Rhoads not taking UNI lightly

By Rob Gray

AMES - Speed.

 Tradition.

 Experience.

 Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads boiled down the threat Northern Iowa will pose to his team in Saturday's 6 p.m. season opener at Jack Trice Stadium to those three elements.

  And what that combination commands from Rhoads is genuine respect, not mere we won't-take-them-lightly lip service.

 “They've probably got better team speed overall than we do,” said Rhoads, whose Cyclones forced five turnovers in a 27-0 win last season over the Panthers.

 ISU takeaways -including interception returns for touchdowns by Jeremy Reeves and A.J. Klein - fueled that victory.

 UNI, which returns 17 starters and is ranked seventh in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision by The Sports Network, led almost every other offensive category, including total offense (320-210 yards) and sacks (four to three).

 “They're going to bring it,” said Cyclone linebacker Jake Knott. “So we've got to get ready.”

 One Panther attribute that stands out to Rhoads is team quickness.

 It ripples through the quarterback position in Tirrell Rennie - the first play-caller in UNI history to rush and pass for more than 1,000 yards - as well as running back Carlos Anderson and wide receiver Jarred Herring, among others.

 “Their skill speed will match, I would think, a number of teams on our schedule because it's national-type speed,” Rhoads said. “It's track speed, it's (400-meter) sprint relay speed. It will be a challenge for our defenders to bottle those kids up.”

 Herring, Anderson and free safety Wilmot Wellington fueled that sprint relay speed this spring as part of the Panthers' 400-meters foursome that qualified for the NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships.

 “The speed in them - they look like a Big 12 team,” Knott said. “There's no doubt about it and we know that here, the talent level they have.”

 Turnovers proved key in last season's matchup.

 The Cyclones' Jeremy Reeves and A.J. Klein broke open a 13-0 game in the third quarter with interception returns for touchdowns and Knott forced a Rennie fumble one yard short of the end zone.

 “Takeaways have always been a trademark of (ISU defensive coordinator) Wally Burnham coached defenses,” Rhoads said. “And you might suspect teams that create takeaways spend a lot of time practicing them. In truth, you don't. You're opportunistic with guys being aggressive to the football, guys having good ball skills, but its not like we spend 10 minutes every day creating fumbles, doing interception drills, things like that. It's guys being in the right place at the right time and taking advantage of that opportunity.”

 The Panthers relish chances to topple FBS teams - and surprised the Cyclones 24-13 in 2007.

 UNI owns wins in three of the past nine meetings and lost by seven points or fewer two times in that span.

 “We, on any given day, feel that we can compete with any team,” Rennie said. “Our coaches put us in the best position to be prepared for any team we go up against. ... We feel we're adequate enough. We're going to battle.”

 That's not news to the Cyclones - whether they view the game through the prism of history, or flickering game tape.

 “It's been a long time since we played a football game,” said Rhoads, whose team went 5-7 last season. "It's been even longer since we've won a football game and our guys cannot wait for 6 o'clock Saturday night to get here.”

 NOTES: Rhoads said wide receiver Darius Reynolds was expected to have the cast removed from a broken toe Monday, but his status for Saturday is uncertain. “We'll see,” he said. ... Henry Simon, a transfer at defensive tackle, has arrived in Ames, but will not play.