Coach Mark Farley has had time to evaluate several positions after back-to-back road losses

CEDAR FALLS – There appears to be a lot of change on the horizon for the Northern Iowa football team, now and in the future.

After being able to reset their body clocks with a bye week following trips to Nebraska and Hawaii in Weeks 3 and 4, the Panthers (2-2) will look different this Saturday against two-time defending champion South Dakota State (4 p.m., ESPN+).

The question is: how else?

“I made some changes based on what I saw in those first four games,” UNI coach Mark Farley said Monday at his weekly news conference. “Last week gave me three (exercises) to look at my ideas, my thoughts and did they work or not? There will be some changes, some movement.”

The most notable of Farley’s adjustments could be at quarterback.

Sophomore Matthew Schecklman replaced starter Aidan Dunne late in the third quarter of UNI’s 36-7 loss at Hawaii and shared first-team reps with Dunne during bye week practices last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

“I wanted to give (Schecklman) real shots in a real situation against a good football team on the road so we could find out what he would be like before we (have) this stretch of games,” Farley said.

Farley unsurprisingly didn’t name a starter for Saturday’s Missouri Valley Conference opener against the top-ranked Jackrabbits, but he didn’t rule out Schecklman getting the nod.

“He got more opportunities in practice this past week,” Farley said. “(Schecklman) has a chance to be a starter (Saturday). (Dunne) didn’t do anything wrong, I just wanted to see what (Schecklman) could do.

Limiting explosive defensive plays and better execution on special teams were also noted by Farley on Monday, along with the potential quarterback change to breathe life into UNI’s aerial attack that has yet to get off the runway.

Personnel and schedule changes are part of the adjustments, but better execution is ultimately what the Panthers need.

“We have to raise our level everywhere,” Farley said. ‘It’s staff. It’s coaching. It’s everything. When you get to know (coaches and players) it takes four games to really see what they were like in game situations. Then try to evaluate each coach, segment(s) of player to find the balance of what you will do in the next two months.

When it comes to changes going forward for UNI, a recent call from university President Mark Nook at a September 19 Board of Regents meeting to make tuition rates available to students from neighboring states would have a major positive impact on the football program.

“That would be a game changer,” Farley said. “It makes your budget more efficient for using players and it levels the playing field because many of our other state schools around us can come to our state and educate our students locally if we recruit against them. But still, if I cross the (state) line, I pay out-of-state (tuition). When one ship rises, we all rise, and that ship would rise exponentially if we were given the opportunity to do so.”