5 Iowa college football storylines: How will Coe follow dominant season-opening victory?

Saturday includes a full docket of small college football games. What will Coe and quarterback Brady Kelly do for an encore? Can Cornell rebound? Upper Iowa plays its home opener? Here are five storylines to follow.

COE TRAVELS TO WISCONSIN-RIVER FALLS

The Kohawks graduated a lot of talent from last season but they picked up where last season left off, despite some new faces in key positions. Coe walloped Cornell, 62-6, in a primetime season opener. QB Brady Kelly is a full-time starter and he was effective and efficient against the Rams. He completed 16 of 19 passes (84.2 completion percentage) for 291 yards and three touchdowns in a half, being named American Rivers Conference Offensive Player of the Week. He has plenty of weapons at his disposal with a quartet of playmaking receivers – Devon Kollasch, Latrell Taylor, Jeron Senters and Will Hiserote. River Falls did allow 243 yards passing to Alma in a 45-33 win, so the Falcons could be susceptible to the pass. The Kohawks defense will have to stop the pass as well. River Falls QB Kaleb Blaha passed for 443 yards and five TDs last week. The Falcons pose a tough test for a defensive unit that has a lot of turnover from a year ago. Coe allowed just 135 offensive yards against Cornell and will try to replicate that performance.

CORNELL LOOKS FOR FIRST WIN UNDER CURT RITCHIE

The Rams lost their opener and have another chance at home to earn the first win under new head coach Curt Ritchie. They host University of Chicago on Saturday at 1 p.m. Cornell was overwhelmed by Coe but showed some fight and intensity in spurts throughout the game. Ritchie said the opener was a good chance to gauge development and determine what direction is needed, insisting they would learn from the loss and get better. Big gains can be made from Week 1 to Week 2 and the Rams have a shot for a win. Chicago lost 20-0 to No. 18 Carnegie Mellon last week. Cornell and Chicago have split the last two meetings. The Maroons won, 33-14, at home last year. The Rams posted a 47-34 victory two years ago at Van Metre Field of Ash Park. Zavion Jordan stood out for Cornell against Coe. The sophomore defensive back had a team-high eight tackles, including seven solo. He also had a pass breakup.

UPPER IOWA BEGINS HOME SLATE

The Peacocks host South Dakota Mines at Harms-Eischeid Stadium on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Upper Iowa fell at Drake, 41-7, to start the season on Aug. 28. Quarterback Darryl Overstreet Jr. passed for 174 yards and a TD against the Bulldogs. He hit Mante Morrow five times for 85 yards and a score, while former Montezuma standout Eddie Burgess had 56 yards on four catches. Overstreet is the leader of the offense, which will perform as he does. Morrow is a receiver that will cause fits for defensive backs. Upper Iowa’s defense recorded nine tackles for loss against Drake, including two from Trevor Thompson. The Peacocks’ veteran linebackers should have an even better game. Upper Iowa could have revenge on their minds, dropping a 17-10 game at South Dakota Mines last season.

WARTBURG TRIES TO EXTEND STREAK OVER WISCONSIN-STOUT

The 10 th-ranked Knights head to University of Wisconsin-Stout Saturday. Wartburg defeated Monmouth, 21-7, last week in Waverly. The Knights are unbeaten all-time against Stout. They have won all three meetings with the first in 2014. The average score in those games is 37.7 to 15.7, including a 27-0 Wartburg win in 2022. Knights Coach Chris Winter has posted a 44-7 record since taking over the program before the 2021 season. He is also 18-5 on the road. Former Decorah prep Keenan Tyler powered the Knights defense against the Fightin’ Scots. Tyler tallied 12 total tackles, seven solo, one tackle for loss, a sack and a pass breakup.

IOWA WESTERN VISITS HUTCHINSON (KAN.) IN NO. 1 VS. NO. 2 BATTLE

Second-ranked Iowa Western travels to No. 1 Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College on Saturday in an NJCAA Division I showdown. Hutchinson defeated the Reivers twice last season, winning 38-37 in the regular season and 28-23 in the national title game. Iowa Western has played in four straight NJCAA championship games, claiming crowns in 2022 and 2023. Reivers running back Daniel Swinney had a huge opening game, rushing for 202 yards and four TDs in a 39-20 over Georgia Military in Week 1. The red-shirt sophomore scored on runs of 3, 2, 1 and 9 yards. He was a big reason the Reivers were perfect in the red zone and will be relied on against the Blue Dragons.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com