How to watch, stream Missouri State football vs. Northern Iowa
Coming off its bye week, Missouri State is in desperate need of a win as it goes on the road to play in a tough environment against another team that is playing for its season.
Missouri State and Northern Iowa will meet up at the UNI-Dome at 4 p.m. on Saturday in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
The Bears have lost four straight with their most recent win coming in Week 2 at home against UT Martin. The Bears were ranked as high as No. 4 in the FCS following its loss at Arkansas but disappointing performances against South Dakota State, North Dakota and Southern Illinois have the Bears on the brink of seeing their highly-anticipated season fall apart.
Northern Iowa had a slower start to its season while starting 0-3 but has since won three of its last four. The Fighting Hawks have losses to North Dakota and Illinois State and have Missouri Valley Football Conference wins over Western Illinois and Indiana State.
More:How Missouri State football is going to try and save its season amid four-game losing streak
The Bears have beaten the Panthers in two-straight contests that both ended in seven-point victories. MSU's win at UNI in the spring 2021 season was its first in Cedar Falls since 1998. A late pass from then-quarterback Matt Struck to Damoriea Vick for a first down proved critical in moving the ball and helping run out the clock. The win was pivotal toward the Bears' first postseason appearance since 1990.
UNI is led by starting quarterback Theo Day who is averaging 264.3 yards per game with 13 touchdowns and just four interceptions. The Panthers have two 400-yard rushers in Dom Williams and Vance McShane and a 500-yard receiver in Sam Schnee.
Defensively, the Panthers rank 74th in the FCS while allowing just over 400 yards per game with its biggest struggle being its third-down and fourth-down defense which ranks near the bottom of the subdivision.
Missouri State will follow this week by hosting Western Illinois at 4 p.m. on Oct. 22 for its homecoming game.
More:Missouri State football vs. Southern Illinois: Takeaways from another disappointing loss
Missouri State (2-4, 0-3) @ Northern Iowa (3-4, 2-2)
When: 2 p.m. Saturday at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa
TV Channel: None
Streaming: ESPN+
Listen: KWTO-FM 101.3
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State vs. Northern Iowa football: How to watch, stream
