University of Northern Iowa

UNI Football (2-5 / 0-3 MVFC) vs. Missouri State (5-2 / 3-0 MVFC)

• 4pm CT | Oct 26, 2024
• Cedar Falls, Iowa | UNI Dome (16,324)
• ESPN+ (Brad Wells: play-by-play / Justin Surrency: analyst)
• Panther Sports Radio Network | (JW Cox: Play-by-Play / Scott Peterson: Analyst)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The UNI Panthers football team returns home after back-to-back road contests to take on the Missouri State Bears in Northern Iowa's annual Homecoming Weekend competition.

The Panthers suffered a 31-7 defeat. 9 North Dakota. In this matchup Matthew Scheckleman finished the contest with 178 yards on 16 completions and a touchdown. Through the air, JC Roque Jr. led the Panthers with 85 yards on 4 receptions and a touchdown. Tye Edwards finished with 31 rushing yards.

JC Roque Jr. recorded his first collegiate touchdown on a 60-yard reception in the second quarter at North Dakota. The reception was also the longest of his career.

Matthew Scheckleman recorded the longest pass and longest touchdown of his career with the 60-yard touchdown pass to Roque Jr. in the second quarter at UND.

The Panthers face the Missouri State Bears on UNI's homecoming weekend. This will be the 44th meeting overall between the two teams, with UNI holding a 35-8 advantage in the all-time series and a 7-3 advantage in the last 10 meetings.

This will be the final conference matchup between two founding members of the MVFC as Missouri State moves to Conference USA next season.

The Panthers remain the cleanest team in the MVFC with just 31 penalties this season. UNI's 4.43 penalty yards per game are the seventh fewest in the nation and the fewest in the MVFC with just 42.43 penalty yards per game, the second-best mark in the Valley and 21st nationally. On the floor, Tye Edwards continues to be a force with 6.11 rushing yards per carry. That's the fourth-best mark in the conference and Edwards' 71.6 rushing yards per game is the seventh-best mark in the Valley.

Sergio Morancy has recorded an average of 19.6 yards per kickoff return. This number is the third best mark in the MVFC. Noah Pettinger is averaging 43.5 yards per punt, the third-best average in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the 20th-best average nationally.

Missouri State returns to the road this Saturday when the Bears put their five-game winning streak on the line against fellow MVFC founding member Northern Iowa at 4 p.m. (ESPN+). MoState has won three of the last four meetings against the Panthers, including a 35-16 win over UNI last season in Springfield. Missouri State's five-game winning streak is tied for the sixth-longest active streak in the FCS standings heading into this week's contest. The Bears are also in the official FCS Top 25 poll for the third straight year, coming in at No. 18 in the AFCA rankings and No. 9 in the MasseyRatings.com metrics this week.

A Missouri State win over Northern Iowa would give the Bears a 4-0 start in conference play for the first time since 1992 (coach Jesse Branch), a 6-2 overall start since 1996 (coach Del Miller), and a A 6-game winning streak for the first time since 2001-02 (October 27, 2001 to September 7, 2002) (coach Randy Ball).

UNI Athletics is proud to offer the Hy-Vee Fan Zone on the north side of the West Dome site on Saturday. The hassle-free Tailgate experience features live music and free food samples, drinks and beer for sale. Fans can arrive in the fan zone from 1:30 p.m. and stay there until 3:30 p.m.

Panther fans with a football ticket also have access to the UNI volleyball game at the McLeod Center when the Panthers face the Sycamores of Indiana State. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT.

UNI football action can be followed throughout the season on social media on Facebook (UNI Football), X (@UNIFootball) and on Instagram (@unipantherfootball). The complete 2024 schedule and lineup, as well as the latest Panthers news and information, can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.