UNI football coach Mark Farley says the preparation for a new season is much different coming off a bad year as opposed to a good one. The Panthers are looking to return to the national playoffs this year after suffering through their worst season in a decade with a 5-6 finish in 2012.
“The time is the same, the work is the same, but your attitude is different,” Farley says. he says it’s a fine line to determine what to change and what to keep the same, so you do improve.
Farley says the talent is there on offense to get the Panthers back into contention. He says they explosive players at quarterback, runningback and the receiver position where they think they can find mismatches and match up issues.
UNI is ranked 16th in one preseason poll and 12th in another. Farley says it is more important where the Panthers rank in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. He says they are the fourth team in the league in the two polls and he says you won’t make the playoffs at if you finish fourth in the league.
The Panthers open August 31st with a visit to Iowa State.