UNI football coach Mark Farley says the Panthers will be close to full strength when they host Richmond in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs on Saturday. Quarterback Pat Grace and running back Corey Lewis both spent part of last week’s victory over New Hampshire on the sideline with injuries.

Farley says Grace will play and be fine and says it would be hard to keep him out of the game, and he says it’s the same for Corey Lewis.

After losing a number of key players off last year’s team that spent much of the season top ranked nationally the Panthers are a win away from advancing to the national championship game.

Farley says they’ve overcome a lot of things and evolved toward the goal of advancing to the championship game. Farley says the team continues to get better. Farley says each week someone different plays a big role. He says it’s fun to watch the defense right now as they are playing "exceptional." Farley says the offense is also fun and you don’t know what to expect from the team on each play.

Farley says the Panthers will face a Richmond team that plays a physical style of football, with a couple of "great" defensive ends. He says UNI and Richmond are 2 and 3 in turnover ratio in the country. The Panthers are 12-2 on the season.