UNI football 2024 opponent preview: North Dakota

CEDAR FALLS — After a road matchup at fifth-ranked South Dakota, Northern Iowa hits the road again in Week 7 against 24th-ranked North Dakota.

The Fighting Hawks are coming off a 7-5 2023 season that ended with a first-round FCS playoffs loss at home to Sacramento State, and are anticipating another playoff team again in 2024, evidenced by a fifth-place prognostication in the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s preseason poll.

At quarterback, the Fighting Hawks are in an identical position as UNI with a multi-year starter having graduated and three candidates now competing for the starting spot in preseason camp.

UND Coach Bubba Schweigert has said there’s no timetable to choose a starter between a trio of Trey Feeney, Simon Romfo and redshirt freshman Jerry Kaminski.

Coincidentally, whoever wins the quarterback battle will be under the tutelage of first-year offensive coordinator Isaac Freuchte, who was a wide receivers coach at UNI in 2019.

Senior wide receiver Bo Belquist — a preseason first-team All-MVFC honoree — headlines the Fighting Hawks offense. Belquist finished 2023 with 772 yards receiving, 66 receptions and six touchdowns. Gavin Ziebarth and Luke Skokna return as a formidable duo at running back after combining for nearly 1,000 yards last season. Three starters return on the offensive line.

Senior linebacker Wyatt Pedigo — a preseason second-team All-MVFC honoree — returns after leading the team in tackles, forced fumbles and fumble recoveries a season ago.

Meanwhile, none of UND’s three defensive linemen or four defensive backs who started last season return for a unit that ranked ninth in the MVFC in 2023.

UNI at North Dakota: 3 things to watch

UNI and North Dakota’s matchup at Alerus Center on Oct. 19 will feature first-year offensive coordinators on both sidelines and first-year starters under center at quarterback.

UND’s new offensive coordinator Isaac Feuchte has said the Fighting Hawks want to operate with more tempo, while the Panthers have adopted the dynamic “Air Raid” scheme made famous by the late Mike Leach.

Both schemes ought to be enhanced by the respective controlled environments both teams play in, adding intrigue to a matchup that’s sure to have playoff implications.

UND’s preseason ranking of No. 24 and UNI receiving votes has the two opponents quite evenly matched on paper headed into the season.

Add to it the similar circumstances the Fighting Hawks and Panthers have to confront ahead of their respective seasons and this matchup suggests it's a bellwether game for what lies ahead in their five remaining regular season games.

Typically as MVFC teams get past the first two games of their conference schedule, the evaluation becomes much more accurate.

While this game sets up to be a measuring stick for the two programs, it also should reveal which team is more capable of improvement as the season goes along.

Prediction

UNI’s experience and talent of its offensive line and running backs creates an obvious advantage against an inexperienced UND defense, making for a second straight MVFC road win and the beginning of serious playoff talk surrounding a now 4-3 Panthers team.