It's so easy to point out their differences. Recruiting, roster depth, stadium size -- the list goes on.

Yet Northern Iowa's Mark Farley and BYU's Bronco Mendenhall, with no personal connection except they'll meet Saturday in each team's season opener, could probably sit on a front porch with a glass of lemonade and feel a lot in common.

"They're a team that knows how to win, they expect to win," Mendenhall said of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly called Division I-AA) outlet that is ranked No. 4 to start this season by a panel of coaches. "They're very well coached. I think coach Farley has done a lot of things there that I can certainly learn from in establishing consistency over time, which is the ultimate goal."

Each coach is at home, at a place he's adored for a long time. And each has brought back the winning ways.

Mendenhall, beginning his fourth year, has gone 11-2 the past two seasons and 28-10 overall. Farley, who also grew up playing linebacker, returned to his alma mater eight years ago and rekindled the program that is also no historical stranger to success.

Farley tried out the Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision, if you prefer) level from 1997-2000 at Kansas. He was part of Terry Allen's first head-coaching gig as the successful UNI coaches made a rare jump to the highest level, into the Big 12 Conference.

It was a failed experiment for a variety of reasons. Some in Jayhawk Country would argue the staff, including Allen, who's back at the FCS level with UNI rival Missouri State, was in over its head. But facilities and support, compared to places like Texas, Nebraska and Kansas State, were also downright archaic.

Allen was fired before his fourth season (2001) ended, going 20-33. Farley left before his friend's last season, finding a home back in Cedar Falls, where he is 63-25 in eight years and has won three conference titles. That meant less budget and glamor, 22 fewer scholarships (compared to the 85 an FBS team can distribute) and a major return to winning.

Along with Mendenhall, who's won two league championships, Farley prides himself on developing a program.

"Most teams take on the role of the head coach," Farley said. "We want to play hard, accountable football."

Farley's team will be in Provo for a 4 p.m. kickoff Saturday. He's saying the right things publicly, while noting that the Panthers won at places like Iowa State last year, so the large stadium or opponent's talent level shouldn't be intimidating. He believes BYU's greatest advantage will be depth. Where UNI will have two players available for a spot, the Cougars should have three or four, he believes.

"What we do by car, they do by plane," Farley said, noting BYU's recruiting circle is much wider than his five-hour driving radius, though the amount of talent available has closed the gaps between the NCAA levels.

Depth might be Mendenhall's biggest advantage, coinciding with budget and scholarship count.

They're otherwise like two peas in a pod.

Mendenhall, 42, was an overachieving player in high school, then at the junior-college level and ultimately Oregon State. The 45-year-old Farley was once affectionately known as an instate-player at UNI as the "Walk-on from Waukon" who became a standout.

Each has a profound affection for their current school, which shows not only in how they coach but how the team interacts with the community.

Mendenhall has shown to be all about service projects. Farley had his team involved hands-on during the Iowa floods in June, doing what it could to help along the Cedar River.

"We canceled our workouts for three days and sandbagged," Farley told Iowa-based reporters. "The teamwork they saw, the support they saw and the numbers of people -- age didn't matter, size didn't matter. I just thought, 'You know what guys, this is the right thing to do. We've gotta do this.' We just went and tried to get the job done."

On the football field, they're both going to work amid high expectations this season. BYU is also nationally ranked, No. 16.

"Rightly so, because of their talent," Farley said of the attention the Cougars are receiving.

One could think the FCS level would appeal to Mendenhall.

More attention on players and their individual development, arguably, compared to the business-like ruthlessness of major-college football.

"The scrutiny, I've kind of moved past that after the first year. I understand what it is," said Mendenhall.

He's tried lobbying other coaches at his level, however, for one thing Farley hasn't had to fight for:

A postseason playoff.