Game Day is upon us as the Hawks get the season kicked off tomorrow afternoon vs Northern Illinois. I can't wait for the game so excited to see what the team will look like this season. Northern Illinois will not be an easy task for the team but I believe the media is giving NIU a little bit too much credit. Now looking at this game it should be an interesting game and the elements of the heat should give Iowa a major advantage. During this blog I'm going to be breaking down a few keys and give everyone a little idea of what to expect from the Huskies and the Hawkeyes tomorrow.
First for Northern Illinois they are known for their offense which returns a number of players at key positions but most importantly Jordan Lynch. He is a QB that has some Heisman hype this season and is a very good all around quarterback who can run and pass. He will run the quarterback read a lot during the game last year if you remember he had a 70 plus yard TD Run. He is the guy we have to bottle up and slow down to win this game vs the Huskies. Lynch can keep a team in the game by himself if he is given too much space to operate. NIU's running back Akeem Daniels will not play with a foot injury so that will hurt the Huskies offense as he was a real threat for them to solidify that QB read. The problem without him is Iowa can focus in on Jordan Lynch. At Wide Receiver NIU lost a couple of veteran players in Perez Ashford and Martel Moore but they do return the speedster Tommy Lee Lewis. This is what the offense will look like a lot of Jordan Lynch trying to create something.
Defensively NIU lost a lot of players on the defense from last season especially in the front 7 of the defense. Last year if you remember NIU's defensive line used there speed to wreak havoc on Vandenberg. A number of those guys are gone but I would expect to see similar players at the end positions that have speed and pass rushing ability. NIU was very aggressive last season sacking Iowa 4 times. The game last season was a 20 to 19 Iowa Victory. Just a small preview for you on NIU's defense so lets get straight to the keys to the game.
Keys to an Iowa Victory on Defense
Bottle up Jordan Lynch make him uncomfortable and hit him.
Make sure to wrap up tackles we saw a lot of missed tackles last season
Read your keys with a QB that can run and pass you can't get beat on a playaction
The Defensive ends have to stay at home don't get sucked in and let Lynch make a play
Keys to an Iowa Victory on Offense
Ease Jake Ruddock into the game it is his first game action let him get his feet wet a little.
Run Weisman run let Mark get going and really tire out a team with less depth I want 150 yards rushing total.
Explosive plays we need to see at least 6 to 10 plays 15 plus yard runs and 20 plus yard passes.
Get playmakers involved Damond Powell, Tevaun Smith, Jordan Canzeri get them involved in the offense.
The last key I see is get the TE's involved in the game early and often.
Keys to an NIU Victory on Offense
Get Tommy Lee Lewis in space and let him make plays
Let Jordan Lynch do what he does
They must have a runningback have a productive game so Iowa can't focus in on Lynch
Keys to an NIU Victory on Defense
Force Jake Ruddock into mistakes with pressure
Slow down Iowa's running game stacking 8 and 9 in the box.
Must wrap up Iowa's playmakers
Prediction Iowa 31 NIU 14
I like Iowa a lot in this game I see an improved team and I think NIU will be surprised by the no huddle offense that Iowa will employ. I also think depth will be a major factor in this game and Iowa will pull away in the 4th quarter. I have seen a number of media people struggling with this game but simply I don't believe NIU is as good as last year or Iowa as bad. Last year we escaped with a win over NIU and don't forget they do have a new head coach as Dave Doren left the team. I see a close game for a while with Iowa pulling away at the end my star of the game on offense is Tevaun Smith who will catch a long TD Pass and on defense Carl Davis shows the muscle he showed all camp and spring to dominate the line of scrimmage. So now the only thing left to do is play the game I can't wait to get down to Kinnick tomorrow should be a lot of fun as I have the Hawkeyes moving to 1-0. I will have a review of the game in my next blog thanks for reading.
Go Hawks.
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