Upcoming Event: Football versus Northern Iowa on October 11, 2025 at 2 p.m.
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2 p.m.
Football
vs Northern Iowa
South Dakota State University Athletics
Photo by: Keith Lucas
Opponent Insight: Northern Iowa
11/13/2019 9:16:00 AM | Football
Now in his 19th season with Northern Iowa, head coach Mark Farley, the Missouri Valley Football Conference and Northern Iowa's all-time wins leader, has built up quite the legendary résumé. One of the most famous bullet points on that résumé is when Farley and the Panthers put an end to North Dakota State's 33-game winning streak in 2014 — the longest win streak in Football Championship Subdivision history.
Farley, who is sitting on 156 career wins, is currently two conference wins away from reaching 100 league victories and with two more conference games left that feat can be accomplished by the time the FCS playoffs begin.
This season, the Panthers have replicated the same sort of success that they have had in years' past. The Panthers have exceeded expectations so far this season and are currently undefeated at home (5-0) with an overall record of 7-3.
Picked to finish fifth in the Missouri Valley preseason poll, the Panthers are currently in second place and are in the midst of a four-game winning streak.
OFFENSE
Northern Iowa has a fluid passing attack, which ranks second in the conference with 211.5 yards per game.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Will McElvain won a four-way quarterback battle in the summer and has justified the faith that his coaches have placed in him. The Iowa native has been described by his head coach as "excitable" and it shows with his play this season. Against Southern Utah (Sept.7), McElvain threw for a career-high 262 yards with three passing touchdowns and zero interceptions. The young quarterback has thrown for more than 200 yards in seven of the 10 games this season.
Redshirt Sophomore Isaiah Weston may be the most dangerous wide receiver in the MVFC. Weston averages 98.2 receiving yards per game, which leads the conference in that category. Against South Dakota (Oct.19), Weston caught three touchdowns and accumulated 189 receiving yards. The Minnesota native has had multiple games of over 100 receiving yards and he does it with minimum receptions, which makes his numbers more impressive. He ranks ninth in the conference with 3.9 receptions per game, but is averaging 25.2 yards per catch. He also leads the conference in receiving touchdowns with 10.
Rushing the ball hasn't been a big part of the Panthers' success this season as they don't have a player ranked in the top 10 in the conference for rushing yards. They only rank ninth in the conference in rushing offense with 111.2 yards per game.
Redshirt Sophomore running back Tyler Hoosman is the Panthers' rushing leader but only rushes for 47.5 yards per game. The Illinois native has shown that he can be a serious threat, despite the low averages. Against South Dakota (Oct.19), Hoosman garnered 111 rushing yards and scored two touchdowns.
Freshman kicker Matthew Cook has shown a lot of composure this season. Cook has nailed a 50-yard field goal against Iowa State (Aug. 31) and a 49-yard field goal against Missouri State (Oct. 26). The Iowa native ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage of those with a minimum 10 attempts at 83.3 percent (15-of-18).
The Panthers are also second in the conference in red-zone offense, where they convert 87.1 percent of their chances.
DEFENSE
The Panthers have a high-powered defense that only allows 311 yards per game in terms of total offense, which ranks third in the Missouri Valley.
Redshirt sophomore Bryce Flater has been efficient this season as he is tied for seventh in tackles per game in the conference with eight. Flater also leads his team with 80 tackles on the season and boasts a 13-tackle performance against Southern Utah (Sept.7), earlier this season.
Senior defensive back Christian Jegen has had an impressive season as he is second on the team with 76 tackles. In the first game of the season, he went for an impressive 15 tackles against Football Bowl Subdivison opponent Iowa State (Aug.31).
The Panther defense has accumulated 30 sacks on the year, which ties them for third in the conference, but their 13 interceptions ties them for first in the conference.
Redshirt junior defensive lineman Elerson G. Smith has been a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks. The Minnesota native leads the conference in sacks with 12. Smith posted three sacks and nine tackles against Idaho State (Sept. 7) earlier this season.
Junior defensive lineman Jared Brinkman is also top 10 in sacks in the Missouri Valley. The Iowa native has a total of six sacks, which places him sixth in the conference.
Freshman defensive back Omar Brown was named National FCS Freshman of the Week by STATS after his performance against Illinois State (Nov.2). Brown notched two interceptions, a tackle for a loss and five total tackles in that matchup. The Minnesota native leads the conference with five interceptions this season.
The Panthers also boast two other players in the top 10 for interceptions this season.
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