2020 Football Schedule

[ronfitch]

Hell, look at the win % at home vs the road for UNI. A couple years ago (I think 16 or 17) I broke down the W/L for home vs road for UNI under Mark Farley. It's something like, and I might be off a couple percent points but it's real close, 80-85% at home and 40-45% on the road.

The difference in record, team health, and playoff seeding that would make for UNI over the last 7 years isn't small.

Here is what I have for UNI under Farley at the Dome (96-23; .807%):

2001 6-0 (including 1 playoff win over Maine)
2002 3-3
2003 6-0 (including 1 playoff win over Montana State)
2004 4-2
2005 7-0 (including 1 playoff win over Eastern Washington)
2006 4-2
2007 6-1 (including 1 playoff loss to Delaware)
2008 8-1 (including 2 playoff wins over Maine and New Hampshire; 1 playoff loss to Richmond)
2009 5-1
2010 4-2 (including 1 playoff loss to Lehigh)
2011 6-0 (including 1 playoff win over Wollford)
2012 3-2
2013 4-2
2014 6-1 (including 1 playoff win over Stephen F. Austin)
2015 5-1
2016 2-3
2017 5-1
2018 5-1 (including 1 playoff win over Lamar)
2019 7-0 (including 1 playoff win over San Diego)

FWIW, Mudra's teams were 30-3 (.909) over five seasons, Allen's teams were 47-4 (.927) over eight seasons and Dunbar's teams were 18-4 (.818) over four seasons in the Dome. This includes playoffs but does not include one home loss under Dunbar in '98 that was played at Central High School in Waterloo.

The Panthers have been very, very good in the Dome over the past 35ish years, 194-37 (.840) under Mudra-Bruce-Allen-Dunbar-Farley.

[havok58]

Clenz, you just proved my point. If we can’t win those games then we are not a 10 win talent team. You can’t put exceptions to the phrase like “we are a 10 win team IF we played an easy schedule.” UNI could have won many national titles IF they weren’t always beat in the first or second round of the playoffs. When someone states that UNI is a 10 win talent team as fact, then that’s what should happen. If the schedule is too difficult, as it has been for the past few years, then be honest and say UNI is a 7 or 8 win talent team this season.

[clenz]

Clenz, you just proved my point. If we can’t win those games then we are not a 10 win talent team. You can’t put exceptions to the phrase like “we are a 10 win team IF we played an easy schedule.” UNI could have won many national titles IF they weren’t always beat in the first or second round of the playoffs. When someone states that UNI is a 10 win talent team as fact, then that’s what should happen. If the schedule is too difficult, as it has been for the past few years, then be honest and say UNI is a 7 or 8 win talent team this season.

You're right

San Diego, Central Connecticut State, Monmouth, etc all have more talent than UNI.

[havok58]

Not trolling and not playing dumb. I get Clenz argument. I’m just looking at it from a different perspective and it’s all relative to who UNI plays.

What does a 10 win talent team mean if we put on qualifiers like “we have a 10 win talent team” except we play a: AT a top 25 FBS team; AT the #1 team in the nation - winner of 8 of 9 national titles; AT the #3 team in the nation; AT a top 5-7 program in the FCS TWICE in the same season and AT a top 10 team “so of course we aren’t going to win 10 games with that schedule.”

What is the criteria that makes UNI a 10 win talent team then if we are already saying they are going to lose games against better opponents? Every year when the schedule is released, there are a lot of people picking UNI to win 7 or 8 games, finishing anywhere from 2nd to 4th in the conference. No one says there’s a 10 win season. If we have the coaching and talent to do that, why not? UNI has had a lot of all conference and all American players over the years, and how many 10 win seasons has that produced?

Again, I understand the points that Clenz and others are making. IF UNI played an easier OOC schedule, and IF UNI wasn’t in the toughest conference in the country then yes, they are a 10 win talent team. But they don’t play an easy conference schedule, and they play in the toughest conference. So in my mind, the odds of them winning 10 games each year is slim. Doesn’t mean I think less of the team. Doesn’t mean I won’t cheer hard for them. It just means when I look at what they have to face with the schedule and coaching that it’s not a 10 win talent team every year.

[vbfan19]

So because Central Connecticut State and Monmouth won 10+ games this year, they're automatically "10-win talent" programs?

Winning 10+ games is the very definition of having "10-win talent".

What if they played UNI's schedule? CCSU an Monmouth would get drubbed playing UNI's schedule - would have been .500 at best. But your logic is saying they would still win 10+ because they did against predominantly Northeast and Big South Conference schedules.

But they didn't play UNI's schedule. They won 10 games, thus they had 10-win talent. UNI didn't win 10 games, thus they didn't have 10-win talent.

that's why phrases like "10-win talent" are fairly meaningless.

