How good is Northern Iowa?

[blue4gold]

They've won every game handily. The closest it's gotten was a 15 point win on the road in a tough NDSU environment. Their only loss is to undefeated Iowa by 1 point on the road. The same Iowa who has beaten ALL their BCS opponents by a larger margin (including a win at #5 Penn State and a win against Michigan). N. Iowa looks like the team to beat this year. Thoughts?

[SO ILLmatic]

We shall find out this coming Saturday. The same can be said for the Salukis though.

[Gil Dobie]

Better than Michigan, but not as good as Iowa xthumbsupx

[EVSpanther]

There are a couple other teams...see the rankings...I would put up there with us, but I think we are definitely "one of" the top teams to beat. Should be one heck of a game this coming weekend at the UNI-DOME.

[Jacked_Rabbit]

Contrary to what people out east may think, I believe UNI is the team to beat in the FCS this year... If they beat Southern Illinois at home this weekend, and SDSU on the road next weekend, I'd think they have to move up into the #1 spot.

[DomeMagic]

I was a bit dissappointed by their performance against NDSU. The atmopshere in the Fargodome wasn't anything a good team shouldn't be able to handle, yet they continued to give the Bison a chance to get in the game. The true test will be this Saturday at home against SIU. The home team always seems to win in this rivalry, so I would like to see them win by a good margin before booking any rooms in Chattanooga.

[TCisMYhero]

They're not in the caa so they're obviously no better than number 7 in the country. They'd be 1-5 right now if they were in the caa.

[soccerguy315]

UNI is solidly in the top 5. Hard to draw the differences in the top 5 until they play each other.

Is UNI better than Montana or Villanova or New Hampshire or Richmond? Maybe. Maybe not. UNI is definitely a contender, but so are those other 4 teams I just listed, and possibly even more teams. Remember Richmond was 8-3 last year and almost picked up a 4th loss in the last week of the season. No one would've picked Richmond as the "team to beat" going into the playoffs, but that's how it turned out.

[CDT_Wilson]

Depends which team shows up. They played pretty bad against NDSU.

[SideLine Shooter]

We'll find out when they play Elon for the National Championship.

[ValleyChamp]

Don't read too much into the NDSU game. Good teams aren't going to play flawless every week. The important thing is, UNI played poorly most of the game and still won, and won concincingly. It was a good tough conference win on the road. UNI is definitely one of the best in the country right now.

Alot may will decided in the dome this week against SIU.

[Gil Dobie]

UNI is a top 5 team, great offense and good defense. xthumbsupx

[DOME]

We aren't perfect by any means.
I will say my top five includes; Richmond, UNI, UNH, Montana and SIU. Not in that particular order.
I don't think anyone will question that we belong in that discussion.
Beyond that the next two weeks will be a big tell.
After that I hope to find out on the 19th of December....

[MR. CHICKEN]

IT'S ALL 'BOUT...WHO PEAKS...COME LATE NOVEMBERAH....&....ALL O' DECEMBERAH...O' COURSE....YA GOTTAH EARN DUH TOP 16.....TA BEGIN WHIFF....xnodx...BRAWK/OBAMA/BIDEN!!

[art vandelay]

im just hoping UNH and UNI can maybe go 1,2 and not have to play eachother in one of the first 2 rounds. I want to se UNH play someone different maybe a socon team or something.

[achrist70]

We're an ok team when we play to our competition, we're a good team when we come out and play to our potential. We will see if we are a great team as the season goes on.

[darell1976]

We could take them.xlolx

[Bill Hanson]

They're not in the caa so they're obviously no better than number 7 in the country. They'd be 1-5 right now if they were in the caa.

Excuse me? You think they would have won 1 game in the CAA? Probably more likely 0-6. NOW if they were in the So-Con they would be 1-5.

[ValleyChamp]

Excuse me? You think they would have won 1 game in the CAA? Probably more likely 0-6. NOW if they were in the So-Con they would be 1-5.

a big whiff there.

[Bill Hanson]

a big whiff there.

Don't you think that the Eastern US schools are way better than the rest? It is a well known fact.

[griz&beer]

I think they should be number 1

[MR. CHICKEN]

Don't you think that the Eastern US schools are way better than the rest? It is a well known fact.

xnodx

[darell1976]

xnodx

xnonono2x

[SunCoastBlueHen]

UNI is top five - no doubt.

[UNIFanSince1983]

We are better than a lot of teams, but maybe not as good as some others

[ASU_Fanatic]

They're really good they have given Iowa about as good a game as anyone has.

