Tag: Northern Iowa

Dolphins to host Iowa TE, Northern Iowa DT on pre-draft visits, per report

The Dolphins are bringing in a couple draft prospects from the state of Iowa for a closer look ahead of the 2024 NFL draft.

The Miami Dolphins are scheduled to host Iowa tight end Erick All and Northern Iowa defensive tackle Khristian Boyd on pre-draft visits, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

All spent the first four seasons of his collegiate career with the Michigan Wolverines where he was a team captain before joining Iowa as a graduate transfer. Both his final season with Michigan and his sole year with Iowa ended early due to season-ending back and ACL injuries, respectively.

Tight end hasn’t been much of a featured position in Mike McDaniel’s offense through his first two seasons with the team. Mike Gesicki finished the 2022 season with 362 receiving yards and Durham Smythe ended 2023 with 366 yards. Still, the Dolphins added former Falcons tight end Jonnu Smith in free agency.

Boyd finished his collegiate career at NIU with 10.5 sacks, 22.5 tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. His 89.0 grade from Pro Football Focus for the 2023 season ranked 10th among all defensive tackles at the FBS and FCS levels.

Miami lost defensive linemen Christian Wilkins and Raekwon Davis in free agency, and threw several relatively cheap options into the mix by signing former Lions defensive tackle Benito Jones, former Broncos defensive tackle Jonathan Harris, and former Cowboys defensive tackle Neville Gallimore to one-year deals.

In a recent seven-round mock draft published by ESPN, Boyd was projected to the Dolphins in the fifth round and All was picked by the Los Angeles Rams in the sixth.

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Saints schedule one of their first draft visits with Trevor Penning’s old teammate

The Saints scheduled one of their first pre-draft visits with Trevor Penning’s old teammate: Northern Iowa defensive tackle Khristian Boyd.

The New Orleans Saints have one of their first top-30 prospect visits lined up, as they will meet with Northern Iowa defensive tackle Khristian Boyd, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Boyd, a former college teammate of Saints offensive lineman Trevor Penning, didn’t get invited to the NFL combine last week but did have a nice showing at the East-West Shrine Bowl (where he weighed in at 6-foot-2 and 320 pounds) to start his pre-draft process. His scouting report carries many of the same talking-points as Penning did after during the process, such as bringing a lot of energy and aggression off the snap.

The interior lineman looks like someone that could be a powerful run defender in the NFL, but he’s disruptive with 10.5 sacks and 22.5 tackles for loss, plus 89 quarterback pressures in his college career per Pro Football Focus charting. If the Saints like what they get out of him in this interview and private workout, expect him to be either a late-round pick or priority undrafted free agent target.

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‘All good teams develop during the course of the year’: Hawkeyes focused on repeating history

This isn’t the first time the Hawkeyes have narrowly avoided defeat to an FCS school. Kirk Ferentz thinks history may be on his side.

Kirk Ferentz has been around the block and experienced just about every type of game a head coach can in their career. That is partly why the head man is so calm, cool, and collected going into the week two Cy-Hawk matchup against the Iowa State Cyclones.

Back in 2009, the Iowa Hawkeyes were sitting at No. 22 in the polls and welcomed in-state FCS opponent Northern Iowa into Iowa City. In what was expected to be a nice, easy way to open the season, the Panthers turned the game into a dogfight that saw the Hawkeyes lucky to prevail 17-16 only due to a few mishaps on Northern Iowa’s end.

Following this, Iowa rattled off eight straight wins beginning with a 35-3 victory over Iowa State. The Hawkeyes used this to propel themselves to an 11-2 record culminating with a win over No. 9 Georgia Tech in the FedEx Orange Bowl.

When asked about that team’s trajectory this week, Ferentz was aware of the similarities between the two season-opening wins.

“I think that’s kind of an illustration, I think all good teams develop during the course of the year, and I think certainly that ended up being a really good team, but we were hardly world beaters on that opener, that’s for sure,” said Ferentz when asked about former Iowa defensive end Adrian Clayborn comparing the two games.

“We’ll have bumps later on in the season, too, but it’s how you handle it, how you respond, and certainly the ’09 team did a great job, not only that week, but moving forward, and that’s where we need to be focused is what can we do to get better and improve and fast. That’s our topic or our task. That’s kind of the deal there,” continued Ferentz.

As Iowa prepares to kick off against Iowa State this Saturday afternoon, it can be nearly assured that the talk inside the walls of the Hawkeyes’ facility is solely focused on what is ahead of them with minimal looking in the rearview mirror.

