The Panthers will take on the University of Northern Colorado on Saturday at 4 p.m. for the home opener and homecoming game. UNI enters the game 0-2 after losing two games to Football Bowl Subdivision teams by a combined 11 points.

“I’ll even go back and look at the Iowa and the Hawaii game back-to-back to see what our players are doing well and what they are not doing well,” said UNI head coach Mark Farley.

Sawyer Kollmorgen passed for 645 total yards in the Panthers’ first two games, 276 of those yards to running back David Johnson. Johnson has gained the majority of his yards through the passing game, having taken 31 handoffs in the backfield for a net-gain of 80 yards, an average of 2.6 yards per carry. The preseason All-American’s one touchdown came on a 70-yard touchdown reception against Iowa.

“We all know the back (Johnson) is talented enough,” said Farley. “But it takes more than the running back to rush the football. You’ve got to have a throwing game and you’ve got to win the line of scrimmage. We’re not consistently winning those phases of the game.”

The Panthers have gained five first downs via the runing and 23 through the passing game.

Northern Colorado travels to Cedar Falls with a 1-1 record, having defeated Houston Baptist 28-20 in their last contest. The Bears returned 25 starters from last season’s campaign. In their last meeting in 2013, the Panthers tallied a 26-7 victory over UNC in Greenley, CO.

UNI has won 20 of their last 25 homecoming games and have accumulated a homecoming record of 60-25-1 since 1920 in the annual contest.