vance McShane, #26 Terrance Kamara, and #1 Deion McShane have all had a crack at it but they all have return averages below 20 yards. The long for the team is 27 yards from Hampton and Vance McShane.
Predictions
This is going to be a hard fought game. It always is with UNI. It is honestly a bit unsettling to finally see them with a high powered offense because I’m so used to seeing their defense be lights out. However, their defense has not been lights out this season. The defensive side of the ball is LOADED with experienced talent but the depth is highly questionable. A 60 minute game with the Jackrabbits requires depth on defense. For that reason, I’m taking the Jackrabbits.
Jackrabbits 45- Panthers 28
Go Jacks!
Matt
