UNI Football at Nebraska: TV, Live Stream, 3 Keys to the Game, Score Prediction (September 14, 2024)

UNI cannot afford to make a tough game even more difficult with pre-snap penalties, misalignments or controllable errors

CEDAR FALLS – Northern Iowa’s schedule ramps up with a game against No. 23 Nebraska on Saturday night – the team’s first-ever meeting with the Cornhuskers.

Nebraska (2-0) is led by head coach Matt Rhule, whose rebuilding of the program appears to be making significant progress in his second season with comfortable wins over UTEP and Colorado.

The Cornhuskers finished 5-7 last season, with five of their losses coming by just one point. In their two wins this season, they have outscored their opponents 68-17. Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, who has thrown for 211.5 yards per game, three touchdowns and no interceptions in his short career.

Nebraska's offense has been balanced so far this season, with running backs Dante Dowdell and Rahmir Johnson combining for 105 rushing yards per game.

Defensively, the Cornhuskers are led by junior linebacker Mikai Gbayor, who has the team's most tackles this season with 11. Nebraska's defense has already recorded eight sacks in its two games, second among all Big Ten teams.

3 keys for the UNI in Nebraska

1. Optimized processes

UNI cannot afford to make a tough game even tougher with pre-snap penalties, mis-positioning or controllable errors.

While starting quarterback Aidan Dunne's numbers were not convincing in his first year, coach Mark Farley praised his work in limiting penalties, filling the right positions and overall clean execution of the game.

With over 80,000 fans expected at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night, UNI will need to optimize its operations in all three phases if it wants to be competitive against the Cornhuskers.

2. Progress of the “air raid”

This week, the focus will again be on progress in the Air Raid offense, which moved up one place after an uninspiring passing game in the win at St. Thomas last Saturday.

Dunne could benefit from defensive speed that is far beyond anything he has seen so far this season. It's possible the Cornhuskers' speed will add something to Dunne after his slow start to the season, and even if not, the experience against such a strong opponent will likely benefit him.

3. Multiple defense

UNI could do something against Nebraska without overwhelming its own team by presenting a different defensive line on Saturday night.

While the Panthers have played almost exclusively with a four-man defense this season, Farley always uses a power play in his playbook and practices it regularly, even if it is not used on game day.

With Nebraska likely having its offense prepared for a 4-2-5 UNI defense, it could prove productive for the Panthers to have their 3-3-5 defense ready for action on Saturday night.

How to watch UNI in Nebraska (September 14, 2024)

Kick-off time: 6:30 p.m. (CT)

TV: Big Ten Network

radio: 93.5 The Mix (app available), Panther Sports Radio Network (via TuneIn)

line: UNI +29.5

Forecast: Nebraska 41, UNI 10