THE GAME
For the second consecutive season, the Wayne State University football team begins its season at I-AA Northern Iowa. The Warriors open the campaign with two straight road contests, and following a home game against NCAA Division II preseason No. 1 Grand Valley State on Sept. 21, WSU will then play three of its next four contests away from Detroit.
MATCH-UP AT A GLANCE:
Stadium: UNI-Dome (16,324) opened 1976
Surface: Sheriff Field (Artificial)
Kickoff: 8:05 p.m. Eastern
Site: Cedar Falls, Iowa
Series Record: Northern Iowa leads 1-0
INTERVIEW POLICIES
Media representatives should contact the Sports Information Office for all player and coach interviews. Players and coaches may be interviewed prior to or directly after practice during the season, but requests must be made through the Sports Information Office ahead of time.
THE COACHES
WSU head coach Steve Kazor enters his third season as the Warrior bench boss. He has a 7-13 record in his first two years in Detroit with an overall collegiate head coaching mark of 32-30 in six seasons.
Northern Iowa head coach Mark Farley led the Panthers to an 11-3 mark in his first season as a head coach. Last year UNI was picked fifth in the Gateway preseason coaches, media and SID poll. The Panthers won the league title with a 6-1 record and advanced to the I-AA playoff semifinals.
THE SERIES
Northern Iowa won the first meeting, 34-14, on Aug. 30, 2001.
DOME GAMES
Wayne State compiled a 1-1 record in dome games last season. The Warriors dropped the season opener at Northern Iowa, but rebounded for a 44-41 win at Northern Michigan on October 6.
IN THE POLLS
The Warriors were selected 11th in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) preseason coaches poll.
Northern Iowa received 24 of 32 first-place votes and is the No. 1 team in the Gateway preseason conference poll. The Panthers were ranked No. 11 in the Athlon Top 25 for I-AA, and No 4 in Street & Smith’s Top 25.
SEASON OPENERS
Wayne State will try to snap an eight-game losing streak in season openers. The Warriors last began a season 1-0 in 1993 following a 34-31 win at Indianapolis. WSU is 37-44-3 in season openers with a 15-23 mark on the road (WSU is 20-17-3 when the season opener is at home, and 2-4-0 from 1932-37 when location was not designated).
The Panthers have a 52-44-7 record in season openers and a four-game win streak.
TOP PLAYERS
WSU returns second-team All-GLIAC selection Joel Grambau (OL), and honorable mention all-league honorees Mohamad Bazzi (LB), Shaun Holiday (LB), Craig Jobe (DL) and Derrick Thomas (DB).
Northern Iowa has three players on the Gateway Preseason Team – Chad Setterstrom (OL), Mackenzie Hoambrecker (PK) and Robert Hamre (DL). Earning honorable mention status were Tom Petrie (QB), Adam Benge (RB), Ben Deike (OL) and Terrell Morgan (DL).
