Steve Staker

Coe Head Football Coach Steve Staker has been named the Liberty Mutual National Coach of the Year for NCAA Division III. As the winner of the award, Staker will be able to designate $50,000 to the charities of his choice, with an additional $20,000 to benefit alumni programs at Coe.

The Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year program recognizes one coach in each of the four divisions of college football, celebrating coaches whose seasons were marked by the success and sportsmanship of their teams on the field, achievements by their student-athletes in the classroom, and their selfless support of charity and their communities.

He has been at the Coe College football helm for two years.

After a four-win campaign last year, the 2009 team finished this season 10-2, just the third 10-win season in school history, while reaching the second round of the Division III playoffs.

Information provided by Coe College

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Four-time letterman and all-America running back Tavian Banks has been named honorary captain for Saturday’s home finale against Minnesota on Nov. 21, 2009. The Hawkeyes face the Gophers in a nationally televised game on ESPN with kickoff set for 11:02 a.m., in Kinnick Stadium. The game is sold out, which means Iowa has sold out 42 of its last 44 home games.

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University of Northern Iowa senior defensive end James Ruffin (Burnsville, Minn.) has been selected to play in the East-West Shrine Game. CONTINUE READING (Information provided by UNI.)

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Here’s are some facts and notes for Saturday’s game (as released by UNI):

Preview – UNI vs. Illinois State – Nov. 2009

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By Brian Siguenza

This could actually be a scary Halloween for fansof the Iowa Hawkeyes when Indiana comes to Kinnick Stadium on Saturdayfor a Big Ten matchup (11 a.m. on ESPN).

The 2009 Hawkeyes have already provided several hair-raising moments, including last week’s game-winning touchdown at Michigan State on the last possible play, leaving some pundits to question whether Iowa really is worthy of its No. 4 spot in the BCS standings.

“Computers have not seen us play,” said head coach Kirk Ferentz, referring to the team’s No. 1 computer ranking which is factored into the BCS. “If they had eyes and could see us play, they would say, ‘are you kidding me?’”

Conventional wisdom suggests that Iowa beats the Hoosiers (4-4, 1-3) by a sizable margin. But after Northern Iowa and Arkansas State, I know better than to go along with that. Indiana almost knocked off Michigan in Ann Arbor earlier this year, and they looked good in the first half against Northwestern, leading 28-3 before the Cats roared back to win, 29-28.

On paper, defense is where the big discrepancy lies, with the Hoosiers allowing almost 100 yards and 12 points more on a weekly basis than the Hawkeyes. But the teams look pretty even on offense. Iowa and Indiana have the exact same scoring average (23.6 ppg), while yardwise, Indiana’s pistol/wildcat offense has 360 yards a game, while Iowa is at 342.1.

The big thing to watch out for is another letdown. There’s a lot of talk now about the black and gold running the table and playing for the national championship and what not. But the last thing Iowa should do is get caught up in all that talk.

“Our margin for error is really thin, and I think our players understand that,” Ferentz says. “Thus far, at least, they really haven’t seemed to be very affected by anything going on outside, which is really a good thing.  And it’s a tribute to our leadership.”

I’m going to go ahead and say that Hawk fans will get treated instead of tricked on Saturday. Happy Halloween!

Brian’s spooky pick: Iowa 27, Indiana 20.

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Click below to read what was said during the game.

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(Information released by the UI.)

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UNI will try to bounce back this week from last weekend’s loss to Southern Illinois. Here are some notes looking ahead at the next game.

#6 University of Northern Iowa (5-2, 3-1 MVFC) vs.
#11/#13 South Dakota State University (5-1, 4-0 MVFC)
Game #8 • Sat., Oct. 24, 2009 • 2 p.m. (Central)
Brookings, S.D. • Coughlin-Alumni Stadium (15,000/Grass)
 
Series vs. SDSU: UNI leads 25-16-2
Television: Mediacom
Radio: Panther Sports Network

UNI FOOTBALL QUICK HITS

Pat Grace/Photo by UNI Athletics Communications

• As a squad UNI boasts the nation’s No. 1 passing efficiency rating at 173.93. UNI senior quarterback Pat Grace ranks No. 2 in the nation individually in passing efficiency as he has tossed 17 touchdown passes against only three interceptions on 108-of-169 passing in 2009.
 
