UNI coach Mark Farley says the Panthers need to heal up as they get set to host South Dakota in their home opener. UNI opened with a 41-17 loss at 15th ranked BYU in what Farley called an extremely physical game. He says there are four guys out with shoulder issues and a hip pointer.

Farley says having that type of physical football game early in the season means they have to work hard to get back and be ready to play.Farley says despite getting banged up against BYU quarterback Pat Grace is expected to play. He says Grace took some good hits and showed a toughness after not getting hit like that in four years.

Farley says despite the loss he feels good about the potential of his team. "We’ll have a good football team, we just have to put a unit together," Farley says. He says the team is more confident as they did not get outrun by the fastest team they’ll play and they did not get outhit by a good football team. South Dakota is making the transition from division two and opened with a lopsided win over St. Ambrose.