Eagles tackle Panthers in first round
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Ho hum, another playoff game.
It’s not that No. 15 Eastern Washington and No. 7 Northern Iowa aren’t excited to be meeting in the opening round of the NCAA Division I-AA football playoffs tonight at the UNI Dome, but they have been playing playoff-style games since midseason stumbles put their future in doubt.
Eastern (7-4) needed a little help to earn the Big Sky Conference automatic berth. UNI (8-3) had to beat three ranked teams down the stretch to get to the 5:05 p.m. (Pacific) kickoff, including a thrilling 25-24 win over Southern Illinois to wrap up the Gateway Conference title.
“We’ve been in the playoffs for a while,” Panthers coach Mark Farley said. “We’re similar to Eastern Washington. We had our backs up against the wall by losing games we should have won along the way. Then we had to come back and play the three toughest teams back-to-back-to-back. We were fortunate enough to win.”
That two of the three games were decided in the closing seconds, including one on the road, might give the battled-tested Panthers an edge, but not as big of one as playing at home in the 16,324-seat dome. UNI is 6-0 this year with a nine-game winning streak and have a 10-2 playoff record. The Eagles know from experience that can be a loud and difficult place to play.
“It can be (louder than Montana),” said Eastern coach Paul Wulff, who was an assistant when the Eagles lost a non-league game here in 1994. “We can’t let them have big momentum swings on us.”
Wulff expects a tight, physical game, much like last year’s 34-31 win at Southern Illinois in the first round.
“They’re very similar to Southern Illinois, they’re a very good team, well-coached, great talent, big people, very physical,” Wulff said. “They’re very good on special teams, sound on offense and defense. It’s going to be a heck of a challenge for us to go in there and win.”
The Panthers have a strong running attack with the one-two punch of tailbacks David Horne (681 yards, 11 touchdowns) and Terrance Freeney (587, 8).
Should the Eagles slow down the running game, quarterback Eric Sanders is more than capable. He is not as prolific as Eastern’s Erik Meyer (3,616 yards, 26 touchdowns) but he is a little more efficient. Sanders missed two-plus games with a high ankle sprain but still threw for 1,816 yards and 16 touchdowns with four INTs.
The receivers don’t have gaudy numbers like the EWU trio of Eric Kimble, Raul Vijil and Craig McIntyre (162 receptions, 2,527 yards, 23 touchdowns) but three have 25 or 26 catches.
“We’re not going to be able to stop the run, these guys are too good,” Wulff said. “We might be able to slow them down, but they’re good enough to throw it. We expect them to be balanced, they’ve shown it all year. I think we would rather get anybody in a passing situation; most people want to do that. I think we can handle them if we play smart and tackle well.”
The Panthers do a good job of pressuring the quarterback and Eastern has been susceptible to the sack. Linebacker John Herman has 9 1/2 of UNI’s 31 sacks and the other two linebackers, Darin Heideman and Brett Koebcke both have 90 tackles. Kevin Stensrud is a 287-pound lineman who fills the middle and cornerback Dre Dokes is the shutdown cornerback.
“They’re very physical and tackle well,” Wulff said. “It’s going to be a challenge for our offense.”
It’s Eastern’s offense, averaging 477 yards and 34 points a game, that concerns Farley.
“We just know they’re a very good football team,” he said. “They had a lot of preseason articles and they probably have one of the best, if not the best, quarterback-receiver combinations in the nation. It should be a great game.”