The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Hawkeyes wary of UNI

It was a game nearly two years ago to the day, at a place some 447 miles away via I-80 and I-94 that changed forever how college football powerhouses approach their early season opponents from the Football Championship Subdivision.

Appalachian State had made the trek to Ann Arbor, Mich. — the home of the No. 5-ranked and BCS Championship-hopeful Michigan Wolverines — to supposedly get their butt kicked in front of 110,000 fans. That was, after all, what second-tier teams usually did in this situation.

But Corey Lynch blocked field goal on the game’s final play and sealed the Wolverines’ fate. They came nowhere close to playing in the BCS title game or competing for the Big Ten crown.

All of that had been ruined after being thumped, 34-32, by the lowly Mountaineers on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Fast-forward two years and shift your focus back to eastern Iowa as Kirk Ferentz’s No. 22 Hawkeyes face off against Northern Iowa, a juggernaut of its own kind in the championship subdivision — ranked No. 4 in the coaches’ preseason poll, only three spots behind No. 1 Appalachian State.

Saturday morning, the sun will shine, the beer will flow, and no one will expect an upset. Many people around these parts contend Iowa will challenge for the Big Ten championship even without injured running back Jewel Hampton.

Up until the 11 a.m. kickoff at Kinnick Stadium, all will be right in Hawkeye country, and Ferentz knows that to keep it that way, his team can’t treat Northern Iowa as a team it has beaten 13 of 14 times in its history.

“All you have to do is say Appalachian State,” Ferentz said. “It wasn’t like [Michigan] was a dog team. [Appalachian State] went up there, and played, and won. That’s all you need to know.”

The Panthers will present a similar challenge to the Hawkeyes. They ran for an astounding 2,877 yards a year ago, but the loss of standout back Corey Lewis, who compiled 1,556 total yards last season, and the suspension of starting running back Derrick Law for violating team rules, leave redshirt freshman Carlos Anderson as the starter in the backfield.

The Hawkeyes have running-back problems of their own after Ferentz’s announcement on Tuesday of Hampton’s season-ending knee injury. Taking his place in the backfield will be the trio of junior Paki O’Meara, redshirt freshman Adam Robinson, and true freshman Brandon Wegher.

“We feel [the Panthers] are just like Iowa State,” offensive lineman Dace Richardson said. “They’re an in-state rival, and if you want to be the best, if you want to win the Big Ten, then you got to win in your own backyard.”

In Law’s absence, Northern Iowa head coach Mark Farley, who is in his ninth year in Cedar Falls, will lean heavily on the Panthers’ experienced offensive line, which includes five senior starters, and veteran quarterback Pat Grace.

A dual-threat behind center, the senior threw for 2,041 yards and 14 touchdowns and ran for 618 yards and 11 more scores.

As is the case in games such as this, Northern Iowa’s focus will be squarely on upsetting the big, preseason-ranked bowl subdivision school right down the road. But if the Hawkeyes learned anything from Michigan’s epic loss to Appalachian State two years ago, it will take all the effort they’ve got to keep from becoming the latest team to fall to a championship subdivision powerhouse.

“We know that they’re going to come after us because we’re a bigger school. We’re kind of the talk around this side of the state,” wide receiver Trey Stross said. “But we’re not going to take them lightly.”

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