UNI football at Iowa State: Live stream, point spread, 3 keys to the game

CEDAR FALLS — A mere 147 days after its spring season-finale, FCS No. 21 Northern Iowa (0-0) travels to FBS No. 7 Iowa State (0-0) Saturday for its season-opener.

Picked fifth in the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s preseason poll, the Panthers are looking to prove doubters wrong after a 3-4 spring in which the four losses came by a combined 15 points.

UNI is 23-6-3 all-time against the Cyclones with its last win coming in 2016, but this Iowa State team enters 2021 with the program’s highest preseason ranking in after winning the 2021 Fiesta Bowl.

Here are three keys for UNI against the Cyclones:

1. Make the first guy miss

As much as UNI will need a good game from quarterback Will McElvain (assuming he does start), the Panthers will be stuck in their tracks without a competent running game.

Coach Mark Farley has said multiple times in the lead up to the season that their running backs must turn 3- and 4-yard runs into 10-plus yard runs by making a guy miss. Three or four big gains on the ground could be all the Panthers need to hang around and make this a close game. At the very least they’ll need a passable run game that shows improvement from its 103.4 yards per game mark this spring.

2. Shots, shots, shots, shots, shots, shots

It’s hard to envision a winning blueprint for UNI that doesn’t involve its offense making big plays against the Cyclones.

Methodical, eight-plus play drives are the type Jon Heacock’s defense ultimately feast on, so shot plays to receivers capable of making them ought to be on offensive coordinator Shawn Watson’s play-sheet.

Isaiah Weston, Logan Wolf, Quan Hampton and Deion McShane have all proven their big-play ability and perhaps the best part of McElvain’s developing game has been his ability to throw the deep ball. If there’s a game on the schedule to dial up plenty of shot plays, it’s this one.

3. Live up to the hype

Whether it be left tackle Trevor Penning, wide receiver Isaiah Weston, cornerback Omar Brown, defensive tackle Jared Brinkman or the UNI defense itself, the most-hyped elements of this Panthers team must all have great games if they’re going to pull off an upset.

Penning can’t let Will McDonald ruin McElvain’s afternoon, 2019 Weston must show up, Brown will have to shut off his side of the field, Brinkman has to soak up double teams while still making plays and the defense needs to play like the top-five unit it’s capable of being.

UNI at Iowa State

Kickoff time: 3:30 p.m. (CT)

Line: UNI +31.5

TV: none

Live stream: ESPN+