UNI football season recap, Panthers finish 5-6
Freshman Jalena Rima (87) breaks a couple of tackles and makes his way to the endzone for a UNI touchdown against South Dakota State.
Dec 1, 2016
2016 was a year of pretty high expectations for the University of Northern Iowa football team. The Panthers came into the season ranked fifth in NCAA Division 1 (FCS).
After opening the season with a win on the road at in-state rival and Power-Five opponent Iowa State, things certainly looked promising. However, UNI stumbled following the opener, losing four of the next five games.
Granted, three of those games were on the road, and three of those games were against ranked opponents. The Panthers lost those four games by a total of 17 points, so they were in each of those games.
The Eastern Washington and South Dakota games saw UNI lead for most of the game, until losing in the final minute. One place to look could be UNI’s ability to run the ball.
A season ago, the Panthers rushed for 3,266 yards as opposed to this season’s 1,805. Injuries could have played a role in this, however.
Both leading rushers, Tyvis Smith and Aaron Bailey, saw limited action down the stretch of the season.
UNI saw a lot of promise this season, however. Many young players saw a lot of playing time, and put up good numbers.
Eli Dunne put up 418 passing yards against Missouri State, and he will only be a junior next season. Freshman Jalen Rima showed some blazing speed on the field as both a receiver and a return specialist.
Another bright spot was senior Karter Schult. The defensive end led all of Division 1 football in total sacks with 17. This earned Schult the Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year award.
Some key departures this season to graduation include: Charles Brown, Aaron Bailey, Michael Malloy, Tyvis Smith, Karter Schult, Robert Rathje, and plenty of other seniors. They all meant a great deal to the program and community, and all of Panther Nation will miss them and wishes them the best.
While UNI entered the season with national title hopes, they struggled throughout and ended with a 5-6 season.
Really, college football in general was filled with similar situations this season. One thing that can be certain, is UNI will be competitive next season.
