Hello again everyone! Who else is ready for football season to begin?
We're just over 3 weeks away from the start of a new season so I'm hoping I can start this thread and not be crucified like PondBuffalo from NDSU who started his game thread what felt like years before the season opener last year.
I'm expecting another good game between the Panthers and the Cyclones. Our offense will look very different than the last trip to Ames two years ago for a couple reasons: 1.) No David Johnson; 2.) We have a new offensive coordinator this year who wants to run an up-tempo, no huddle, spread offense -- we'll see how that goes, especially in the 1st game against a Big 12 team. Kollmorgen is a senior at quarterback, but is competing against 2-3 others for the starting job. While David Johnson is gone, we have Rutgers transfer Savon Huggins, KU transfer Darrian Miller, and Iowa transfer Barkley Hill at running back. We'll have a pretty young receiving core as well this year. Offensive line may be a question mark too early in the season.
Defensively I expect us to be solid again just like last year. Our defensive secondary may be the best that we've had in a while at UNI with Deiondre Hall, Tim Kilfoy, and Makinton Dorleant all returning. Brett McMakin, Ronelle McNeil, and Isaac Ales should all wreak havoc on opposing QBs this season. I would say LB is probably our biggest question mark on defense, but I'm not too worried about it. Schmadeke and Bieghler will be very good again on special teams.
Overall, I expect UNI to have another decent year again if they can survive the brutal start to their schedule. They open at Iowa State, host Eastern Washington (#5 or #6 in most FCS preseason polls), go to Cal Poly (Top 25 caliber FCS team), and then open MVFC play at National Title runner-up Illinois State and then at the defending four-time National Champs North Dakota State. A brutal first 5 games for an FCS team.
I don't follow ISU football very close, but certainly more than UI-AIB, so I'm looking for some insight into your expectations for this game and the upcoming season. If I had to make a prediction right now, based on us having a new offensive system and unsure at the QB position I'd take ISU to win 27-14.
Good luck this year (after the season opener)! No matter who wins, I hope both teams can come out of the game healthy and have a good season. GO PANTHERS! Go Cyclones! #BeatIowa!
We're just over 3 weeks away from the start of a new season so I'm hoping I can start this thread and not be crucified like PondBuffalo from NDSU who started his game thread what felt like years before the season opener last year.
I'm expecting another good game between the Panthers and the Cyclones. Our offense will look very different than the last trip to Ames two years ago for a couple reasons: 1.) No David Johnson; 2.) We have a new offensive coordinator this year who wants to run an up-tempo, no huddle, spread offense -- we'll see how that goes, especially in the 1st game against a Big 12 team. Kollmorgen is a senior at quarterback, but is competing against 2-3 others for the starting job. While David Johnson is gone, we have Rutgers transfer Savon Huggins, KU transfer Darrian Miller, and Iowa transfer Barkley Hill at running back. We'll have a pretty young receiving core as well this year. Offensive line may be a question mark too early in the season.
Defensively I expect us to be solid again just like last year. Our defensive secondary may be the best that we've had in a while at UNI with Deiondre Hall, Tim Kilfoy, and Makinton Dorleant all returning. Brett McMakin, Ronelle McNeil, and Isaac Ales should all wreak havoc on opposing QBs this season. I would say LB is probably our biggest question mark on defense, but I'm not too worried about it. Schmadeke and Bieghler will be very good again on special teams.
Overall, I expect UNI to have another decent year again if they can survive the brutal start to their schedule. They open at Iowa State, host Eastern Washington (#5 or #6 in most FCS preseason polls), go to Cal Poly (Top 25 caliber FCS team), and then open MVFC play at National Title runner-up Illinois State and then at the defending four-time National Champs North Dakota State. A brutal first 5 games for an FCS team.
I don't follow ISU football very close, but certainly more than UI-AIB, so I'm looking for some insight into your expectations for this game and the upcoming season. If I had to make a prediction right now, based on us having a new offensive system and unsure at the QB position I'd take ISU to win 27-14.
Good luck this year (after the season opener)! No matter who wins, I hope both teams can come out of the game healthy and have a good season. GO PANTHERS! Go Cyclones! #BeatIowa!
