Things don't get any easier this week. The Panthers (4-4 overall, 3-2 MVFC) face their fourth consecutive FCS Top 10 opponent when sixth-ranked South Dakota (7-1, 4-1) visits the UNI-Dome Saturday at 1 p.m.
"They've had just one game, at Illinois State, where they did not look like themselves, but other than that this is an exceptional football team," UNI head coach Mark Farley said. "The teams they have beaten -- Bowling Green early in the football season -- and doing what they have done against Southern Illinois and other teams."
UNI is 2-1 during its daunting stretch, but is coming off its worst performance in five weeks, a 30-14 loss to North Dakota State.