CEDAR FALLS - Northern Iowa saw a vague image when it prepared for South Dakota 12 months ago.

Saturday, the Coyotes appeared in high definition at the UNI-Dome. And the Panthers enjoyed the view.

After UNI whipped USD, 66-7, head coach Mark Farley and quarterback Pat Grace said a deeper library of film enhanced their preparation in the rematch. Last fall, the Panthers struggled past the Coyotes, 24-13.

"After last year, we talked among the offense," said Grace, who threw two interceptions against South Dakota in the 2008 game. "We were disappointed in our play last year. Not to make excuses, but we didn't have very many films on them to watch. We had more tape this year and a better idea of what we were trying to do."

Added Farley, "We knew what they were gonna do this time. Last year, we kind of came out and were unsure what we were playing against."

Offensively, UNI's coaches figured South Dakota would stack its defenders on the line of scrimmage to stop the run. When it happened, Grace and his offense were ready.

USD's blitz packages were largely ineffective. Meanwhile, Grace came out throwing. He hit 23 of 30 passes for 370 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone. Wide receiver D.P. Eyman caught nine of those throws, exceeding his total for the first three years of his career, while running free through a young Coyote secondary.

"Guys were wide open all day long," said Farley.

Defensively, the Panthers wanted to contain USD quarterback Noah Shepard, who threw for 290 yards in the 2008 game.

Shepard's flea-flicker pass to Ben Oberle put the Coyotes on the scoreboard early. But the Panthers sacked him twice in the first half, forcing a fumble that ended a first-quarter threat.

Linebacker L.J. Fort and cornerback Andre Martin each picked off a Shepard pass. It was the first college interception for both defenders.

"I feel the defense played pretty good overall, but we shouldn't have given up that touchdown," said end James Ruffin, who had two sacks and a forced fumble. "The defense came around and we played a good game."

The 59-point margin of victory, UNI's largest in six years, left Farley a little startled and one of the veterans unsurprised.

"We scrambled to win the game last year," said the UNI coach. "I remember us being on our heels. The spread, with what it ended up being, surprises me still now."

Said Eyman, "South Dakota has a great team, but we had 90-some guys in the locker room this morning that were definitely not going to come out flat like we did last year."

Eyman added, "I'm not surprised that we played so well - not at all."

STANDING PAT - For the second consecutive week, Grace has been named the Missouri Valley Football Conference's Offensive Player of the Week. The senior quarterback's 477 yards of total offense ranked fifth all-time in league history. His 455 yards passing is seventh on the all-time list.