The UNI football team “turned a corner” with their win over South Dakota State on Saturday, according to head coach Mark Farley. The victory was UNI’s first in Missouri Valley Football Conference action this season, and Farley says it was the first time this season he’d been comfortable with his team’s progression in the days leading up to the game.
He says he felt very good and calm going into the game, but he says that was one game and the team needs to continue to grow.
Farley says that some of the younger players on his team got a big mental boost from playing in front of a big Homecoming crowd.
“The sophomores and freshmen, the guys who are playing in that group really learned how to play with energy,” Farley says. Farley adds that the team will have to continue to improve this week when they host a rated Illinois State squad.
The Panthers and the Redbirds will kick it off at 4:00 inside the UNI Dome on Saturday.
By Jesse Gavin, KCNZ, Cedar Falls