We get it, y'all want UNI to play nothing but cupcakes in non-conference (scheduling like Youngstown State, cuz that has worked out so well for them that past decade or so)

[beef50677]

Ya'll? Never once did I say I wanted UNI to play nothing but cupcakes. For one, the cupcake schedule for Youngstown State hasn't work because they don't have that aforementioned talent. If UNI would have played that schedule this year, gone 4-0 in non-conference, what would their record have been after the regular season? 10-2.

At some point, you have to look at schedules and realize they're apples and oranges. Hell, UNI's are typically grapefruits or lemons. For me, I look at teams and a variety of schedules, trying to find a middle ground and decide, how would such and such do against this schedule? Would this team be as impressive if they had to play a tougher slate? I think this mostly gets bared out in the polls, where a UNI who went 8-4 was ranked in the top 6 going into the playoffs and teams like CCSU were between 20-25.

Don't get me wrong, the Blue Devils had a great year and they deserved the recognition for what they did. For a Northeast Conference team, they're a 9-10 win program, but the NEC is not the MVFC by a long shot. A 9-10 win program there is equal to a 6 win program here. If what you're saying is true, then teams should be ranked strictly by whatever their record happens to be.

[vbfan19]

If what you're saying is true, then teams should be ranked strictly by whatever their record happens to be.

I never once said anything about rankings.

A 9-10 win program there is equal to a 6 win program here.

exactly. which is why the notion of "10-win talent" doesn't really mean anything. 10 wins against what schedule?

[clenz]

Not trolling and not playing dumb. I get Clenz argument. I’m just looking at it from a different perspective and it’s all relative to who UNI plays.

What does a 10 win talent team mean if we put on qualifiers like “we have a 10 win talent team” except we play a: AT a top 25 FBS team; AT the #1 team in the nation - winner of 8 of 9 national titles; AT the #3 team in the nation; AT a top 5-7 program in the FCS TWICE in the same season and AT a top 10 team “so of course we aren’t going to win 10 games with that schedule.”

What is the criteria that makes UNI a 10 win talent team then if we are already saying they are going to lose games against better opponents? Every year when the schedule is released, there are a lot of people picking UNI to win 7 or 8 games, finishing anywhere from 2nd to 4th in the conference. No one says there’s a 10 win season. If we have the coaching and talent to do that, why not? UNI has had a lot of all conference and all American players over the years, and how many 10 win seasons has that produced?

Again, I understand the points that Clenz and others are making. IF UNI played an easier OOC schedule, and IF UNI wasn’t in the toughest conference in the country then yes, they are a 10 win talent team. But they don’t play an easy conference schedule, and they play in the toughest conference. So in my mind, the odds of them winning 10 games each year is slim. Doesn’t mean I think less of the team. Doesn’t mean I won’t cheer hard for them. It just means when I look at what they have to face with the schedule and coaching that it’s not a 10 win talent team every year.

Ignoring SOS when it comes to the discussion is ****ing dumb, as I pointed out.

Look at the ****ing OOCs again. SDSU has "10 win talent" because they played 0-10 LIU in their first year up from D2 and 4-6 Drake (who lost to an NAIA) compared to Iowa State and Weber State on the road.

Going beyond the idea of "X win talent" that's a massive issue. There's a reason they finished TWO GAMES behind UNI in the conference standings and in 4th place in the MVFC and still got a ****ing seed.

Why? They finished 8-4, started the season high and ran off to a 6-1 start to the year to solidify the idea they were a top 7 team no matter what happened to end the year. And it was proven. They lost in the final week of the season to ****ing South Dakota who had 4 wins They got a seed because they played Long Island and not Weber State.

USD's 4 other wins were
1 win Missouri State (only win was WIU)
ISUb (who beat only bottom of the OVC teams and then 1 win MSU WIU, 2 MVFC win YSU and 1 win MSU)
2 win Northern Colorado

They gave WIU their only win of the season.

They got a seed entirely based on the idea they started the season high, racked up OOC wins and rode that through the **** field they had the last month and a half of the season where they went 2-4.

Meanwhile UNI has this idea that we have to schedule like ****ing morons and send the team halfway across the county and multiple time zones every damn year. That takes a massive toll on a program compared to playing at home every week in the OOC.


It's not just "play only cupcakes like YSU and look how that has worked for them". YSU is a horrific example. They have little to no talent compared to the top of the conference, and as much as people ***** about Farley, they haven't had NEAR the coaching since Cheatervest left.

