Bulky offensive line keys NIU balance Panthers run, throw for over 150 ypg apiece

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So you’re all fired up to watch the University of Maine play its second-round NCAA Division I-AA football playoff game and you’ve just gotta know something about Northern Iowa. Right?

Well, here’s the easy three-step primer:

. First, the Panthers (official colors: Purple and Old Gold) play in a dome that’s really more of a bubble, called the UNI-Dome (UNI standing for University of Northern Iowa). Its capacity is a potentially ear-numbing 16,324.

. Second, the school’s most famous football alum is a quarterback who threw just 17 touchdown passes and was intercepted 14 times as a senior, yet turned into the NFL’s Most Valuable Player. His name: Kurt Warner.

. And third, when you tune in on TV at 2:30 Saturday afternoon for the broadcast from Cedar Falls, Iowa, you may be looking a team that is suspiciously similar to your home-state Black Bears.

At least that’s what UNI coach Mark Farley figures.

“As [Maine is], it’s a very disciplined team, and that’s what we kind of pride ourselves on,” Farley said during a Tuesday conference call.

“We’re gonna do the things we need to do without hurting ourselves with turnovers or penalties or holding or something to that effect.”

Farley is particularly confident in his offensive line, a beefy unit that has excelled all season long and allowed just 17 sacks in its 10-2 campaign.

That line – tackles Ben Deike and Chad Setterstrom, guards Matt Zehr and Brodie Brelsford, and center Ryan Ozbun – weigh in at a collective 1,461 pounds … or 2921/2 pounds per man. They average 6-foot-31/2 tall. And they’ve been remarkably resilient, starting all but one game as a unit.

“We’re sound in the front, and what we do technique-wise,” Farley said.

That collection of corn-fed Northern Iowa beef will pave the way for a two-pronged back attack in the form of tailbacks Adam Benge and Richard Carter.

Benge, a 5-11, 189-pound junior, has averaged 103.6 rushing yards per game, piling up 1,264 yards and scoring 12 touchdowns. Carter is a 5-4, 179-pounder with breakaway speed. He has run for 836 yards and seven more touchdowns.

At quarterback, the Bears will likely face junior college transfer Griff Jurgens, though true freshman Tom Petrie, who started the first six games of the year and has played in 10 contests, may well see some time.

Either way, the productivity ought to be similar: Petrie has passed for 115.2 yards per game, completing 51.6 percent of his passes. Jurgens, who will start, according to Farley, has connected on 61.4 percent of his passes for 113.2 yards per game.

The UNI passing attack accounts for 152.6 yards per game, its rushing an impressive 202.3 a contest.

Still, fans expecting a wide-open affair based on the 49-43 UNI win over Eastern Illinois on Saturday may not see that kind of game.

Farley said that game turned into a scoring contest in part because the field was so slippery, defenses were at a significant disadvantage.

“The game was made up of play-action, because there was a whole lot of sliding going on,” Farley said.

Farley said the quarterback situation arose when Petrie separated his throwing shoulder early in the Panthers’ sixth game of the year, then separated the other shoulder later in the same game.

“Griff is an accurate passer,” he said of Jurgens, who stepped in ably. “He brings more game experience than probably what Tom did.”

Still, he didn’t rule out changing signal-callers in mid-game.

“My philosophy is to line up and put your faith in somebody, and tell the team who’s going to line up and play and then go with them,” Farley said. “And then make that decision maybe later on in the game, if you’re gonna make that change.”

The top targets for the two-QB Panthers have been Jake Soliday (51 catches, six touchdowns), tight end Ryan Hannam (38 catches, 0 TDs), and Reid Seitz (25 grabs, 2 TDs).

On defense, five Panthers have been dominant, piling up more than 80 tackles apiece.

Leading the way are two linebackers: 6-4, 229-pound Adam Vogt (59 solo tackles, 61 assists, 120 total) and 6-4, 238-pound Casey Tierney (45, 58, 103). Cornerback Ken Harris, linebacker Carlos Dallis and free safety Chris Stimmel have each been in on more than 80 tackles.

Special teams are another Panther strength, thanks in large part to junior kicker Mackenzie Hoambrecker.

Hoambrecker was successful on 35 of 37 PAT kicks and made 16 of 22 field goal attempts. Of his six missed field goals, four have come from beyond 50 yards. He is 3-for-4 from 40-49 yards, including a long of 45, and is 13-for-14 from 20-39 yards.