Even though they don’t play this Saturday, the UNI football team is still keeping busy on their bye week. Panther coach Mark Farley says he’s spent more time organizing practice schedules for this week than any other bye week he can remember. He says they will do things differently because they are in a different situation and he calls it a critical week for them.
Farley says that one thing he has always done during the bye week is re-evaluate his personnel based on injuries, and he’ll take a look at those things this week as well. “We will move some people around now that we know where we are depth wise, and I think the depth has changed drastically since that first game,” Farley says.
At 1-4, even if the Panthers win their remaining six games they will have a long shot at making the FCS playoffs. Farley says he’s sure his players are aware of their situation, but they can’t worry about things that are beyond their control.
“When you are at U.N.I., you know how to get to the playoffs, you know the process and the records and that type of stuff,” he says. Farley says the only thing they control is the games they play.
The Panthers get back to action a week from Saturday when they play at Southern Illinois.
By Jesse Gavin, KCNZ, Cedar Falls