BYU football: Cougars coach says these Panthers are no patsies

PROVO — Twice in the last 11 years, Northern Iowa has faced nationally ranked Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I) opponents.

The results? UNI was drubbed by No. 21 Iowa, 66-0, in 1997. Eight years later, the Panthers dropped a 45-21 decision to the No. 22 Hawkeyes. UNI, which hails from the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA), is saddled with another large challenge on Saturday — traveling to No. 16 BYU.

The Cougars are not only the highest-ranked FBS team the Panthers have played, but coach Mark Farley calls BYU "the best team we've played."

"Probably why I'm labeling them the best is because of their aspirations going into the season," said Farley. "I mean, they're coming off 11-2 seasons two years in a row."

Farley also refers to Cougars quarterback Max Hall as a "Heisman-type candidate."

All that aside, UNI is looking forward to the challenge. "If we can play to the level we're capable of playing," Farley said, "this will be a good football game."

"We're not going out there to get experience," Panthers defensive end James Ruffin told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. "We're going down there to win."

Saturday's showdown carries additional historical significance for UNI: it marks the program's 1,000th game. The Panthers are 584-368-47 since the start of football at the school in 1895. UNI owns an all-time record of 20-60-5 against FBS foes, including a 9-16 mark since 1985. A year ago, the Panthers earned a 24-13 victory on the road against Iowa State of the Big 12.

Meanwhile, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall has been effusive in his praise of the UNI program, which is ranked No. 3 in the FCS preseason poll and posted a 12-1 record last season.

"Northern Iowa is a team that knows how to win. They expect to win," Mendenhall said. "They're very well coached. Coach Farley has done a lot of things there that I could certainly learn from in establishing consistency over time, which is the ultimate goal. I don't think you'll see much difference between Northern Iowa and some of the better teams in our league." ... We think this is a very good opponent."