The UNI football team has been preparing for their first game back after a long bye week comes to an end. During their Homecoming battle on Oct. 1, the Panthers will take on the Southern Illinois Salukis.

The Salukis began their season 2-1 with just a single loss to Florida Atlantic (38-30) and will enter their game against UNI ranked No. 11 in the FCS. The Panthers are currently on a two game losing streak, but it is still very early in the season to be discouraged by a 1-2 record.

In 2015, the Panthers turned a 2-4 record into 9-5 by the end of the season after their seven game win streak was ended by North Dakota State.

Last season though, the Panthers rolled right past Southern Illinois at the UNI-Dome with a final score of 49-28. Aaron Bailey completed 14 of his 20 passes, threw two touchdowns and then proceeded to score three times on the ground. 

Tyvis Smith had a rushing touchdown as well, 161 yards on 23 attempts and his longest run of the night was marked at 51 yards.

Defensive line coach Bryce Paup has been working with the linemen for four years now and is excited to have a new record breaker, Karter Schult, on his front line.

Schult’s performance against the Swoops last week earned him the Hero Sports Player of the week and he now currently holds the record as an all-time leader in career tackles behind the line (44) at UNI. Against Eastern Washington, Schult had five solo tackles, two assists and even had his first career interception, which he ran the other way for 20 yards.

UNI has gone 63-26-7 in their Homecoming games since 1920. 22 of those victories were in Cedar Falls on home turf and the Panthers have only lost six homecoming games in the Dome.

This is shaping up to be a very exciting game, where fans can see if the Panthers can turn the jets on and get back on track after losing their last two previous games.

It is recommended that UNI fans attend the game wearing purple, and kickoff will then take place at 4 p.m.

After their battle with Southern Illinois, the Panthers will travel to Vermilion, South Dakota to take on South Dakota State.