Getty Quarterback Will McElvain of the Northern Iowa Panthers
The Northern Iowa Panthers (0-1) will head to Stambaugh Stadium to take on the Youngstown State Penguins (0-1) on Saturday.
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
The game (Noon ET start time) won’t be on TV, but anyone in the US can watch Northern Iowa vs Youngstown State football live on ESPN+ right here:
ESPN+ will have coverage of most Missouri Valley, OVC, Southern, Big South and other FCS football games this spring, as well as live college basketball, UFC, international soccer, Australian Open tennis, dozens of other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary, and additional original content (both video and written) all for $5.99 per month.
Or, if you also want Disney+ and Hulu, you can get all three for $12.99 per month, which works out to about 31 percent savings:
Get the ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu Bundle
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch Northern Iowa vs Youngstown State live on the ESPN app on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via ESPN.com.
Northern Iowa vs Youngstown State Preview
The Panthers are fresh from a 24-20 loss to South Dakota State last weekend. Northern Iowa quarterback Will McElvain played fairly well in the loss, completing 19 of 29 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown, but the offense couldn’t muster much momentum early on. The Panthers scored just 10 points in the first three quarters, so their 10-point comeback attempt in the fourth fell short.
UNI head coach Mark Farley said heading into the matchup against Youngstown State this week that his team has focused primarily on how to avoid another slow start this weekend.
“It was more about what we need to do better this week,” Farley said about his team’s prep. “See what particularly happened in the first half and what was the difference between the first half and the second half and what were the reasons. What are we going to do moving forward? It was thinking without overthinking about what happened … everybody else can worry about the other stuff, I’m trying to get them ready for this week.”
Youngstown State is coming off a 25-7 loss to powerhouse North Dakota State on February 21. Still searching for a starter, the Penguins had quarterbacks Mark Waid and Joe Craycraft take turns under center against the Bison last week. Waid was the more productive of the two, going 8-11 for 75 yards and a score. Craycraft completed just four of his 11 passes for 45 yards, so it’s quite possible Waid sees his snaps increase this week.
Penguins coach Doug Phillips knows his team has another challenge this week, but he’s confident it will put its best foot forward.
“We’ve got our hands full,” Phillips said. “We’re not going to back down. We’re going to prepare our kids the best we can to defend that type of quarterback. It’s a lot different than what we went against at North Dakota State, so we’ve got a huge challenge on a short week. But again, we’re not going to make excuses. We’ve got to make sure we’re lined up, that we’re fundamentally sound and that we can tackle him and keep him contained to eliminate him making the big plays.”
Playing in Ohio, the weather could also be a factor in this game. “They call it the Ice Castle and that is when you are playing there in October,” Farley said. “Think about what it is like now.”
UNI is 3-14 all-time at Stambaugh Stadium.