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Air Force vs Northern Iowa Prediction, Game Preview

Air Force vs Northern Iowa game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 1 game on Saturday, September 3

Air Force vs Northern Iowa prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 1, Saturday, September 3

Air Force vs Northern Iowa How To Watch

Date: Saturday, September 3
Game Time: 1:00 ET
Venue: Falcon Stadium, Fort Collins, CO
How To Watch: Mountain West Network
Record: Air Force (0-0), Northern Iowa (0-0)
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CFN Preview 2021: All 131 Teams
CFN Predictions of Every Game
ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12 | SEC
AAC | C-USA | Ind | MAC | M-West | Sun Belt
2022 Bowl Projections | Week 0 Rankings 1-131
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Air Force vs Northern Iowa Game Preview

Why Northern Iowa Will Win

Northern Iowa has enough of a run defense to keep Air Force from going off.

The Panthers might not have too much of an offense for the Falcons to worry about, but they can load up against the run, they’re going to be great again on third downs, and they’re more than happy to play a grinding game that comes down to key defensive stops.

Air Force has experience back from the great defense of last year, but the losses were big ones. It’s going to take a little while to find the right mix, but …

– Week 1 CFN College Football Expert Picks

Why Air Force Will Win

Northern Iowa wasn’t careful enough with the ball last year, and the offense wasn’t good enough on third downs. That’s a brutal mix against Air Force.

The Falcons might not be able to run wild on this D, but they’ll still be able to control the clock and the tempo.

UNI’s defense should be great at taking the ball away again, but if the other side keeps coughing it up, and if the offensive line struggles in pass protection, Air Force should be able to own the tempo throughout.

– Week 1 Schedule, Predictions, Game Previews, Saturday

What’s Going To Happen

This is a good enough UNI defense to keep this from getting too ugly – the D will get into the backfield and stop things before they start – but Air Force will find its groove, control the ball for over 35 minutes, and will get through with a good win in a fun game – at least for the first half.

– All of the CFN Predictions

Air Force vs Northern Iowa Prediction, Line

Air Force 34, Northern Iowa 16
Line: Air Force -15, o/u: 40
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5

– How every college coach does against the spread

Air Force vs Northern Iowa Must See Rating: 2
5: Gangs of London Season 2
1: Mack & Rita

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– Predictions of Every Game
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Iowa State vs SE Missouri State Prediction, Game Preview

Iowa State vs SE Missouri State game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 1 game on Saturday, September 3

Iowa State vs SE Missouri State prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 1, Saturday, September 3

Iowa State vs SE Missouri State How To Watch

Date: Saturday, September 3
Game Time: 1:00 ET
Venue: Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, IA
How To Watch: Big 12 Network/ESPN+
Record: Iowa State (0-0), SE Missouri State (0-0)
– Sign up and live stream college football on ESPN+

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CFN Preview 2021: All 131 Teams
CFN Predictions of Every Game
ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12 | SEC
AAC | C-USA | Ind | MAC | M-West | Sun Belt
2022 Bowl Projections | Week 0 Rankings 1-131
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Iowa State vs SE Missouri State Game Preview

Why SE Missouri State Will Win

The Redhawks aren’t going to make a slew of mistakes, they’ll bring the running game, and they’ll keep on pressing.

They might have had problems last year defensively, but the offensive side was effective enough to not give the other side a slew of easy chances, and the problem turned out to be the lack of key third down stops – and the inability to hit on third down plays.

This year’s offense will be stronger, Geno Hess is a great running back to worry about, and on the other side, Iowa State has to reload.

– Week 1 CFN College Football Expert Picks

Why Iowa State Will Win

The rebuild shouldn’t be that bad.

Yes, there’s a massive lose of big-time talent on both sides of the ball, but the defensive line will be great around Will McDonald, the running game will continue to be a machine even without Breece Hall, and the secondary should be fine.

As long as the Cyclones can grind a bit with the running game, and if the pass defense can keep SE Missouri State from hitting on the deep shot, they should be okay.

– Week 1 Schedule, Predictions, Game Previews, Saturday

What’s Going To Happen

Just press on through.

SE Missouri State was better than the final 4-7 record, but the defense isn’t going to be anything amazing and there’s no consistent passing attack to be all that worried about.

Iowa State will be fine. It’ll be tough, but the Cyclone defense will hold firm against the run, new starting quarterback Hunter Dekkers will be efficient with target Xavier Hutchinson, and it’l be on to the Hawkeyes.

– All of the CFN Predictions

Iowa State vs SE Missouri State Prediction, Line

Iowa State 41, SE Missouri State 10
Line: Iowa State -34, o/u: 54.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5

– How every college coach does against the spread

Iowa State vs SE Missouri State Must See Rating: 1.5
5: Gangs of London Season 2
1: Mack & Rita

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– Predictions of Every Game
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Iowa Hawkeyes named best college football team in Iowa entering 2022

The Iowa Hawkeyes’ consistent performance and dominance of other teams in Iowa has earned them honors as top dog in the state.

I would like to say it is a pleasant surprise, but it is more of a fact at this point. The Iowa Hawkeyes are the gold standard of college football in the state of Iowa and their consistent production and success speaks for itself.

