2024 Northern Iowa Panthers football team

2024 Northern Iowa Panthers football
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Record	3–9 (1–7 MVFC)
Head coach	Mark Farley (24th season)
Offensive coordinator	Bodie Reeder (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Randall McCray (3rd season)
Home stadium	UNI-Dome

2024 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 2 South Dakota State +^		7	–	1					12	–	3
No. 3 North Dakota State +^		7	–	1					13	–	2
No. 4 South Dakota +^		7	–	1					11	–	3
Missouri State*		6	–	2					8	–	4
No. 11 Illinois State ^		6	–	2					10	–	4
Youngstown State		3	–	5					4	–	8
Indiana State		3	–	5					4	–	8
North Dakota		2	–	6					5	–	7
Southern Illinois		2	–	6					4	–	8
Northern Iowa		1	–	7					3	–	9
Murray State		0	–	8					1	–	11
* Ineligible for 2024 FCS playoffs due to transition to the FBS
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant As of December 26, 2024 Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2024 Northern Iowa Panthers football team represented the University of Northern Iowa in the 2024 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Panthers competed as members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and were led by 24th-year head coach Mark Farley. They played their home games at UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	4:00 p.m.	Valparaiso*		UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	W 35–7	8,458
September 7	1:00 p.m.	at St. Thomas*		O'Shaughnessy Stadium Saint Paul, MN	Midco Sports+	W 17–10	3,946
September 14	6:30 p.m.	at No. 23 (FBS) Nebraska*		Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	BTN	L 3–34	86,546
September 21	11:00 p.m.	at Hawaii*	No. 25	Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex Honolulu, HI	SPEC PPV	L 7–36	11,402
October 5	4:00 p.m.	No. 1 South Dakota State		UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	L 3–41	12,611
October 12	2:00 p.m.	at No. 4 South Dakota		DakotaDome Vermillion, SD	ESPN+	L 17–42	8,934
October 19	1:00 p.m.	at No. 9 North Dakota		Alerus Center Grand Forks, ND	ESPN+	L 7–31	11,617
October 26	4:00 p.m.	Missouri State		UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	L 42–49	10,848
November 2	2:30 p.m.	at No. 1 North Dakota State		Fargodome Fargo, ND	ESPN+	L 19–42	14,528
November 9	1:00 p.m.	No. 18 Illinois State		UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	L 9–31	1,880
November 16	11:00 a.m.	at Youngstown State		Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH	ESPN+	L 38–39 ^OT	7,038
November 23	1:00 p.m.	Indiana State		UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	W 41–34	8,398
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

[1][2]

Game summaries

Valparaiso

See also: 2024 Valparaiso Beacons football team

Game One – Valparaiso Beacons (0–0) vs Northern Iowa Panthers (0–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Beacons	0	7	0	0	7
Panthers	14	14	7	0	35

at UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA

• Date: Saturday August 31, 2024
• Game time: 4:00 PM
• Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C) (indoor)
• Game attendance: 8,458
• Referee: David Hergert
• TV: ESPN+

Game information

First quarter (10:04) UNI – Layne Pryor 21-yard pass from Aidan Dunne, Caden Palmer kick (Drive: 9 plays, 79 yards, 4:48; Northern Iowa 7–0) (2:48) UNI – Amauri Pesek-Hickson 20-yard pass from Aidan Dunne, Caden Palmer kick (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 5:05; Northern Iowa 14–0) Second quarter (14:06) UNI – Tye Edwards 54-yard run, Caden Palmer kick (Drive: 3 plays, 71 yards, 1:13; Northern Iowa 21–0) (11:12) VAL – Mike Mansaray 1-yard run, Ryan Hawk kick (Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:54; Northern Iowa 21–7) (3:28) UNI – Tye Edwards 12-yard run, Caden Palmer kick (Drive: 8 plays, 64 yards, 4:02; Northern Iowa 28–7) Third quarter (10:35) UNI – Sergio Morancy 5-yard pass from Aidan Dunne, Caden Palmer kick (Drive: 6 plays, 71 yards, 2:59; Northern Iowa 35–7) Fourth quarter No scoring

Statistics	VAL	UNI
First downs	5	29
Total yards	137	481
Rushing yards	29	365
Passing yards	108	116
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	8-19-0	12-17-0
Time of possession	18:13	41:47

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Valparaiso	Passing	Rowan Keefe	6/16, 101 yds
	Rushing	Caron Tyler	2 car, 17 yds
	Receiving	Mike Mansaray	3 rec, 79 yds
Northern Iowa	Passing	Aidan Dunne	12/17, 116 yds, 3 TDs
	Rushing	Tye Edwards	15 car, 177 yds, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Layne Pryor	3 rec, 44 yds, 1 TD

at St. Thomas (MN)

