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CEDAR FALLS | By mid-August standards, a huge crowd watched Northern Iowa's football team practice Saturday.

Many fans sat on the hill at the south end of the outdoor field. Several more took in the action from the adjacent parking lot. Usually, Panther practices are attended by only a few outsiders. Not Saturday, and Mark Farley was delighted.

"It's awesome," said UNI's head coach. "Everybody's excited for the season."

Farley added, "I think it's exciting for our players to see the excitement from the fans. I think we're all anticipating something good coming from this, but our job is to keep our nose down and get to work."

Between the white lines, that's what the Panthers did during a two-hour practice that included a contact scrimmage of slightly less than 60 minutes. In some respects, UNI worked well. In others, the Panthers fell short of what Farley expected.

All in all, with two weeks to go before the Aug. 30 season opener at Iowa, the 2014 squad is moving forward at a good pace, according to Farley.

"I like where our team is at right now," he said. "We've had two weeks where we've made progress, day to day."