YSU notebook More from the UNI-Dome

Perfect weather: Usually when you come to Cedar Falls, Iowa, in November you brace yourself for some winter-like weather conditions. But Saturday the sun was shining bright and the temperature was in the 70s at game time. Unfortunately the Penguins and Panthers were playing indoors at the UNI-Dome, where the temperature was a perfect 72 degrees and not even a slight breeze.

New turf: Northern Iowa is playing its first season on a newly installed MondoTurf Ecofill Star artificial turf, which was installed this past summer replacing the old turf which had been in place since the 1992 season. The total cost of the new surface was $800,000. It’s a different turf than the Penguins play on at Stambaugh Stadium and it features Ecofill Star, an environmentally friendly infill that is made from a synthetic material and not reground tire pellets like that which is used at Stambaugh. It is virtually odor free and also completely recyclable.

Penguins out: Several members of the YSU football team did not make the trip because of injuries. They included sophomore defensive end Josh Myers, junior defensive tackle Brad Miller, offensive tackle D.J. Main and red-shirt freshman offensive tackle Bill Dugan. Redshirt freshman safety Vinnie Patella also is out with an injury and that list doesn’t include sophomore safety Sir Demarco Bledsoe and junior defensive back Gary Pezzuolo along with offensive tackle Chris Gammon. Bledsoe and Pezzuolo are out for the season, while Gammon has been out the last three weeks. Redshirt freshman cornerback Brian Gaiters also didn’t make the trip.

Tough losses: Northern Iowa has lost three games this season, but the combined record of the three teams was 23-2. The Panthers lost to the University of Iowa in the season opener by a point and the Hawkeyes were 8-0 and ranked No. 4 in the latest BCS standings before losing to Northwestern on Saturday. The other two losses were to Southern Illinois and South Dakota State, who were both 7-1 before Saturday’s big showdown, which was won by Southern Illinois.

Series: Northern Iowa now holds an 18-6 edge in the overall series with the Penguins, including the last nine in a row and all of them against YSU head coach Jon Heacock. On the other hand Northern Iowa’s Mark Farley has been the winning coach in all nine of the games.

Next up: The Penguins have two games remaining on the schedule. Next Saturday they will return home for the home finale against Illinois State, which will also be Senior Day at Stambaugh Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

Pete Mollica