BEHIND ENEMY LINES: Northern Iowa

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Should we do a study.

Speaker 2 (00:00):
That'd be too much work for us to do a study,
like over a week of you know how many calls
that we can get.

Speaker 3 (00:06):
Sounds like the great work for an unpaid interns.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
You're right, You're right, hey, speaking of you know, great
work that you could be doing is following and covering
sports teams. I had a great time when I was
doing sports stuff. If there wasn't so much travel involved,
probably would have done it for my entire life. But
I gotta tell you, I got a little bit of excitement,
a little bit of jittery excitement about this Nebraska football game.

(00:36):
Nebraska ranked this week for the first time this season
and the first time under Matt rule, and they're playing
a team in northern Iowa, which many people probably over
here aren't super familiar with, but a team that's had
a lot of great respect at the FC list FCS level.
And it also gives me a chance to talk to
my good buddy Cole Bear joining us on the phone line. Cole,

(00:57):
Welcome to my Omaha show man.

Speaker 4 (00:59):
Hey to be here, Emory, how are you today?

Speaker 2 (01:01):
I'm great, dude, I am great, happy to talk to you.
We do this thing called behind Enemy lines where I
get a hold of somebody who is who covers or
follows around or calls the games for the opponents for Nebraska,
and I got to tell you, I knew. I obviously
knew that I was going to call you about this
Northern Iowa stuff. But for those who are just not

(01:23):
real up to snuff about these You and I Panthers
and the history of this football program, especially over the
last twenty to twenty five years, can you try to
help people understand where this program is and if there's
a good analogy to you know what this. I mean,
your guys, coach Mark Farley has been there for a
long time, So try to explain the culture of you
and I football to the people of Nebraska here.

Speaker 4 (01:45):
Well, I think an important place to start, Emory would
be the conference in the FCS that Northern Iowa plays in.
It's the Missouri Valley Football Conference, And like a lot
of conferences, especially as we're seeing even today, it's changed
over the years, but it's had a lot of stability
over the last decade plus. And the Missouri Valley Football Conference,

(02:07):
I've long called it the SEC of FCS football. It
is the class conference, the best conference without argument in
FCS football, and so Northern Iowa has of course enjoyed
a lot of success in the MVFC. Looking over the

(02:28):
entire history of you and I that even goes before
the NVFC, back to the Gateway Conference, you're looking at
a program that's made the FCS playoffs twenty three times,
sixteen conference titles, been to the FCS Playoffs semi finals
seven times. Coach Mark Farley is closing in on two
hundred career wins looking at it right here with the

(02:50):
game notes ahead of this matchup against Nebraska, Coach Farley
is one hundred and eighty two and one hundred and
three in his now twenty four seasons as you and
ice head coach. So yeah, you did a great job
setting the table there that you and I has, you know,
long been an established FCS Missouri Valley Conference program that

(03:14):
you know, in most seasons has something to say on
how things are going to shake out at this level.

Speaker 2 (03:20):
With that being said, Cole, you and I, you mentioned
the conference you know, led of course by perennial powerhouses
like North Dakota State, South Dakota State. There's other teams
you know, like South Dakota in Southern Illinois and you
have you know, teams like Illinois State that we saw
in like in North Dakota that you know have played
in the state of Iowa already this year against Iowa

(03:42):
and Iowa State. So it's just a it's a loaded conference.
You guys play so many different toyches of teams. But
the one thing that you guys are that nobody else
that I just mentioned is is two and oh has
something to do with who everybody's playing right now. You
guys are about to play the big dog that you know,
the North Dakota's and the Illinois States and the South
Dakota States and the North Dakota States have already played,

(04:03):
and that's Nebraska. This schedule a little bit weird. Tell
you take me through the first couple of weeks of
what you've seen from this now ranked you and I team.