• The Panthers rank No. 2 in the nation in scoring offense (38.71 points per game) and have outscored the opposition 271-92 this season. UNI has been especially dominant in the first half of games outscoring the opponent, 163-26.
 
• Buck Buchanan Award candidate James Ruffin leads the Missouri Valley Football Conference in quarterback sacks per game (1.00). Ruffin ranks No. 7 in the nation in sacks per game. He leads the Panthers with 7.0 sacks and 9.5 tackles-for-loss this season.
 
• Senior running back Derrick Law rushed for his second straight 100-plus game as he tallied 123 yards on 20 carries against Southern Illinois. Law averaged 6.2 yards per carry and had a game-high 32-yard run against the Salukis. He also caught one pass out of the backfield. Law has rushed for a team-high 546 yards and ranks No. 18 in the nation in rushing yards per game.
 
• The Panthers’ offensive line has been vital to the team’s success through seven games. Led by five starting seniors (Austin Howard, Nate Herrig, Austin Steichen, Jason Fiacco, and Jordan Limbaugh), UNI has only allowed seven total sacks on the season. Not only are the men up front keeping the Panthers from moving backwards, they have also been a force in the ground game. UNI’s 207.86 yards rushing per contest is the 10th-best mark in all of FCS football.
 
• UNI had won 16 consecutive regular season contests in the UNI-Dome prior to Saturday’s 27-20 loss to No. 5-ranked Southern Illinois. UNI’s last home regular season loss had come against Western Illinois on Oct. 28, 2006, when the Leathernecks posted a 24-13 victory in the UNI-Dome.
 
• UNI head coach Mark Farley is in his ninth season at the helm of the Panther program. Farley has posted a mark of 80-30, which puts him in third place on the Panthers’ coaching victory. Farley trails Clyde Starbeck (95 wins) and Stan Sheriff (129 wins). Farley is the Panthers’ all-time postseason wins leader with nine (9-5 all-time in the playoffs).
 
THE GAME
The University of Northern Iowa football team (5-2 overall, 3-1 MVFC) will travel to Brookings, S.D., to take on the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits (5-1 overall, 4-0 MVFC).
 
THE SERIES
The Panthers and Jackrabbits will be meeting for the 44th time on the gridiron. UNI holds a 25-16-2 lead in the all-time series.  The Panthers have won three straight games in the series after resuming the matchup between the two schools who used to be annual rivals in the North Central Conference from 1935-1979.
 
THE COACHES
UNI head coach Mark Farley is in his ninth season at the helm of the Panther sideline. Farley has posted a mark of 80-29 in eight seasons, which includes five trips to the NCAA FCS playoffs.
John Stiegelmeier is in his 13th season as the Jackrabbits head coach. He has posted a mark of 79-57 at SDSU.     
 
TELEVISION
The game will be broadcast live on Mediacom. Larry Morgan (play-by-play) and Brad Clement (analyst) will have the call for Mediacom.
    
RADIO
The game will be broadcast on the Panther Sports Network. Gary Rima (play-by-play) and Scott Peterson (analyst) will call the action.
 
UNI PANTHERS GAMEDAY ONLINE
Panther fans will be able to view most of UNI’s home football games on www.UNIPanthers.com through UNI Panthers GAMEDAY Online. For a nominal fee, fans can get live streamed audio and video of most home games of UNI volleyball, football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball as well as some road contests. To sign up, please go to UNI’s official athletic website at www.unipanthers.com and click on the Live Video link on the front page. (Information provided by UNI.)

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