5 Iowa college football storylines: Upper Iowa’s Eddie Burgess tries to extend touchdown catch streak

Eddie Burgess takes touchdown streak into Week 3. More passing success for Coe? Wartburg faces ranked foe. Cornell looks to rebound and Luther begins play. Here are five storylines in Iowa small college football this weekend.

UPPER IOWA’S EDDIE BURGESS TOUCHDOWN STREAK

Tight Eddie Burgess started this season the same way he ended last year. The junior from Montezuma has a six-game TD reception streak on the line when the Peacocks take on South Dakota Mines in Rapid City, S.D.. Burgess opened the season with TD catches against Butler University and Concordia-St. Paul. He had a 5-yard scoring grab Saturday in a 33-7 win over CSP at home, helping Upper Iowa improve to 1-1. Burgess finished his sophomore season by scoring in the final four games, earning honorable mention all-America and all-super region honors. Burgess has five catches for 55 yards and two TDs this year and 60 catches for 786 yards and 13 touchdowns for his college career.

WILL KOHAWKS TAKE TO THE AIR AGAIN?

Coe travels for a Week 2 game Saturday against University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The Kohawks beat the Blugolds, 44-14, last year at Clark Field. The pass game propelled Coe’s offense, accumulating 310 yards and five TDs. In the season opener, Eau Claire gave up 241 pass yards and a TD in a 21-10 win over Concordia (Minn.) College. The Kohawks could find success through the air versus the Blugold defense. Quarterback Clay Krousie made his first start in a 55-10 win in the season opener against Cornell, passing for 222 yards and two TDs. His big week included five catches for 74 yards by Jeron Senters, 75 receiving yards from Will Hiserote and Devon Kollasch’s three catches for 27 yards. Also, Coe is attempting to go 2-0 in consecutive season for the first time since 2016 and 2017.

WARTBURG FACES RANKED FOE

The fifth-ranked Knights will hit the road to play No. 12 St. John’s (Minn.) University Saturday. Wartburg is coming off a 38-24 win over Monmouth (Ill.) College. The Johnnies own a 3-2 lead in the series, but the Knights have won the last two meetings. Interestingly, this is just the third regular season matchup and the first since 1971 between the two NCAA Division III powers. Three of the previous tilts were in the playoffs. A couple former Gazette-area preps made an impact in Week 1. Former Decorah prep Keenan Tyler led the Knights with seven total tackles and Christian Nunley, of West Delaware, finished with 1.5 sacks. Also, former Western Dubuque prep Drake George caught four passes Week 1, giving him 171 career receptions and 18 off the school record set by Riley Brockway from 2014-17.

CORNELL LOOKS FOR REBOUND VICTORY

The Rams suffered another lopsided loss to Bremner Cup series rival Coe in the season opener. It was the 24 straight loss to the Kohawks. Cornell needs a bounce back win and has the perfect opponent for it. The Rams take on Lawrence University in the Midwest Conference opener on Saturday in Appleton, Wis. Cornell was third in the conference last year. The Rams have enjoyed plenty of success against the Vikings, winning 10 straight meetings since 1989. They won the previous matchup, 31-7. Cornell has averaged 30.57 points over the last seven games, dating back to 2012.

LUTHER OPENS SEASON AT ST. OLAF

Most teams opened the season last week, while others have played multiple games. Luther will kickoff its season Saturday at St. Olaf in Northfield, Minn. The Norse were picked ninth in the American Rivers Conference preseason coaches’ poll. Luther was winless in 10 games last season and haven’t won since beating Nebraska Wesleyan, 35-28, in the 2022 season finale. The Norse have not posted a winning season since going 6-4 in 2018. They have won just four games since that season, including two over the Prairie Wolves.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com