This is what they're saying - Part #4

Panther football team embraces Montana challenges

By JIM SULLIVAN, jim.sullivan@wcfcourier.com | Posted: Monday, December 5, 2011 3:00 pm

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- It'll be Montana in December, and it will be cold.
Asked about playing outdoors in the next round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, Northern Iowa's players reacted with a shrug rather than a shiver.
"We're from Iowa. We play in Iowa," said sophomore wide receiver Phil Wright. "It's what we do. We'll practice outside this week and do what we can do."
Thanks to Saturday's 28-21 victory over Wofford in the UNI-Dome, the Panthers advanced to the FCS quarterfinals. UNI goes to Missoula for a 7:05 p.m. game against Montana that will be televised on ESPN2. The Grizzlies whipped Central Arkansas, 41-14, in their second-round home game.
UNI is 0-4 against Montana. Farley lost his only meeting with the Grizzlies by a 38-0 margin 10 years ago in the FCS playoffs.
A long-range forecast for Missoula from the National Weather Service indicates the Friday night weather will be cloudy with a low of about 17 degrees.
None of those numbers mattered much to UNI's football team Saturday night.
"I love playing in cold weather, if it's not really windy," said a smiling Tirrell Rennie, the quarterback who guided the Panthers to a comeback victory Saturday.
Head coach Mark Farley simply welcomed the chance to advance, while acknowledging that Montana will be a formidable foe, good weather or bad. He had a kind word or two for Grizzlies head coach Robin Pflugrad.
Pflugrad is in his second season at Montana. Following a 7-4 rookie year and no playoffs, the Grizzlies rebounded in 2011. They own a 10-2 record and the No. 4 seed in the playoffs. Pflugrad also received Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year honors.
"It's the next place we go on this path," said Farley of the upcoming trip to Missoula. "This path was chosen by somebody else for us. This is the path we're going on. We're excited to go to Montana."
Talking about Pflugrad, Farley added, "He's a good man. He'll have them ready to play."
After getting a bye through the first round of the FCS playoffs, UNI (10-2) had two weeks to get ready for Wofford. The Panthers still had a tough time dealing with the Terriers and their triple-option Wingbone offense.
Despite giving up 457 yards rushing, UNI prevailed. Mistakes played a huge part in the outcome. Wofford lost three fumbles to one for the Panthers. And a strange special teams score, when Zach Cutkomp knocked the ball away from Stephon Shelton and Wright recovered in the end zone, provided the winning margin.
For Farley and the Panthers, the winning formula had a few more vital ingredients.
Rennie, for example, rushed for 95 yards and found Jarred Herring with a pair of touchdown passes.
"He stood in there and threw some good balls," said Farley of his senior quarterback. "Tirrell, I thought, really played with a sense of urgency."
Defensively, four Panthers had double-figure totals in tackles, led by L.J. Fort's 16. Wilmot Wellington contributed a key pass break-up and a dozen stops from his safety spot.
"It's a good football team," said Farley to the media Saturday. "I've been telling you guys that for a long time. It's good people playing hard and it's a great team. That's what's different about this group. It's a very good team."
Said Rennie, "Ever since we stepped into the Iowa State game, we've had the mentality that we're not an offense, we're not a defense, we're not special teams. We're a family. That's been our motto the entire season."
At least one game remains in that season, and a chance to take more steps down the road. The man who leads that football family, before shifting his attention to Montana, took a moment to breathe a sigh of relief that Wofford had been beaten.
"I'm so glad that's over," said Farley, smiling.