Northern Iowa coach Mark Farley says the bye week came at the perfect time for the Panthers. UNI followed up a loss at Nebraska with a 36-7 loss at Hawaii on September 21st. They open the Missouri Valley race at home on Saturday against FCS top ranked and two-time defending national champion South Dakota State.

Farley has not named a starting quarterback for this week. Aidan Dunne started the first four games but sophomore Matthew Schecklman also played in the loss at Hawaii and completed four of eight passes for 23 yards.

UNI is 2-2 and Farley says there are several areas that need to improve as conference play begins.

South Dakota State is 3-1 with the lone loss at Oklahoma State.

Farley says South Dakota State has talent and confidence.

The goal for the Panther defense is to slow down South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski. He was the FCS player of the year on offense as a junior.

Gronowski leads a team that Farley is dominant at the line of scrimmage.