Speaker 4 (04:11):
Yeah, so the Panthers have played two Pioneer Football League
teams that those are also FCS opponents, However, they are
non scholarship. For what it's worth, Saint Thomas is a
program that's quite a ways ahead in terms of its roster,
talent and ability than the Week one opponent, Valparaiso So
while last week seventeen to ten win for You and

(04:34):
I at Saint Thomas was certainly closer than the odds
makers in Vegas predicted, it wasn't necessarily quite a shock
that that turned into a competitive game. It did tell
us some things about this Panthers team that offers some concern.
In Week one, the season opener at home against Valparaiso,
You and I took care business like anybody would have

(04:55):
anticipated them to. They won thirty five to seven. They
could have ran that score up more, but instead they
leaned on their third string running back, who frankly could
probably start for some teams in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
That's one of the Panthers' deepest positions is running back.
What's interesting emory about this You and I team when

(05:17):
Nebraska fans are trying to get familiar here head of
Saturday Nights matchup, is there in the first year of
an air raid offense, They've got a number of assistant
coaches that either played and or coached with the late
Mike Leach who made that air raid famous. However, they're
calling it air raid adjacent. I've heard them call it
air raid inverted and that's by nature of what I

(05:40):
was telling you. With the talent they have at running back,
They've got some big, talented guys on their offensive line,
So while they're passing concepts may well be air raid.
They're leaning on the run here early in the season.
Against those two opponents that they had, they knew they
were going to be bigger and stronger. I'm interested to
see if they do go to the air more against Nebraska.

(06:02):
They're going to have to at some point. They haven't
proven as much as they need to to be a
upper third Valley team, much less a challenger against Nebraska
with their passing game, and they have questions on their
defense as well. They've been off to a great start,
allowing just eight and a half points per game, but
their defensive line is really going to be in for

(06:23):
a challenge on Saturday night in Lincoln.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
Talking to Cole Bear, he covers the Northern Iowa Panthers.
It covers a lot of different sports, but it has
been doing it for a long time. He knows him
about as well as anybody, and Cole, I'm looking at
your schedule right now. We'll talk about Nebraska specifically in
a second. At Lincoln this weekend, then you're getting on
a plane and going to Hawaii and taking on the
Rainbow Warriors. Next weekend, you get a bye week and

(06:47):
then three top ten FCS opponents in South Dakota State,
South Dakota, and North Dakota. You got Missouri State a
one week off shoot there at home, and then one
of the top teams in the country in North Dakota
State on the road, ranked team in Illinois State, another
ranked team in Youngstown State, and then you wrap up
the season against Indiana State. What intarnation this is? I mean,

(07:09):
this is insane. What is a realistic record for Northern
Iowa And what's like the bottom part of that record
that could get you guys into that twenty fourteen playoff.

Speaker 4 (07:18):
Yeah, and in hearing you read back that schedule and
the ranking of all those different Missouri Valley Football Conference
opponents Emory, that right in and of itself illustrates how
tough this conference is and it's why coach Mark Farley,
when asked about the Panthers being picked eighth in the
Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll, he said, well, you know,

(07:41):
seven teams are ranked, so it can't be all that
pad to be picked eighth in this conference. There's a
lot of parody by nature of the strength of this conference, Emory.
So it's I tell you, it's one of those things
where if you see the Panthers with four wins at
the end of the year, for as much as as
that is not commonplace with this program, you look at

(08:05):
that schedule and it's not hard to understand how that
could happen with this schedule. At the same time, it's
within the realm of possibilities that they could have six
or seven wins, and by nature of how strong you
and I schedule is, if they get seven wins, they're

(08:26):
for sure going to be in the twenty fourteen FCS
playoff field. If they get six wins, they'll be right
there on the bubble, and it depends on who they
won against who they lost against. They very well with
the six and six record, Emery told, get into the
twenty four team FCS playoff field. They've had that happen before.
So it is interesting and compelling. As Missouri Valley football

(08:51):
is on a year to year basis, this incredibly tough
schedule kind of just makes it even that much more
interesting for you and I. Panther fans this season.

Speaker 2 (09:02):
Well, Cole, like you mentioned, the first couple of weeks
you could say are tune ups for the two FBS
opponents you have, and that is Nebraska this week in Hawaii,
next week on the road. Nebraska coming off of a
really impressive victory, a couple of impressive victories, to be honest,
in Lincoln.

Speaker 1 (09:18):
You know it's going to be a gigantic crowd, another sellout.

Speaker 2 (09:21):
There's going to be a lot of energy for a
night game here against an opponent that Nebraska fans feel
like they're going to be comfortably winning against. What are
some names though of players that we need to know
here that could drastically affect the chances that Northern Iowa
has of keeping this game competitive into the second half.

