December 9, 2011
, Times-Republican
The final statistics showed all Wofford as the Terriers faced Northern Iowa in the second round of the FCS playoffs last Saturday.
The scoreboard belonged to the Panthers in the end, and No. 5-seed Northern Iowa (10-2) travels to No. 4 Montana (10-2) for tonight's quarterfinal round pairing.
Wofford outgained Northern Iowa 478-238 last Saturday at the UNI-Dome. A Panther squad that entered fourth in FCS in scoring defense was shredded by the Terriers' FCS No. 1 rushing offense for 457 rushing yards on 73 carries - 6.3 yards per attempt. Wofford also held a 34:29 to 24:04 advantage in time of possession. Thanks to three fumble recoveries (one in the end zone), UNI was able to survive, 28-21, on the scoreboard.
"It was an interesting game the other night," Northern Iowa head coach Mark Farley said during his weekly press conference. "The best part of it was we moved on to the next game."
"Perseverance and all the things you have to be at this time of the season showed up that day," he added.
The Panthers, which are ranked second, head to Missoula to face the fifth-ranked Grizzlies in a spot where opponent after opponent has faltered. Montana is 28-6 all-time at home during the FCS playoffs, 10-0 in FCS quarterfinal games and has a winning percentage of .890 overall at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
"They're Montana. They're just Montana good right now," Farley said of the Grizzlies, a program that has had 26 consecutive winning seasons and has been in the playoffs 18 times over the last 19 years. "Their quarterback moves well in the pocket, throws a good football, they have real big offensive linemen, their defense there's 10 returning starters from last year's football team, they have quality defensive linemen, couple great corners; they are as good as what you would expect Montana to be."
Earlier this week, defensive players on both teams received national recognition. Northern Iowa linebacker L.J. Fort was named the FCS Defensive Player of the Year by College Sports Madness. Fort is tops in FCS in tackles (167) and is No. 2 on UNI's single-season list (Joe Anderson had 170 in 1981). Lineman Ben Boothby was named to the All-America team by both the American Football Coaches Association and College Sports Madness.
Montana linebacker Caleb McSurdy and defensive back Trumaine Johnson earned spots on the AFCA team.
Since the start of the 2000 season, Montana has the most wins among FCS programs (126), while UNI is third (107).
The scoreboard belonged to the Panthers in the end, and No. 5-seed Northern Iowa (10-2) travels to No. 4 Montana (10-2) for tonight's quarterfinal round pairing.
Wofford outgained Northern Iowa 478-238 last Saturday at the UNI-Dome. A Panther squad that entered fourth in FCS in scoring defense was shredded by the Terriers' FCS No. 1 rushing offense for 457 rushing yards on 73 carries - 6.3 yards per attempt. Wofford also held a 34:29 to 24:04 advantage in time of possession. Thanks to three fumble recoveries (one in the end zone), UNI was able to survive, 28-21, on the scoreboard.
"It was an interesting game the other night," Northern Iowa head coach Mark Farley said during his weekly press conference. "The best part of it was we moved on to the next game."
"Perseverance and all the things you have to be at this time of the season showed up that day," he added.
The Panthers, which are ranked second, head to Missoula to face the fifth-ranked Grizzlies in a spot where opponent after opponent has faltered. Montana is 28-6 all-time at home during the FCS playoffs, 10-0 in FCS quarterfinal games and has a winning percentage of .890 overall at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
"They're Montana. They're just Montana good right now," Farley said of the Grizzlies, a program that has had 26 consecutive winning seasons and has been in the playoffs 18 times over the last 19 years. "Their quarterback moves well in the pocket, throws a good football, they have real big offensive linemen, their defense there's 10 returning starters from last year's football team, they have quality defensive linemen, couple great corners; they are as good as what you would expect Montana to be."
Earlier this week, defensive players on both teams received national recognition. Northern Iowa linebacker L.J. Fort was named the FCS Defensive Player of the Year by College Sports Madness. Fort is tops in FCS in tackles (167) and is No. 2 on UNI's single-season list (Joe Anderson had 170 in 1981). Lineman Ben Boothby was named to the All-America team by both the American Football Coaches Association and College Sports Madness.
Montana linebacker Caleb McSurdy and defensive back Trumaine Johnson earned spots on the AFCA team.
Since the start of the 2000 season, Montana has the most wins among FCS programs (126), while UNI is third (107).
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