Northern Iowa Panthers
Overall Rank: #5
#1 Missouri Valley
Northern Iowa Team Page
2010 Record: (7-5, 6-2)
2010 Postseason: FCS Playoffs
Coach: Mark Farley (89-37 at Northern Iowa, 89-37 overall)
Returning Leaders:
Rushing: Tirrell Rennie, QB, 1,291 yards
Passing: Tirrell Rennie, QB, 1,526 yards
Receiving: Jarred Herring, WR, 549 yards
Tackles: L.J. Fort, LB, 92
Sacks: Ben Boothby, DT, 9.5
Interceptions: Andre Martin, S, 5
Northern Iowa did not end the 2010 season on a high note. They lost the regular season finale to Western Illinois by two touchdowns and needed to turn things around quickly before Lehigh came to Cedar Falls for the first round of the playoffs. The Panthers offense was stagnant much of the day and UNI lost 14-7 to Lehigh. Those back-to-back losses do not have Coach Mark Farley’s team headed in the right direction, but this is a new year and the Panthers will be ready to compete for another Missouri Valley title.
Strengths:
The defense will be strong again led by a very deep and talented front seven. Defensive tackle Ben Boothby is one of the best in the nation and is coming off of a great season in which he tallied 9.5 sacks and 56 tackles. The only significant loss to the unit is end Henry Obi and he only started three games in 2010. With players like Darren Branch and Will Eilert joining Boothby, this will be one of the toughest defensive lines in the nation. They should again lead the conference in rushing defense and sacks. The linebackers will help in both regards. Jamar Thompson is gone after leading UNI with 99 tackles, but James Conley, L.J. Fort and Jordan Smith are all proven linebackers. The other strength this team has is on the ground on the other side of the line. The Panthers rushed for over 216 yards per game in 2010. Running back Carlos Anderson rushed for 974 yards and two touchdowns, but it was the play of quarterback Tirrell Rennie that really added to the ground game. He became the first UNI quarterback to ever rush for over 1,000 yards. With an experienced offensive line that returns four starters and a couple of other players who earned starts during the season, the ground attack will be very, very dangerous.
Weaknesses:
If Rennie could pass a little more efficiently, the entire offense would be dangerous. He can throw enough to keep the opposing defense honest, but he completed just 56.0 percent of his passes last year and threw 11 interceptions and just eight touchdown passes. Rennie does not need to make the big play, with his arm at least; he needs to run the offense and avoid turnovers. A year in the system should help, but his three interceptions against Lehigh did not help and the opposition will figure out a way to contain him on the ground. Rennie does have some decent receivers available. Jarred Herring led the team with 549 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Josh Collins missed some action last year and should be a quality secondary receiver if he can stay healthy. The pass defense was nearly as ineffective as the pass offense in 2010, ranking 106th in the nation. The good news is just about everybody is back, but that may not be very good news if they cannot improve. For a team that does such a great job getting pressure on the opposing quarterback, there should not be any reason to give up so many yards through the air.
The Bottom Line:
Coach Farley has been very happy with the development of the secondary during the spring and summer, but how well that translates into game situations remains to be seen. There is some good talent out there, most notably safety Andre Martin, who picked off five passes and was third on the team with 77 tackles last year. The pass defense will need to do more this year or Northern Iowa’s 2011 season could end with more disappointment. The offense will be good, but the conference has had a year to learn how to deal with Rennie and he will likely have to throw a little more to keep the opposition off balance. That means the defense will have to play a bigger role if the offense cannot simply run all day long.
Projected Postseason: FCS Playoffs
2010 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 216.58 (9th in nation, 1st in conference)
Passing Offense: 165.83 (88, 8)
Total Offense: 382.42 (34, 6)
Scoring Offense: 23.50 (62, 8)
Rushing Defense: 104.42 (10, 1)
Pass Defense: 241.25 (106, 6)
Total Defense: 345.67 (48, 2)
Scoring Defense: 21.08 (30, 2)
Turnover Margin: -.17 (72, 5)
Sacks: 3.08 (7, 1)
Sacks Allowed: 2.83 (102, 9)
Madness 2011 FCS Football Recruit Rankings:
#12 Kirk Harris
#40 Alex Carr
#56 Sam Rohr
#78 Wyatt Peiffer