Speaker 4 (09:39):
Yeah, if You and I is able to keep this
game competitive for a long enough time that it catches,
really starts to catch the attention of all the faithful
fans at Memorial Stadium, it's going to be you and
I's running back duo. They're off to an outstanding start
this season. Of course, don't anticipate them. They necessarily continue

(10:00):
you the level of production as they have in these
first two games against lesser opponents, But I am of
the belief that between those two in the offensive line,
the run game will be a strength the rest of
the season. So it's led by ty Edwards. Emery and
ty Edwards is in his fifth season. He is a

(10:20):
transfer from UTSA down in San Antonio. He had a
highly decorated JUCO career at Hutchinson, where he was an
All American. They won a national championship. He's six foot four,
two hundred and thirty pounds. He's pretty easy to spot
out there wearing number two, and he has I think
it's about three hundred and fifteen yards through these first

(10:43):
two games rushing. That's the best start in two games
to a season since you'll remember him the All American
David Johnson in twoenty and thirteen. And beyond Ty Edwards,
you've got another running back who rotates in in Amari
pe Kickson. He's almost averaging one hundred yards a game.

(11:03):
So if you and I is going to make this
game at all competitive, it's going to be because that
duo ty Edwards and Amari tesse Kickson are making, you know,
getting some first downs and making some things happen against
that corn Huskers defense.

Speaker 1 (11:18):
Yeah, it's going to be interesting to see.

Speaker 2 (11:19):
Obviously, Nebraski is going to be a heavy favorite and
are going to be expected to, you know, be well
ahead by halftime. But it should be fun and it's
gonna be fun for me to watch. Are you making
the trip over here to Lincoln?

Speaker 4 (11:30):
Nah? I am not. If it was if it was
a day game, I think I would have got the
green light because we would have been able to get
it in the Sunday print edition the Gazette. But you
know how it goes, my man.

Speaker 1 (11:42):
Yeah, I hear you. I het you get to go
to that Hawaii trip.

Speaker 4 (11:46):
Unless there's some string I can pull. Yet, I don't think.
I don't think that one's happening either, Although I have
considered crawling into somebody's check bag and riding underneath the plane.

Speaker 1 (11:57):
Hey, you don't let you come out, and you're in paradise.

Speaker 2 (11:59):
It's it's hard to turn that down, even if you
have to ride for you know, like twelve hours inside
a suitcase. I guess you'll have to tell me how
that goes for you. Cole as always appreciate the coverage, man,
and great talking to you.

Speaker 1 (12:10):
We'll see what happens on Saturday.

Speaker 4 (12:11):
All right, sounds good.

Speaker 1 (12:13):
Take care absolutely.

Speaker 2 (12:14):
My buddy Cole Beart covering as always the Northern Iowa Panthers,
happy to talk to him here on Nebraska Radio. We'll
talk more about Nebraska football next on news radio eleven
ten kfab.

Speaker 1 (12:24):
Emery Sunger on News Radio eleven ten kfab. You could
make the argument that this has trap game written all
over it.

Speaker 2 (12:33):
For who though, because Northern io Will also knows that
they have a Hawaii trip right after this.

Speaker 1 (12:38):
That's a good point. You know what, if I'm a
player on the You and I Panthers, I'm thinking I
get to go away next week.

Speaker 2 (12:45):
Like I've been thinking about that with my Spain trip
all week because next Tuesday I fly to Spain. You know,
you know how much that is like living in my
brain right now, Like I can't hardly think about anything else.
I couldn't imagine being a twenty year old kid playing
football in Cedar Falls, Iowa and being like.

Speaker 3 (13:00):
Why, yeah, that's a good point. I don't and I
don't think. I don't see any world where Nebraska loses.
But you know, you are kind of coming off an
emotional high against Colorado early in the season.

Speaker 1 (13:11):
And another night game too. Is that that? To me?

Speaker 2 (13:14):
The night game thing. It can't get a little hairy,
right like you had all day you're just kind of
hanging out, you're relaxing. There's something about those early games
that I feel a little bit better about with these
types of games, because you're you wake up and you're
immediately locked in, right, you don't have to wait around
all day and try to get sharp by six or
seven pm.

