I have spent the beginning of the week reading up on UNI. Like any other team in the county, it is all speculation at this point, but looking at their returning players and their play from last year I think it's safe to make some predictions about the team. Today, I'll start off with the offense.
The Panthers will be an extremely veteran team on offense. There are 9 starters returning from a team that averaged almost 30 points and 366 yards per game. There are also 7 seniors in the starting line up. Iowa, by comparison, has 5 seniors listed as a starters on offense on the depth chart.
Rushing Attack:
The Panthers, who last year ran the ball 67.5% of the time in their spread option scheme, have some big question marks at running back (even bigger than Iowa if you can believe that) going into this weekend. Last year, the team relied heavily on Corey Lewis, who is UNI's all-time leading rusher with over 4,000 yards in his career. He ran for 1,314 yards last season and scored 11 touchdowns on the ground and 2 receiving in 2008, but has since graduated.
Derrick Law, who gained 786 yards and scored 9 touchdowns last year in a backup role, looked like the heir apparent, but he will be sitting on the sideline on Saturday (or maybe at home in Cedar Falls) after being suspended for breaking team rules. Fellow running back Taylor Brookins, who likely would be second or third string, is also suspended indefinitely.
That leaves redshirt freshman Carlos Anderson as the starter with a fullback and another redshirt freshman as his backups. Anderson is only 5'8", 175 lbs., but is reportedly fast and surprisingly strong. But with his small frame he's going to have a tough time carrying the load against Iowa's defense.
Despite the lack of depth and experience at running back, UNI still has 2 reasons to at least hope for a semi-decent rushing attack against Iowa: 1. Pat Grace and 2. the offensive line.
Pat Grace ran the 134 times last year for 618 yards and 11 touchdown. His 4.6 average yards is respectable for a quarter back and though he's not particularly quick, Grace is capable of gaining yards on designed runs/option keepers and scrambling when the pocket breaks down.
The Panthers also have an experience offensive line with 5 seniors, 4 of whom are returning starters. Center Austin Steichen is particularly good and is listed as part of the FCS Preseason All-American First Team.
Passing Attack:
UNI should have more weapons in the passing game than the run game. Leading the aerial assault will be Grace. In 2008 he threw for 2,041 yards and 14 touchdowns, good for a QB rating of 145.7. It is vital that Grace, who has been slightly injury prone missing 3 games last year, stay healthy if UNI has any chance to stay in the game. Backup quarterback, Zach Davis, will be serving a suspension on Saturday, and there is very little depth behind Grace and Davis.
Three wide receivers that have some starting experience return this year, including Josh Collins who led the Panthers in both receptions and receiving yards. Collins will also be an important part in the return game and could even run the ball occasionally.
The other starting receivers will be D.J. Hood and Maurice Turner/Jarred Herring. All three had very similar stats last year averaging about 1 catch per game. Any of these guys though have the potential to break a big play and should be a good test for Iowa's secondary.
Overall Outlook:
Despite the incredible amount of experienced players on offense for UNI, they will not be able to compete with Iowa's defense. The running back situation will undoubtedly hurt the small chance UNI had at establishing a solid run game, thus making the team 1-dimensional. This will allow the Hawkeye defense to play the pass, and I think with the reconfigured defensive line, Iowa will be able to get a lot of pressure on Grace ultimately forcing errors. I would be shocked to see more than 10 points scored by UNI unless it comes late against second and third stringers.