[4N6]

Well, at the risk of boring readers who know me from Panthernation.com ... I'll make a simple and short statement (after first qualifying it by saying that I have been watching UNI football for 34 years.)

This is the best UNI team I have seen.

Best wishes from a die-hard Panther fan. Good luck to all the rest of the season.

[UNIFanSince1983]

They're really good they have given Iowa about as good a game as anyone has.

But there should be a disclaimer. We got them in the first game of the year. They were probably not as "up" for us as we were for them. They were still playing Paki O'Mera. They have now found their running game with a split of Robinson and Wegher.

And by the way this is not me being a Hawkeye apologist it may be me just trying to downplay the hype, and make sure I do not get ahead of myself. For the record I cheer against the Hawks every week that they play.

We are very good, but I do not think we should be ranked #1 and I really do not want to be the "favorite" for the national championship. I like being the underdog a little bit more, and maybe that just goes back to me being so disappointed in 2007.

[JohnStOnge]

The one caveat is that the five teams Northern Iowa's beaten have a combined record of 8-22 and none of them have a winning record. Two, South Dakota and Missouri State, have even records at 3-3.

Don't get me wrong. I think UNI is very impressive. They should've beaten Iowa. But I agree that we'll have a lot better line on just how good they are after they play Southern Illinois. Of course, the same kind of situation applies to Southern Illinois. We'll know a lot more about them after they play Northern Iowa.

[UNIFanSince1983]

The next two weeks are huge. SIU at home and then going to SDSU for their "Homecoming". Right now we really have no clue where we lie in the total picture. I do think I can safely say we are a top 20 team.

[JackJD]

Depends which team shows up. They played pretty bad against NDSU.

Watched the UNI/NDSU game on TV and I think Wilson's assessment is accurate. A poor UNI team appeared in Fargo, Saturday. There's a better team that wears the same uniforms but they showed they are capable of having a letdown and that means that they're not invincible.

[JackJD]

The next two weeks are huge. SIU at home and then going to SDSU for their "Homecoming". Right now we really have no clue where we lie in the total picture. I do think I can safely say we are a top 20 team.

At this stage in the season, a top-five ranking is justified for UNI but UNI demonstrated Saturday that they aren't perfect. I guess that's the point made in this message board's title: On any given Saturday....

[smallcollegefbfan]

We shall find out this coming Saturday. The same can be said for the Salukis though.

I think UNI wins but I tell you if Karim starts going off it could be a long day. UNI doesn't have a RB as good as Karim. If he can get through that huge DL of UNI and gets those safeties creeping up for Dieker to go over the top then it could be a long day though. Either way I agree that we will know which team is a legit national title contender for sure.

[Mn_Moose]

We could take them.xlolx

To where?

the Dairy Queen...

[OrygunBison]

Based solely on what I saw in the NDSU/UNI game, I wasn't impressed. If NDSU would have been able to not have so many penalties, we would have had a chance to win. The UNI defense was sucking a lot of wind in the 4th quarter. Maybe conditioning will be a problem on the home stretch of the season and the post season. NDSU put up lots of yards and controlled the LOS late in the game.

Clearly, they can play better. I think there might also be a bit too much confidence, too. I wish I could just say it was swagger but they were pretty chippy and made some stupid unsportsmanlike penalties in the middle and late in the game. #24 should be suspended from this week's game. Prick move out of bounds and a bad call by the refs. (wouldn't have mattered, though...)

That all said, I'd really like UNI to win out.

[Redbird Ray]

UNI is the best team in the country

[CDT_Wilson]

Based solely on what I saw in the NDSU/UNI game, I wasn't impressed. If NDSU would have been able to not have so many penalties, we would have had a chance to win. The UNI defense was sucking a lot of wind in the 4th quarter. Maybe conditioning will be a problem on the home stretch of the season and the post season. NDSU put up lots of yards and controlled the LOS late in the game.

Clearly, they can play better. I think there might also be a bit too much confidence, too. I wish I could just say it was swagger but they were pretty chippy and made some stupid unsportsmanlike penalties in the middle and late in the game. #24 should be suspended from this week's game. Prick move out of bounds and a bad call by the refs. (wouldn't have mattered, though...)

That all said, I'd really like UNI to win out.

He played til the whistle and was swallowed up by a see of bison. He didn't throw a punch he pushed his way out. I saw the whole thing. and by the way after listening to the game through the Bison network if I hear another ad for crop seed I am going to stop eating corn for life, and I am from Iowa.