Speaker 3 (13:31):
Well, maybe I think that you look at when these
upsets happened the most, I would wonder. I would argue
that possibly they happen the most in that eleven o'clock
windows because it's kind of you get that early start
first out of that, you know, starting early in the
I don't know honestly, but.

Speaker 2 (13:50):
Yeah, yeah, I mean there's there's probably we need a
psychologist to talk us through all this, right, because I
like my brain is telling me that, but maybe a
psychologist was coming to say sectually the opposite, it's way
better to be like fully awake by midday before you
start getting into your game day routine. I would believe
that too, I suppose, right, because I'm not a morning guy.
You know, early those guys have to wake up to

(14:11):
get themselves ready for like an eleven am kick.

Speaker 1 (14:13):
How ready?

Speaker 2 (14:14):
Like how early you have to get yourself like really
hyped and ready to go and stretched out and everything.
That's not a typical day for these guys. They're mostly
practicing after, you know, four o'clock in the afternoon, aren't they.

Speaker 1 (14:23):
I don't know. I don't know what their practice schedule is.
I know they do. They still do two days.

Speaker 3 (14:28):
They used to do two, you know, the two days
during the summer, right, Yeah, then sometimes it's early morning.

Speaker 2 (14:32):
I feel like they don't do that that much these days.
That's what I feel like, too, because they figured out
that that hurts guys. Did you see a couple of
the guys in the NFL wearing those guardian caps on
the field?

Speaker 4 (14:42):
Oh?

Speaker 2 (14:42):
They were Jabrill Peppers was Oh, and there was a
tight end on the Titans. You really couldn't tell until
they like zoomed in on them because the guardian cap
has like a cover on it that looks like the
helmet looks. It's like a it's like an exact replica
of the helmet. It's just like a cloth covering over
the guardian cap. Okay, so it's kind of like a shower.
It's like big bulky. This just looks bulky. Yeah, that's

(15:04):
gonna be the future. I was gonna say, I feel
like it didn't look really that messed up. It didn't
look that noticeable to me. It wouldn't surprise me if
I see more guys wearing those as the season progresses
in the games.

Speaker 1 (15:16):
It does protect a lot more. Right, Like it does.

Speaker 2 (15:19):
They have done studies where it prevents like a majority
of concussive hits.

Speaker 1 (15:24):
Wow, because it's just like a lot of it.

Speaker 2 (15:27):
You can't like high speed collisions, but like off the
line of scrimmage, just like guys like pumping heads or
whatever in game scenarios. This is why they're always wearing
them in practice. Now is now you're not going to
get concussions in practice because first of all, there's not
as much contact, but you're basically like, you have to
wear them. I mean, they're if we're going to keep
this sport alive for the next hundred years, the sport

(15:50):
that we love, American football, something like this needed to
happen to protect people from the brain damage that we
were learning more and more about. Yeah, they had to
change the rules a bunch but I'd rather than work
guardian caps to continue to change the rules.

Speaker 3 (16:02):
Does that make sense if the guardian caps prevent concussions,
I wouldn't see why everyone isn't wearing them. I certainly
would be if that was basically, like you're telling me,
I'm not going to get a concussion, I'd.

Speaker 1 (16:12):
Absolutely be wearing that.

Speaker 2 (16:13):
Yeah, I mean, it can't totally prevent concussion, especially like
somebody like Pepper's Jabrol Peppers, who you know, might have
some collisions when you guys are going at full speed
that could mess him out. But in terms of just
like knocking heads the wrong way, the guardian CAP's going
to take a lot of that, a lot of that hit.
So I don't know. Something something to that. It's something too,
It's something to keep in mind. We'll talk more about
the you and I Nebraska football game with Sean Callahan

(16:35):
on the five o'clock hour today. We'll talk about it tomorrow.
Of course, we make game picks and all that jazz,
but we're going to come back. We got a fun
musical guest that we want to talk to you about,
including some of the fun ways that you can be
interactive with this person in the Omaha Symphony. We'll talk
about that next on news radio eleven ten kfav

Speaker 1 (16:54):
Emery Songer on news radio eleven ten kfab