See also: 2024 St. Thomas Tommies football team

Game Two – Northern Iowa Panthers (1–0) vs St. Thomas Tommies (0–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	7	0	10	17
Tommies	7	0	3	0	10

at O'Shaughnessy Stadium • Saint Paul, MN

• Date: Saturday September 7, 2024
• Game time: 1:00 PM
• Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 69 °F (21 °C) • Wind: NE
• Game attendance: 3,946
• Referee: Joe Smith
• TV: Midco Sports+

Game information

First quarter (6:50) STM – Patrick Wagner 13-yard pass from Michael Rostberg, Stephen Shagen kick (Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 4:26; St. Thomas 7–0) Second quarter (13:03) UNI – Amauri Pesek-Hickson 3-yard run, Caden Palmer kick (Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 5:11; Tied 7–7) Third quarter (3:53) UST – Stephen Shagen 50-yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 47 yards, 7:52; St. Thomas 10–7) Fourth quarter (10:49) UNI – Caden Palmer 19-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 5 yards, 1:21; Tied 10–10) (2:57) UNI – Amauri Pesek-Hickson 15-yard run, Caden Palmer kick (Drive: 6 plays, 90 yards, 3:46; Northern Iowa 17–10)

Statistics	UNI	STMN
First downs	16	19
Total yards	331	297
Rushing yards	232	129
Passing yards	99	168
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	11-25-0	19-29-0
Time of possession	25:00	35:00

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northern Iowa	Passing	Aidan Dunne	11/25, 99 yds
	Rushing	Tye Edwards	14 car, 136 yds
	Receiving	Sergio Morancy	4 rec, 52 yds
St. Thomas (MN)	Passing	Michael Rostberg	15/23, 104 yds, 1 TD
	Rushing	Hope Adebayo	20 car, 113 yds
	Receiving	Patrick Wagner	8 rec, 104 yds, 1 TD

at No. 23 (FBS) Nebraska

See also: 2024 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

Game Three – Northern Iowa Panthers (2–0) vs No. 23 (FBS) Nebraska Cornhuskers (2–0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	3	0	0	0	3
No. 23 (FBS) Cornhuskers	7	14	6	7	34

at Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE

• Date: Saturday September 14, 2024
• Game time: 6:30 PM
• Game weather: 82 °F (28 °C)
• Game attendance: 86,546
• Referee: Jeffrey Servinski
• TV announcers (BTN): Guy Haberman (play-by-play), Yogi Roth (analyst), and Rhett Lewis (sideline reporter)

Game information

First quarter (11:40) NEB – Carter Nelson 24-yard pass from Dylan Raiola, Tristan Alvano kick (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 3:20, Nebraska 7-0) (1:32) UNI – Caden Palmer 31-yard field goal (Drive: 16 plays, 62 yards, 10:08, Nebraska 7-3) Second quarter (13:04) NEB – Isaiah Neyor 18-yard pass from Dylan Raiola, Tristan Alvano kick (Drive: 7 plays,75 yards, 3:28, Nebraska 14-3) (6:51) NEB – Jacory Barney Jr. 10-yard run, Tristan Alvano kick (Drive: 4 plays, 80 yards, 2:05, Nebraska 21-3) Third quarter (6:17) NEB – Tristan Alvano 31-yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, 3:31, Nebraska 24-3) (0:43) NEB - Tristan Alvano 21-yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 33 yards, 3:11, Nebraska 27-3) Fourth quarter (4:31) NEB – Emmett Johnson 36-yard run, John Hohl kick (Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 4:33, Nebraska 34-3)

Statistics	UNI	NEB
First downs	18	22
Total yards	301	423
Rushing yards	139	142
Passing yards	162	281
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	16–32–1	20–26–1
Time of possession	38:07	21:53

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northern Iowa	Passing	Aidan Dunne	13/25, 117 yards, INT
	Rushing	Aidan Dunne	11 carries, 49 yards
	Receiving	Sergio Morancy	2 receptions, 30 yards
Nebraska	Passing	Dylan Raiola	17/23, 247 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Dante Dowdell	6 carries, 55 yards
	Receiving	Carter Nelson	4 receptions, 48 yards, TD

at Hawaii (FBS)

See also: 2024 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team

Game Four – No. 25 Northern Iowa Panthers (2–1) vs Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (1–2) (FBS) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 25 Panthers	0	7	0	0	7
Rainbow Warriors (FBS)	15	7	7	7	36

at Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI

• Date: Saturday September 21, 2024
• Game time: 11:00 PM
• Game weather: Sunny, 78 °F (26 °C), NE 15 mph
• Game attendance: 11,402
• Referee: Jonathan Noli
• TV announcers (SPEC PPV): Kanoa Leahey (play-by-play), Rich Miano (analyst) and Jordan Helle (sideline)

