**2026 Football Season Thread**

[06panther10]

Time to get this fired up.

First game 9/5 at Eastern Washington. We beat them narrowly at home last year, looks like they are picked 8th in the Big Sky. I would think this is a winnable game for us, but its always tough going out West.

I have no idea what to expect out of our program this year, hoping to see continued improvement.

[LoafInIowa]

Getting excited for sure. My son will be a sophomore tackle this year & is really excited about getting rolling this season. Locker room seems way more juiced & amped up, from I am guessing getting into the 2nd year with Coach Stepsis & the way the off season workouts / lifts were changed in terms of energy & direction to complete every team thing with urgency. I really see that transferring onto the field & UNI having high energy in everything they do.

Would be great for the fellas to get the W out west, to start the season on the high note & to go into the home game with Drake, knowing what they do good & to work on things after the first game.

Also can't wait to get back into getting out & tailgating before the games & meeting new Panther backers along the way this season also.

[BCPanther]

We'll know if this staff is going to work by the middle of October.

Need to see progress, especially offensively.

[PantherAlum09]

I think the talent is better this year, but we have to stay healthy. We don't have waves of dudes to replace starters like bigger programs.

[MVCBeat]

So, I apologize for my ignorance. But I realized I have no idea who our quarterback is. Who is our QB? Is it Dailey?

[PantherAlum09]

So, I apologize for my ignorance. But I realized I have no idea who our quarterback is. Who is our QB? Is it Dailey?

Dailey is the starter and has been pretty much all offseason. I really hope we see some improvement from him this season. I think the younger guys actually have some talent, but coaches are going with the experience on this one.

[UNIGrad10]

Saw this on instagram yesterday and thought it was interesting.

The women's soccer team posted a video where various players were trying to kick a water bottle off of a helmet being worn by another player. The helmet is painted gold with a black face mask. When the girl wearing the helmet turns to the side, you can see there is a purple section with the outline of the flying cat head logo with the UNI above it. There is something on the other side of the helmet that kinda looks like the start of the UNI logo, but she never turns that way to get a good look. Lastly, the back bumper has "PANTHERS" on it, which makes me think it's more legit than just a fan made thing.

Do we have an alternate helmet coming this season for a throwback game? Did we ever have gold helmets? Any thoughts?

[BCPanther]

Probably a prototype that never got used. That's a REALLY old helmet.

[7YrsOfCollegeDownTheDrain]

The little i've heard out of camp so far is that the WR group looks really talented and the Defensive Line looks improved. I really hope the D Line is truly improved - that group has been a weakness here the last 3 or 4 years. An inability to stop the run and get pressure with the front 4 has been a real problem.

[kochrab]

The little i've heard out of camp so far is that the WR group looks really talented and the Defensive Line looks improved. I really hope the D Line is truly improved - that group has been a weakness here the last 3 or 4 years. An inability to stop the run and get pressure with the front 4 has been a real problem.

IIRC, we got more sacks than we had in a LONG time last year, so if it's better than that, I'll take it.

[Pant8her]

The Analyst MVFC preview posted. Does not bode well for our upcoming season. So, all I can say is break this trend and get back on top.

Missouri Valley Football Conference Predictions: SDSU, Illinois State at Front of a Deep Title Race | Opta Analyst

Plus, it is an absolute shame that AD did not get the 12th game and make it a home game.

All I can foresee at this time we have become a bottom dweller of the MVFC. UNI has had a positive tradition in American Football (FCS) and the recent changes have accentuated the state of Iowa does not see fit to support UNI.

Therefore, I say to the staff at UNI prove me wrong and blow our fan base out of the water to regain the top spot in the MVFC and make a deep run for the NCAA FCS championship (finally win it, and multiple times at that).

[06panther10]

Agreed on the 12th game. I thought that was actually pathetic that we couldn't bring in a lower level team to juice the record as a show of support for the program. A huge miss for the AD.

If you look at the schedule, its still very brutal without NDSU. Basically the 1st 2 games against EWU and Drake are must wins if we want to have any type of successful season. You would think you could beat Indiana State and Murray State, and then just try to steal a couple of the other 6 games against very good playoff level MVFC teams. Which is entirely possible if the team has improved, as we realistically should have had both USD and Youngstown beat at home last year.

[06panther10]

Drake lost at home to DII South Dakota School of the Mines last night (who went 3-8 last year in DII).

I'll go ahead and put the Drake game as an absolute must-have, cannot lose under any circumstances game...

EWU plays at Northern Arizona on Saturday.

[pantherclaw]

Drake lost at home to DII South Dakota School of the Mines last night (who went 3-8 last year in DII).

I'll go ahead and put the Drake game as an absolute must-have, cannot lose under any circumstances game...

EWU plays at Northern Arizona on Saturday.

SIU loses on the road at University of West Florida in the Argonauts first game in D-1. The program has been in existence for 10 years but won the D-11 Natty in 2019 and been a regular in the D-II playoffs. Oofta.

[UNIpanther99]

I hate to say it, but Missouri State may have made the right move to stay relevant in the college sports landscape.

Unless we are regularly making and advancing in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, we aren't moving the needle there.