Behind Enemy Lines: Breaking down the Northern Iowa Panthers

Nebraska is 2-0 for the first time since 2016 with another chance to build its momentum against Northern Iowa on Saturday.

The Huskers are heavy favorites against their FCS foes out of the reputable Missouri Valley Conference. They’ve shellacked two high-flying offenses in UTEP and Colorado, but this week presents an entirely different challenge. The Panthers play smash-mouth football.

Here’s more on Northern Iowa ahead of the matchup:

Pounding The Rock

The Blackshirts have only allowed 72 total rushing yards on the season. Northern Iowa averages nearly 75 rushing yards per quarter. The Panthers want to run the ball down your throat.

Saturday’s matchup will be an excellent precursor for Big Ten Play: Tough, physical football with an emphasis at the line of scrimmage.

UNI head coach Mark Farley has been at the helm since 2001, racking up a program-record 180 wins over that span. He’s led the Panthers to 17 playoff wins and sent 40 players to the NFL.

Northern Iowa enters the matchup ranked No. 21 in the FCS coaches poll after starting the season with wins over Valparaiso and St. Thomas. This week, a raucous atmosphere inside Memorial Stadium awaits.

Farley is no stranger to knocking off Power 5 teams, though. The Panthers have taken down Iowa State three times during his tenure, most recently in 2016. Nebraska is ranked and fresh off its biggest win in nearly a decade with a potential top-25 matchup against Illinois on the horizon. If there was ever a time for an FCS-FBS trap game, this is it.

Notable Quotable

“Man, the atmosphere down there will match some of these great places that we’ve got a chance to play. Whether it was Wisconsin or Iowa or Jack Trice . It will match it and probably exceed some of them I would think. I just kind of saw what’s going on, it’s a night game down there. They’ve got a lot of rhythm going on right now.”

Mark Farley on the Memorial Stadium environment

How The Panthers Stack Up

The X-Factor: Monster Running Backs

UNI has one of the best ground attacks in the country. Through two weeks, the Panthers have rushed for 601 yards, good for No. 4 in the FCS.

They don’t try to hide their approach, handing the ball off nearly 66% of the time. Two eye-catching running backs, Tye Edwards and Amauri Pesek-Hickson , are the focal points of the offense. Both have earned 30 carries on the season.

At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Edwards is still one of the fastest players on the field. He’s off to an incredible start with 315 yards and two touchdowns while averaging over 10.5 yards per carry. Pesek-Hickson, a 6-foot, 225-pounder, plays more of a bruiser role. He hasn’t been quite as productive but has 186 yards and two touchdowns to his name thus far.

Throw in the 220-pound Harrison Bey-Buie , and UNI can give you multiple different looks in the backfield. Those three operate behind a veteran offensive line that returns all but one starter from last season. Tight end Layne Pryor is an excellent blocker as well.

If Nebraska’s front seven can continue its dominance against this rushing attack, the Big Ten should be on high alert. The Blackshirts made adding size a priority this offseason, hoping to be better prepared in run-stuffing scenarios. Saturday will be an excellent look at how those developments have played out.

Northern Iowa is almost a complete 180 from what the defense saw against Colorado. The Panthers’ leading receiver has only 5 catches for 57 yards. They will throw sparingly.

Expect Nebraska to load the box and dare first-year starting QB Aidan Dunne to beat them through the air. He threw for only 99 yards last week against St. Thomas, a solid program but a former Division III team nonetheless. Nebraska is a whole new beast.

Other Panthers to Watch

PFF Numbers to Know

Short Yardage

***UNI has a few Nebraska natives on its roster that Husker fans might recognize. Starting left guard Blake Anderson attended Omaha Skutt Catholic where he won the Class B state title in 2018 and 2019. Sam Thomas , a true freshman lineman, went to Elkhorn North and redshirt freshman linebacker Brogan Ling went to Lincoln Southwest.

***Starting left tackle Jared Penning is the younger brother of New Orleans Saints tackle Trevor Penning . Trevor became the first UNI player to be drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft when the Saints selected him back in 2022. Jared has made a name for himself too, being selected to the Phil Steele FCS Preseason All-American First Team ahead of his sixth season in Cedar Falls.

***NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner graduated from UNI in 1993. He spent nearly his entire Panther career as a backup before earning the starting job as a senior. During that season, Warner was named the Gateway Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year.

***Running back David Johnson is another notable NFL product out of UNI. He had an incredible career with the Panthers, rushing for over 1,000 yards in three straight seasons. As a senior, he racked up 1553 yards and 17 touchdowns, propelling him to a third-round draft selection.

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