The Panthers look for their second win of the season as they wrap up non-conference play at home on Saturday against Tennessee Tech. The Golden Eagles head into the game with a 1-2 record out of the Ohio Valley Conference.

“It’s (OVC) just down the road,” said UNI Head Coach Mark Farley. “It’s always a conference that is compared to the MVFC because it’s so close in proximity.”

UNI has not faced off against TTU in the history of both programs, but are 17-7-1 against the OVC. The Panthers have only played four of the nine teams in the conference.

“I think it is a good thing playing interconference games,” said Farley. “It kind of measures conferences as well. The MVFC beat three Big Sky (Conference) teams this past weekend. I think that is important for our league. Instead of just saying we are a good conference, we have to prove we are a good conference.”

Last season, UNI was left out of post-season play despite beating Iowa State and top-10 ranked FCS teams in McNeese State and Youngstown State. The MVFC had one non-automatic qualifier make post-season play while the Big Sky had four teams and the OVC had three teams invited.

Health was a concern for the Panthers last season as they opened the year with a strong non-conference schedule while playing their conference opener against North Dakota State.

“It’s a really physical game anymore,” said Farley. “Every week, it doesn’t matter who you play, the chance of injury is there. Instead of redshirting, we played some guys this past week so we could have more depth.”

Freshman Jared Farley had a tackle while fellow freshman Preston Woods recorded a tackle and a sack in their first on-field appearances at UNI.

The Panthers climbed to a 10-ranked spot in the FCS Coaches Poll this week as they look to cement the strength of the MVFC in the minds of the FCS playoff selection committee before heading into conference play.