Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - His team lost in the round of 16 of the FCS playoffs, yet Northern Iowa football coach Mark Farley says his team has made a strong case to be voted to the top 5 in the final rankings. The Panthers boast a strong argument. UNI was knocked out in a revenge game on the road at Illinois State. The winning Redbirds then went on to beat the No. 4 (Eastern Washington) and No. 1 (New Hampshire) seeds on the road. What made the UNI-Illinois State matchup a revenge game is that UNI is the only team this season to beat both FCS national finalists - Illinois State and North Dakota State. Both one-loss teams will meet for the national title on Jan. 10 in Frisco, Texas. It puts us in the top echelon that theyre going to be 1 and 2, we should be very close to being in that 3 to 5 category as far as ranking at the end of the season, Farley said. They did a great job, but I think it says a lot for our program, it says a lot for playing against us in the UNI-Dome. It kind of shows the quality of our team and it also shows the quality of our league. North Dakota State (14-1), the three-time defending national champion, and Illinois State (13-1), a first-time finalist, didnt face each other while they both went 7-1 in Missouri Valley games and tied for the conference title. Its a conference that dominated the FCS ranks this season, matching the single- season record with five playoff teams. That list included the UNI team that surged into the playoffs by winning its final five games in the regular season. The Panthers struggled offensively in their 42-28 win over Illinois State on Nov. 1, but benefited from touchdowns on a blocked punt return, a kickoff return and an interception return. A week later in Cedar Falls, UNI ended North Dakota States FCS-record 33-game winning streak with a thorough, 23-3 rout. After his team blew out Stephen F. Austin in the first round of the playoffs, Farley thought his team could potentially reach the national final if it could beat Illinois State in the second round. But the host Redbirds dominated UNI in the first half en route to a 41-21 victory, which ended the Panthers season at 9-5. Farley expects the FCS championship game to be just another typical Saturday afternoon in the Missouri Valley Conference. In the 37th season of the national playoffs, this will mark the first championship meeting between two teams from the same conference. I expect it will be a well-contested, great football game, Farley said. Its really two similar teams, but two very different teams, to try to beat in a game like this. North Dakota State is going to wear you down with the power game inside and (John) Crockett running the football and their quarterback (Carson Wentz) really does a good job of making decisions. On third down is really when the quarterback really steps up. But with Illinois State, every down could be an explosive play. In the regular-season win over Illinois State, UNI contained Redbirds quarterback Tre Roberson while All-America running back Marshaun Coprich ran for 166 yards and three touchdowns. That 1-2 offensive punch then delivered the knockout blow to UNI in the playoffs, with Roberson throwing for four touchdowns and gaining 419 yards of total offense. Roberson wears a Superman T-shirt under his shoulder pads to remind himself to play like The Man of Steel. What Id say about Illinois State is their quarterback is exceptional. He makes it all work at Illinois State, Farley said. The running back is great and theyve got a big offensive line and theyve got a couple of real tall receivers, but the quarterback is really the trigger. His ability to run, his ability to make a bad play into a great play, he has those capabilities. Thats what makes them as dangerous as they are, it makes them the caliber of team they are right now. What Farley particularly likes about Illinois States defense is its ability to run down ball carriers. Big defensive end Teddy Corwin and middle linebacker Pat Meehan earned All-Missouri Valley first-team honors, but Farley says the talent runs deep on a defense that jelled throughout the season. Really athletic, Farley said. You look at the transfer from Ohio State (defensive end David Perkins), he really creates a pass rushing problem, hes got great ability, No. 4. They have the transfer from Oregon (linebacker Oshay Dunmore). Theyre just getting better each game because the more theyre there and playing together, the better they get. And I think the guy that we thought was kind of the guy that made things go for them, (and) they have two really good safeties, hes No. 3 (Dontae McCoy). He really does a nice job, he plays fast, he plays tough, to me hes the quarterback of their defense. And their other safety, No. 1 (Tevin Allen), is really quick as well. As for North Dakota State, UNI stunned the Bison this season by stealing their patented game plan - a strong run game and suffocating defense. The Bison have won 15 straight postseason games and will have invaluable championship game experience over Illinois State. North Dakota State, theyre more of a physical football team, Farley said. When you play them, they wear you down, theyre going to be a team that more or less is going to come directly at you, versus Illinois State, theyre more of a spread-you-out-type of team. You look at (NDSU), I think Crockett is a great running back, and they give him the ball enough times that hes going to find a crack in the seam and you really have to keep him within his element. Every time he touches the ball, hes got a chance a chance for scoring - thats the concern when you play North Dakota State. The Bison defense is even more experienced than their offense and features defensive end Kyle Emanuel, the 2014 Buck Buchanan Award recipient as the national defensive player of the year. Like Emanuel, linebacker Carlton Littlejohn and strong safety Colten Heagle will start in the national final for the third time, while free safety Christian Dudzik will achieve it for the fourth time. Starting linebacker Esley Thornton and cornerback C.J. Smith also started in last years final. They play very hard - thats the way I can describe it in my terms, Farley said of a defense that is ranked second in the FCS in scoring defense (13.2 ppg) and third in total defense (270.8 ypg). And thats why