The U-N-I football team will have two weeks to prepare for their Gateway Conference opener at top-ranked Southern Illinois. The Panthers have an open date on their schedule this week. U-N-I is 1-2 after a hard fought three-point loss to Stephen F. Austin this past week. With the two losses U-N-I coach Mark Farley was asked if he feels his team now has to win the Gateway Conference to make the playoffs. He says he doesn’t know if they have to win, but he says they have backed themselves into a corner by losing to Stephen F. Austin. Farley’s goal this week is to get the team in sync before their contest at Southern Illinois. He says they need to find consistency by focusing on the techniques and the finer points of what they’re trying to get done.