The Hawkeyes were selected over the underwhelming Iowa State Cyclones and a feisty Northern Iowa Panthers team from the FCS as the best team in the state of Iowa entering the 2022 college football season by CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee.

The Hawkeyes have won six straight Cy-Hawk trophies over arch-rival Iowa State and finished in the AP Top 25 in each of the last four seasons. They also went 10-4 last season, winning the Big Ten West  Coach Kirk Ferentz has established one of the most stable programs in the country, and that doesn’t appear to be in jeopardy anytime soon. – Sallee, CBS Sports.

As stated, Iowa is turning the Cy-Hawk rivalry into a rather one-sided affair that is appearing more and more like an early season game for the Hawkeyes than it is an in-state rivalry game. Kirk Ferentz has utterly dominated Matt Campbell as the Cyclones head coach is still winless against Iowa.

Iowa is undoubtedly the best team in the state entering 2022 after their performance in 2021 but they have also earned this in head-to-head matchups as well.

Iowa is 7-0 all-time against Northern Iowa and has more than doubled up Iowa State with a commanding 46-22 advantage in the all-time series. The Hawkeyes host Iowa State on September 10 in the annual Cy-Hawk matchup and will have an early season opportunity to stake their claim once again as the best college football team in Iowa.

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Huskers add FCS opponent for 2024 schedule

Huskers will be paying $600,000 to add a non-conference opponent to their 2024 schedule.

The University of Nebraska football team has added a non-conference game to its 2024 schedule. Northern Iowa will make the trip to Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. This will be the first time these two teams have played on the football field. According to a report from FBSchedules, Northern Iowa will be paid $600,000 for the game. UNI is the third and final non-conference opponent scheduled for the 2024 season. The Panthers join UTEP and Colorado as the other two schools currently under contract.

Northern Iowa is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and currently plays at the FCS level. I can’t say that I’m a fan of this move. I have nothing against the Panthers or their program, but I’m sick and tired of Power 5 schools scheduling FCS opponents rather than another Power 5 school simply to try and ease a path to a bowl game. There has to be a way to incentivize the top programs to play one another during the non-conference season, and I don’t have any ideas on how to do that. We can’t even get every major conference to play the same number of conference games, so I don’t see a path to changing non-conference scheduling. Teams will continue to schedule opponents from other divisions of football.

Take a look at the 2022 Husker schedule below.

Should Cowboys consider Trevor Penning for Tyron Smith’s eventual replacement?

Tyler Browning ( @DiabeticTyler ) takes a look at the offensive lineman out of Northern Iowa, who plays with a nasty streak. Where should he be picked?

With the Dallas Cowboys moving on from La’El Collins and the injury history of long-time tackle Tyron Smith; Cowboys fans shouldn’t be surprised if the Cowboys decide to address the offensive line early on in the 2022 draft. Northern Iowa offensive tackle Trevor Penning has been a three-year starter and has built up quite the reputation as a player with a mean streak. He is known for finishing people in the ground, and it was on display at the Senior Bowl.

He also had a chance to show his athleticism for NFL scouts and executives at the NFL combine where he impressed with his athleticism. The monkey in the room? He’s projected to go high, comes from a smaller school and wasn’t invited to Texas for an official visit. Did the Cowboys make a mistake in not doing so? Is he impressive enough to be drafted despite those warning signs?

10 offensive line prospects for the Eagles to watch at the 2022 Senior Bowl

2022 #SeniorBowl: 10 offensive line prospects for the #Eagles to watch #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE

The 2022 NFL draft is fast approaching and with Philadelphia owning three first-round picks, Howie Roseman needing to hit on all three first-round picks, we’re getting an early start on evaluating the top prospects.

The draft actually starts in Mobile, Alabama, where the start of senior bowl practices will kick off on Tuesday, February 1.

We’re profiling the position groups for both senior bowl teams, while also breaking down several players at each group for Philadelphia to watch.

The next group to watch will be the senior bowl offensive linemen.

Draft pick finds perfect way to join Bills Mafia

Spencer Brown joined the Bills Mafia in style after being chosen by Buffalo in the third round

There have been many celebrations by players as they have been chosen in the NFL draft. However, none top that of Spencer Brown.

The 6-foot-8, 314-pound offensive lineman from Northern Iowas was chosen by the Buffalo Bills in the third round on Friday.

If you want to get in good graces with the Bills Mafia, what is the only thing one can do?

Damn right, that is put yourself through a table.

Brown is the first player from Northern Iowa drafted by the Bills.

Some background via Bills.com:

Brown competed in football, basketball, golf, and track at Lenox High School in his hometown Lenox, Iowa. The school, nestled in a town with a population of 1,407 as of 2010, fielded an eight-player team.

Brown played tight end in addition to fighting through double teams to rack up 17 sacks as a senior and earned first-team all-state honors.