The Northern Iowa football team opens the season at home, but then hits the road for four straight games in September before returning to the UNI-Dome. Coach Mark Farley says they’re looking to make that a positive thing.

Farley says a UNI team has never had four straight road games, and there are five weeks included in the stretch because of an open week, and the team decided to wear their white road uniforms for team photos. He says they’ve never worn the road jerseys for a picture before.

Farley says the team has to take the road challenge if it wants to return to the national playoffs. He says the team has to establish itself early in the season and learn lessons from seasons past to be a road team. Farley says it they toughen themselves on the road, then they can reap the advantages late in the season.

Farley says if they get through September, then they have four out of six games left at home. Farley says they first need to win at home against Minnesota State in the August 30th opener. The Panthers are the pre-season pick to win the Gateway Conference.