I laid out the gruling schedule SDSU has subjected their players too

Lets look at other MVFC teams

Illinois State: have a permanent H/H set up with EIU. Have for over a century
MVSU
EIU
APSU
@ Iowa
Morgan State
@ EIU
Valpo
@ Northwestern
EIU
Butler
@ EIU
@ NAU
St. Xavier (non D1)
EIU
@ Colorado State
@ Northern Illinois
Morehead State
@EIU
NAU

More road games than SDSU, marginally more aggressive.
Less road games than UNI, significantly weaker FBS games, significantly weaker scheduling

Indiana State
@ Indiana
Tenn Tech
@ Ball State
Liberty
Butler
@ Purdue
SEMO
Butler
@ Minnesota
@ SEMO
EIU
@ Tennessee
@Liberty
Quincy
@ Louisville
@ EIU
@ Kansas
Dayton
EKU
EIU

Better balance than UNI when it comes to H/A games
Significantly weaker FCS schedule
Had a 7 home game schedule

Missouri State

@ Northwestern State
@ Oklahoma State
UND
@ UCA
@ Memphis
Chadron State
@ Arkansas State
Vs Southwestern
@ Murray State
@ Kansas State
@ Missouri
@ North Dakota
Murray State
@ Oklahoma
Lincoln (non D1)
NAU
@ Tulane
Kennesaw State

They play almost exclusively on the road to boost budget. Let's not pretend MSU is a good example to follow for almost anything football related. I will say their ability to play not top 15-20 FCS teams all the time for their FCS games is interesting. Or their ability to play an FBS outside of their state once in a while.

NDSU
@ Iowa State
@ Weber (2-10 that year)
Incarnate Word
Montana (ESPN set this game and the return game up for their kick off series. The two schools didn’t go out of their way to set it up
@ Montana
Weber State (5 D1 wins)
North Dakota
Charleston Southern – ESPN set it up
EWU
@ Iowa
MVSU
@ EWU
Robert Morris
Cal Poly
North Alabama (D2 – hadn’t started D1 transition yet)
Delaware – this H/H was set up because of Carson Wentz being in Philly and the exposure to be gained because of him out east
UND
Delaware
UC Davis

Outside of games ESPN set up or that were scheduled entirely because of Carson Wentz exposure they haven't exactly scheduled real tough or outside of Fargo

South Dakota
@ Oregon
William Penn
@ Montana
NAU
@ Kansas State
@ UC Davis
Drake
@ New Mexico
Weber State
@ UND
@ Drake
@ Bowling Green
UND
@ Kansas State
Northern Colorado
@ Weber State
@ Oklahoma
Houston Baptis
@ Northern Colorado

Probably the closest in terms of H/A split but a pretty stark difference in quality of FCS games.

SIU
Taylor
@ EIU
SEMO
@ SEMO
@ Indiana
Liberty
@ FAU
SEMO
Murray State
MVSU
@ SEMO
@ Memphis
@ Murray State
@ Ole Miss
SEMO
@ UMASS
UT Martin
@ Arkansas State


Pretty stark competition difference there as well

WIU
Valpo
@ Wisconsin
Drake
I just want to stop right here and say that even WIU somehow managed to get 2 PFL teams at home in the same year
EIU
@ Illinois
@ CCU
@ EIU
NAU
@ NIU
@ Tenn Tech
@ NAU
@ CCU – this was a home game but CCU moved FBS and bought the game to be at home
@ Montana State
@ Illinois
Montana
@ Colorado
Montana State
Tenn Tech

YSU is always exclusively NEC/PFL team outside of the Samford game set up by ESPN this last season.

There's a MASSIVE scheduling difference betweeen what UNI has done over that same time frame. That hast cost UNI wins (Montana X2, EWU, Weber State). It has cost UNI ranking slots. It has cost UNI a seed in the playoffs.

Ignore the schedule all you want.
Blame Farley for simply not winning games all you want
Ignore UNI having more All Americans and All Conference players since 08 than any MVFC school all you want
Head in the sand all you want
Doesn't change the reality that UNI's talent far outweighs it's record and the schedule plays a MASSIVE ****ing part in that.

Play an 0-10 first year D1 at home or the #3 team in the nation on the road. Gee...****ing wonder which would is more likely to be won. Thus improving ones "X WIN TALENT" argument.

[Logicfan]

NDSU is very open on how they schedule. It used to be 2 Buy games and a regional FBS. That has now changed and it is 2 Buy games and a Top 15 FCS. Next year they get their first FBS game since 2016.

[CaliPanther]

UNI has never beaten North Dakota in football since UNI went D-I

I have a strange feeling a change is coming

[Codytwo]

I can't access the links.

[BCPanther]

Hey! We've got a couple game times assuming, of course, that there is a football season.

SIU is a night game that kicks at 6:00. Youngstown is that always awesome 11:00 kick.

[BCPanther]

All 5 home games will kick at 4:00.

The right decision. The easy decision.

Hallelujah.

[FOTY]

Awesome news! Make most of us out of towners happy, especially those with kids.

[panthergirl123]

All 5 home games will kick at 4:00.

The right decision. The easy decision.

Hallelujah.

I love this decision. My only wish would have been a 6pm game for NDSU but 4pm is fine.