Coming off of their first conference win, the UNI football team faces another team that has had an up-and-down season, Illinois State. The Redbirds were expected to contend for the Missouri Valley Football Conference title this season, but home losses to Southern Illinois and Missouri State have the Redbirds in danger of missing the playoffs.
UNI coach Mark Farley says one thing that has stayed consistent is Illinois State’s athleticism as they have had 5 games where they scored over 30 points, but then have lost two games.
The Redbirds are led offensively by quarterback Matt Brown, who just became the Valley’s all-time leader in career passing yards. Farley says he is a good passer who has played well against the Panthers. Farley says that the intensity of each game keeps building as the conference race continues to shake out.
Farley says the closer you get to November, the more critical the games are. The Panthers and the Redbirds kick off at 4:00 Saturday inside the UNI-Dome.
By Jesse Gavin, KCNZ, Cedar Falls