Northern Iowa @ Iowa State preview
Jack Trice Stadium
Last Meeting ( Sep 8, 2007 ) Northern Iowa 24, Iowa State 13
Iowa State made a big leap forward in 2009. So far, 2010 is not going quite as well.
The Cyclones (1-2) will be looking to get back on the winning track when they host Football Championship Series foe Northern Iowa on Saturday.
After a five-win improvement in 2009 that included a victory in the Insight Bowl, Iowa State started the 2010 campaign off well with a 27-10 triumph over Northern Illinois, but in-state rival Iowa put an end to the good times by running over the Cyclones 35-7.
It looked like Iowa State might rebound last weekend, but a back-and-forth battle with Kansas State resulted in a 27-20 loss in its Big 12 Conference opener.
The lead changed six times in the contest, but Iowa State was eventually done in by its inability to stop the run. The Cyclones allowed 267 yards on the ground, including 182 and three touchdowns to Kansas State tailback Daniel Thomas.
Iowa State got the ball back late in the fourth quarter but managed just 25 yards on a drive that ended in a lost fumble with 2:04 remaining. With the Wildcats dominating on the ground, the Cyclones never really got an opportunity to get their passing game in gear, and Austen Arnaud finished just 15 of 27 for 122 yards and a touchdown.
Arnaud suffered a shoulder bruise in the contest but is expected to start on Saturday.
A native of Ames, Arnaud is already second in school history in passing yards and completions behind Bret Meyer. Arnaud ranks fourth in school history with 31 career touchdown passes.
While Northern Iowa (1-1) doesn’t have quite the reputation of Iowa or Kansas State, the Panthers could cause some problems for Iowa State with their defense, which leads the FCS with 13 sacks in two games.
They also rank second in the FCS in rushing defense, yielding just 39 total yards in their first two contests. Northern Iowa’s opponents have averaged just 0.6 yards per carry in 2010.
But that defensive effort doesn’t matter much when the offense can’t get out of its own way. The Panthers lost three fumbles inside the red zone last week against Stephen F. Austin and had trouble sustaining any long drives. All three of their touchdowns came on plays of 75 yards or more in the 22-20 loss.
Northern Iowa has plenty of weapons with which to attack the Cyclones’ suspect run defense, as both Carlos Anderson and Tirrell Rennie rank in the FCS top 10 in rushing yards per game. Anderson is averaging 119.5 yards while Rennie has gone off for 114.
The Panthers won the last meeting between the schools 24-13 in 2007, but Iowa State controls the all-time series, 18-4-3.
The Cyclones are 8-0 under head coach Paul Rhoads when allowing less than 24 points and 0-8 when surrendering 24 or more.