The Gazette’s Pick ‘Ems panel returns for the 2023 college football season. This week’s picks include Iowa vs. Utah State, Iowa State vs. UNI and Rutgers vs. Northwestern.
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The Gazette’s Pick ‘Ems panel returns for the 2023 college football season. This week’s picks include Iowa vs. Utah State, Iowa State vs. UNI and Rutgers vs. Northwestern.
UNI is 3-9 against Iowa State in the Mark Farley era, with wins in 2007, ’13 and ’16. Here are three keys for the Panthers against the Cyclones in Saturday’s season opener.
The Big 12 is replete with accomplished quarterbacks, but it’s likely UNI’s Theo Day will be one of the best play-callers Iowa State faces in 2023. Here are three keys for the Cyclones and a score prediction.
Carson Willich enters Saturday’s Iowa State football season-opener perched atop the depth chart at Sam linebacker. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound kinesiology major is fully healthy and poised to make his first career start — but he’s not alone in that regard.
Iowa State defensive coordinator Jon Heacock is firmly convinced Northern Iowa quarterback Theo Day will eventually play on Sundays. But first, he and his defense must face Day on Saturday.
Two returnees and a transfer — Harrison Bey-Buie, Josh Jenkins and Tye Edwards — are poised to assume the snaps left vacant at running back for UNI, a position that’s more difficult than any to evaluate in practice because of the lack of live tackling that takes place in football’s new era.
Ogden column: The start of a new season is full of hope and ‘anything can happen’ mindset. What’s better than that?
Iowa State has won the past three meetings with Northern Iowa, but three of the latest four matchups have been decided by six or fewer points. Here are five Panthers to watch in Saturday’s season opener.
Iowa State redshirt freshman Rocco Becht might have taken by far the most snaps at quarterback Friday night during the annual event that gives children with disabilities dozens of touchdown-scoring moments at Jack Trice Stadium, but that doesn’t mean he’s the No. 1 quarterback.
Cartevious Norton is Iowa State’s leading returning rusher since Jirehl Brock recently left the team, but he’s not alone in a crowded backfield — and Cyclones football coach Matt Campbell said several players could contribute to a running game that ranked last in the Big 12 last season.
Beau Freyler — an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection as a freshman and a sophomore — ranked second on the Iowa State team in tackles last season with 68. He also notched his first career interception while forcing a fumble, so he’s a hard-hitting disruptor capable of making game-changing plays.
Iowa State simply can’t win with regularity when it's ranked 118th or worse in any — let alone three — special teams categories. As a result, Cyclones football coach Matt Campbell brought in Jordan Langs to coordinate those units while also coaching the running backs.
Easton Dean’s physical struggles last season mirrored Iowa State’s as a whole. Now he stands front and center for a group looking to serve as a so-called security blanket as the Cyclones break in a new quarterback.
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