by Theee Catrabbit » September 8th, 2010, 8:15 am
From the CSN. I think this one is close, UNI shakes some cobwebs off and doesn't look too crisp, lots of turnovers here. NDSU: 17 UNI: 10:
North Dakota State (1-0, 0-0) @ Northern Iowa (0-0, 0-0)
So far, Northern Iowa has had the Bison’s number in the two prior MVFC meetings. And I am sure the Kansas win by NDSU this week will have the Panthers and their coaching staff’s attention — in particular, the defense.
This is the season opener for the Panthers after finishing the 2009 season at 7-4 and narrowly missing the playoffs. UNI finished the 2009 season poorly — losing three of its last four contests. UNI also will be breaking in a new quarterback after the graduation of Pat Grace. Two juniors, part-time starter Zach Davis or junior college transfer Tirrell Rennie, are competing for the spot.
The quarterback is not the only position that will see a new starter. In fact, just nine starters overall are returning for the Panthers with six on defense.
The Bison also have several new starters this season. NDSU has eight true freshmen and eight redshirt freshmen on the two-deep.
But NDSU has a game behind it now. Especially for a young team, most of the improvements are made from game one to game two.
I see this game coming down to turnovers and field position in a defensive battle. I think the game will produce more than the nine total points in NDSU’s victory last Saturday, but not by too much.
This game is in Cedar Falls and it seems that UNI has NDSU’s number (two wins in their short DI history of the rivalry). Plus, NDSU is coming off its big FBS win. I will take UNI by a field goal. UNI 16, NDSU 13.