theyre so consistent. North Dakota State has won the last three meetings against Illinois State, most recently 28-10 in 2013. Both programs are so familiar with each other, but Farley doesnt believe that will stop them from trying to play to their strengths. When you know each other through playing, through repetition, you have an idea what their philosophy is, he said. And youve played them before, so you have an idea what their talent is - how youve played them before. And then when you get in the game planning part of it, I think the key is not to outcoach yourself. Those players are making plays for you right now, so you want to do what you do well and let the players make the difference in the game and not so much try to out-scheme yourself and not try to outsmart the other guy. Both teams will play to their strength. Bobby Tolan Cardinals Jersey . Cabrera-Bello shot a 1-over-par 73 and was caught by Webster, who carded 70 at Doha Golf Club for three-round totals of 12-under 204. They were only one stroke ahead of Adrien Saddier of France, the biggest mover with six birdies in his opening seven holes in a round of 64, South African Thomas Aiken (70) and Denmarks Thorbjorn Olesen (68) on a packed leaderboard. Genesis Cabrera Jersey .Y. - Islanders forward Anders Lee has been fined $2,286 by the NHL for elbowing St. https://www.cheapcardinalsonline.com/534t-stan-musial-jersey-cardinals.html . The injury will keep the Finnish forward out of the Olympics. The 29-year-old has 20 goals and 41 points in 56 games this season, his first with Tampa Bay. Junior Fernandez Jersey . The 23-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., defeated Germanys Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday in the fourth round of the Sony Open in just 89 minutes. Lane Thomas Cardinals Jersey . With a victory seemingly slipping away late in the third quarter, his quick scoring flurry helped Golden State regain control early in the fourth.DETROIT - The San Jose Sharks bus was late, so Tomas Hertl had to wait. That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. Hertl has seven goals and three assists in his first eight games and is an early front-runner for the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year. That production even caught coach Todd McLellan a little off-guard. "Id be lying if I said I wasnt (surprised)," he said after San Joses morning skate Monday in Detroit. "We expected him to be able to come in and make an impact on our team, but not to the extent that he has to this point." Hertls four-goal game Oct. 8 against the New York Rangers put him in the spotlight, spurring plenty of talk about showmanship because he shot between his legs and scored. Washington Capitals coach Adam Oates caused a stir by saying its important for young players like Hertl not to "disrespect the league," while an off-colour locker-room comment by captain Joe Thornton spun the attention in a different direction for a little while. The 2012 first-round pick has cooled off slightly since that breakout performance, but its not like the Sharks expect multi-goal games out of him that often. Given the ups and downs rookies tend to face, he might not finish the season with 20. Thats OK, because as general manager Doug Wilson puts it, "Tomas is not a one dimensional player." "Its not just the offensive numbers," Wilson said in a phone interview. "This kid is very poised in his own zone, he makes really smart plays protecting the puck, and to us hes a three-zone player that just fits in with how we want to play and where were going with our team." Where the Sharks are going is back on the rise, thanks in large part to the next generation of offensive players, including Hertl, potential Canadian Olympian Logan Couture and likely U.S. Olympian Joe Pavelski. And Wilson sees parallels between Hertls growth and what Couture and Pavelski went through as they blossomed into established NHL players. "We just think hes got a great combination of skill-sets: Obviously the size and the hands, but his vision and just how he can play all three zones," Wilson said. "Weve gone throough this before and even though its a very different physical dynamic than Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski, but he has the vision and the ability to do things, I think, that high-end players have.dddddddddddd" Having just moved to North America after two full seasons in the Czech Extraliga in his native Czech Republic, Hertls English is limited. On the night he scored four goals, he kept saying how much of a dream it felt like. Monday he credited linemates Thornton and Brent Burns for his play and fellow Czech Martin Havlat for tutelage off the ice. "Our team is very good," he said. Wilson does believe playing alongside Thornton and Burns has helped Hertl, but the rookie gets points for thinking the game at a high enough level to click with such skilled veterans. The Sharks saw that in him dating to his time at the world junior championships. Of course the NHL is a long way from the junior level, and McLellan expects Hertl to hit a rough patch. "As a 19-year-old and all the emotions of starting the year and scoring seven goals early, its going to catch up to him at some point," he said. "Then well have to work him through those down times as well." The Sharks are prepared for that. Wilson said the organization doesnt go out of its way to promote young players — "we never have and we never will." So if the hype that surrounded Hertl after his four-goal game fades away or picks up, theres a strategy for getting the most out of him. "The most important thing is that theyre a trusted teammate and a trusted player by the coach, who can put them out on the ice in many different situations," Wilson said. "The other stuff, obviously the attention is he scored four goals or hes done this. The respect and equity he earns within our dressing room is how he plays the game shift-to-shift, day-to-day and hes earned that." As for Hertl being a reliable three-zone player, Thornton figures hell find out eventually. "With him and Burnsie, they just forecheck so hard, so I really havent seen him play too much defence all year," Thornton said with a smile. "I think weve only been playing in the offensive zone, to be honest with you." Thats not a bad place to be for a player with Hertls abilities. ' ' '