Game information

First quarter HAW – Jonah Panoke 24-yard pass from Brayden Schager (Kansei Matsuzawa kick), 7:53. Rainbow Warriors 7–0. Drive: 6 plays, 69 yards, 2:58. HAW – Pofele Ashlock 6-yard pass from Brayden Schager (Landon Sims pass to Hunter Higham), 0:40. Rainbow Warriors 15–0. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 3:32. Second quarter HAW – Nick Cenacle 20-yard pass from Brayden Schager (Kansei Matsuzawa kick), 9:10. Rainbow Warriors 22–0. Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 3:34. UNI – Aidan Dunne 3-yard run (Caden Palmer kick), 4:02. Rainbow Warriors 22–7. Drive: 8 plays, 72 yards, 5:00. Third quarter HAW – Nick Cenacle 1-yard pass from Brayden Schager (Kansei Matsuzawa kick), 3:21. Rainbow Warriors 29–7. Drive: 11 plays, 78 yards, 5:48. Fourth quarter HAW – Landon Sims 6-yard run (Kansei Matsuzawa kick), 6:58. Rainbow Warriors 36–7. Drive: 9 plays, 74 yards, 5:07.

Statistics	UNI	HAW
First downs	13	29
Total yards	199	528
Rushing yards	72	149
Passing yards	127	379
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	17–28–0	36–44–2
Time of possession	26:58	33:02

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northern Iowa	Passing	Aidan Dunne	13/20, 104 yards
	Rushing	Amauri Pesek-Hickson	6 carries, 43 yards
	Receiving	Sergio Morancy	4 receptions, 38 yards
Hawaii	Passing	Brayden Schager	35/43, 374 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Landon Sims	7 carries, 35 yards, TD
	Receiving	Dekel Crowdus	3 receptions, 83 yards

No. 1 South Dakota State

See also: 2024 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team

Game Five – No. 1 South Dakota State Jackrabbits (3–1) vs Northern Iowa Panthers (2–2) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Jackrabbits	7	20	14	0	41
Panthers	0	3	0	0	3

at UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA

• Date: Saturday October 5, 2024
• Game time: 4:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
• TV: ESPN+

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	SDST	UNI
First downs	17	16
Total yards	390	246
Rushing yards	139	66
Passing yards	251	180
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	19-26-	17-31-2
Time of possession	30:43	29:17

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
South Dakota State	Passing	Mark Gronowski	16-22 223 yards 3 TD
	Rushing	Kirby Vorhees	8 Carries 45 Yards
	Receiving	Angel Johnson	2 Catches 78 Yards 1 TD
Northern Iowa	Passing	Aidan Dunne	8-15 113 Yards 0 TD 2 INT
	Rushing	Tye Edwards	12 Carries 62 Yards
	Receiving	Sergio Morancy	6 Catches 73 Yards

at No. 4 South Dakota

See also: 2024 South Dakota Coyotes football team

Game Six – Northern Iowa Panthers (2–3) vs No. 4 South Dakota Coyotes (4–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	7	3	7	0	17
No. 4 Coyotes	7	21	14	0	42

at DakotaDome • Vermillion, SD

• Date: Saturday October 12, 2024
• Game time: 2:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
• TV: ESPN+

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	UNI	SDAK
First downs	16	24
Total yards	311	513
Rushing yards	56	192
Passing yards	255	321
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	19-28-1	18-21-0
Time of possession	24:31	35:29

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northern Iowa	Passing	Matthew Schecklman	18-26 250 yards 1 TD 1 INT
	Rushing	Tye Edwards	19 carries 53 yards 1 TD
	Receiving	Desmond Hutson	4 Receptions 94 Yards
South Dakota	Passing	Aidan Bouman	17-20 284 Yards 2 TD
	Rushing	Charles Pierre Jr	21 Carries 105 Yards 2 TD
	Receiving	AJ Coons	2 Receptions 61 Yards 1 TD

at No. 9 North Dakota

See also: 2024 North Dakota Fighting Hawks football team

Game Seven – Northern Iowa Panthers (2–4) vs No. 9 North Dakota Fighting Hawks (4–2) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	7	0	0	7
No. 9 Fighting Hawks	7	14	0	10	31

at Alerus Center • Grand Forks, ND

• Date: Saturday October 19, 2024
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
• TV: ESPN+

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	UNI	UND
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northern Iowa	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
North Dakota	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Missouri State

See also: 2024 Missouri State Bears football team

Game Eight – Missouri State Bears (5–2) vs Northern Iowa Panthers (2–5) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	0	0	0	0
Panthers	0	0	0	0	0

at UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA

• Date: Saturday October 26, 2024
• Game time: 4:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
• TV: ESPN+

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	MOST	UNI
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Missouri State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Northern Iowa	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at No. 1 North Dakota State

See also: 2024 North Dakota State Bison football team

Game Nine – Northern Iowa Panthers (2–6) vs No. 1 North Dakota State Bison (8–1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	3	0	16	0	19
No. 1 Bison	14	14	7	7	42

at Fargodome • Fargo, ND

• Date: Saturday November 2, 2024
• Game time: 2:30 p.m.
• Game weather: None (indoor stadium); 70 °F (21 °C)
• Game attendance: 14,528
• Referee: Jason Berg
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Dom Izzo (play-by-play), Kyle Emanuel (analyst) and Sam Goetzinger (sideline)

Game information

First quarter (14:44) NDSU – TK Marshall 100-yard kickoff return, Griffin Crosa kick (North Dakota State 7–0) (8:44) UNI – Caden Palmer 40-yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 52 yards, 6:00; North Dakota State 7–3) (0:58) NDSU – CharMar Brown 5-yard run, Griffin Crosa kick (Drive: 13 plays, 74 yards, 7:40; North Dakota State 14–3) Second quarter (6:54) NDSU – Bryce Lance 14-yard pass from Cam Miller, Griffin Crosa kick (Drive: 13 plays, 94 yards, 6:34; North Dakota State 21–3) (1:47) NDSU – Braylon Henderson 15-yard pass from Cam Miller, Griffin Crosa kick (Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 2:57; North Dakota State 28–3) Third quarter (12:48) NDSU – Barika Kpeenu 6-yard run, Griffin Crosa kick (Drive: 2 plays, 48 yards, 0:40; North Dakota State 35–3) (9:05) UNI – Sergio Morancy 31-yard pass from Matthew Schecklman, Brady McCullough pass (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 3:43; North Dakota State 35–11) (1:52) UNI – Sergio Morancy 9-yard pass from Matthew Schecklman, Derek Anderson pass (Drive: 9 plays, 55 yards, 4:18; North Dakota State 35–19) Fourth quarter (12:59) NDSU – Barika Kpeenu 11-yard run, Griffin Crosa kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:43; North Dakota State 42–19)

Statistics	UNI	NDSU
First downs	18	24
Total yards	344	422
Rushing yards	74	189
Passing yards	270	233
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	22–32–0	18–21–0
Time of possession	28:46	31:14

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northern Iowa	Passing	Matthew Schecklman	22/32, 270 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Tye Edwards	12 carries, 48 yards
	Receiving	Sergio Morancy	4 receptions, 102 yards, 2 TD
North Dakota State	Passing	Cam Miller	17/20, 216 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	CharMar Brown	18 carries, 124 yards, TD
	Receiving	Bryce Lance	4 receptions, 77 yards, TD

No. 18 Illinois State

See also: 2024 Illinois State Redbirds football team

Game Ten – No. 18 Illinois State Redbirds (6–3) vs Northern Iowa Panthers (2–7) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 18 Redbirds	0	0	0	0	0
Panthers	0	0	0	0	0

at UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA

• Date: Saturday November 9, 2024
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
• TV: ESPN+

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	ILST	UNI
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Illinois State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Northern Iowa	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Youngstown State

See also: 2024 Youngstown State Penguins football team

Game Eleven – Northern Iowa Panthers (2–8) vs Youngstown State Penguins (3–8) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Panthers	0	0	0	0	0
Penguins	0	0	0	0	0

at Stambaugh Stadium • Youngstown, OH

• Date: Saturday November 16, 2024
• Game time: 11:00 a.m.
• TV: ESPN+

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	UNI	YSU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northern Iowa	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Youngstown State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Indiana State

See also: 2024 Indiana State Sycamores football team

Game Twelve – Indiana State Sycamores (4–7) vs Northern Iowa Panthers (2–9) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Sycamores	0	0	0	0	0
Panthers	0	0	0	0	0

at UNI-Dome • Cedar Falls, IA

• Date: Saturday November 23, 2024
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 0 °F (−18 °C)
• TV: ESPN+

Game information
First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter

Statistics	INST	UNI
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Indiana State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Northern Iowa	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

References

1. "Northern Iowa Football Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
2. "2024 Football Schedule". UNI Athletics. Retrieved March 20, 2024.