And as for the "facts" about the CAA vs. UNI the fact is majority of CAA teams that have come to Cedar Falls have went home with a L and the ones that had W's were playing for a national title.

[unigriff]

I think UNI wins but I tell you if Karim starts going off it could be a long day. UNI doesn't have a RB as good as Karim. If he can get through that huge DL of UNI and gets those safeties creeping up for Dieker to go over the top then it could be a long day though. Either way I agree that we will know which team is a legit national title contender for sure.

Haha, that must mean Karim is easily better than Paschall because both of our RBs (Law and Anderson) outplayed Paschall yesterday.

[ValleyChamp]

One thing that needs to be mentioned about the NDSU game is UNI's conditioning. The UNI starters have played one half of football for three consecutive games, due to huge blowouts. The starters played zero snaps last week against the Sycamores. We went from playing half of a game for three straight weeks to playing a tough team on the road. That is not an easy transition.

[Big Al]

How good is UNI? Honestly, I don't think that question has been answered. Nor can it be answered until the playoffs. Sort of like how CAA fans bray about their conference superiority -- until the playoffs start and the best teams from different conferences start playing each other, they're just shouting in an echo chamber.

[Houndawg]

Haha, that must mean Karim is easily better than Paschall because both of our RBs (Law and Anderson) outplayed Paschall yesterday.

I think he is better, no dis to Paschall, who is a gamer running behind a good line, but Karim runs 4.46 is the kind of back that you can bottle up for the whole game, except for those two 70 yard runs. The question is do we run first or throw to set up the run?

[VT Wildcat Fan53]

There are 10 Teams in the TOP 5 in the Nation that could make a claim to the National Championship! xthumbsupx

[UNIFanSince1983]

Based solely on what I saw in the NDSU/UNI game, I wasn't impressed. If NDSU would have been able to not have so many penalties, we would have had a chance to win. The UNI defense was sucking a lot of wind in the 4th quarter. Maybe conditioning will be a problem on the home stretch of the season and the post season. NDSU put up lots of yards and controlled the LOS late in the game.

Clearly, they can play better. I think there might also be a bit too much confidence, too. I wish I could just say it was swagger but they were pretty chippy and made some stupid unsportsmanlike penalties in the middle and late in the game. #24 should be suspended from this week's game. Prick move out of bounds and a bad call by the refs. (wouldn't have mattered, though...)

That all said, I'd really like UNI to win out.

89 plays is what the defense was on the field for. I gotta say most people would be sucking wind after 89 football plays...

[unigriff]

I think he is better, no dis to Paschall, who is a gamer running behind a good line, but Karim runs 4.46 is the kind of back that you can bottle up for the whole game, except for those two 70 yard runs. The question is do we run first or throw to set up the run?

Know Lennon football..Run first two plays 70% of the time, Pass on first down 3% Sacked/Turnover 27%. :)

Impressed with the 3rd quarter phantom being tamed this year.

[01pantherfan]

Based solely on what I saw in the NDSU/UNI game, I wasn't impressed. If NDSU would have been able to not have so many penalties, we would have had a chance to win. The UNI defense was sucking a lot of wind in the 4th quarter. Maybe conditioning will be a problem on the home stretch of the season and the post season. NDSU put up lots of yards and controlled the LOS late in the game.

Clearly, they can play better. I think there might also be a bit too much confidence, too. I wish I could just say it was swagger but they were pretty chippy and made some stupid unsportsmanlike penalties in the middle and late in the game. #24 should be suspended from this week's game. Prick move out of bounds and a bad call by the refs. (wouldn't have mattered, though...)

That all said, I'd really like UNI to win out.


That being said then Paschall should be suspended as well for throwing a couple of punches

[dlsiouxfan]

Based solely on what I saw in the NDSU/UNI game, I wasn't impressed. If NDSU would have been able to not have so many penalties, we would have had a chance to win. The UNI defense was sucking a lot of wind in the 4th quarter. Maybe conditioning will be a problem on the home stretch of the season and the post season. NDSU put up lots of yards and controlled the LOS late in the game.

Clearly, they can play better. I think there might also be a bit too much confidence, too. I wish I could just say it was swagger but they were pretty chippy and made some stupid unsportsmanlike penalties in the middle and late in the game. #24 should be suspended from this week's game. Prick move out of bounds and a bad call by the refs. (wouldn't have mattered, though...)

That all said, I'd really like UNI to win out.

If Ford should be suspended then you'd definitely have to suspend Paschall as well. The hit out of bounds was borderline but definitely not an intentionally dirty play. Paschall started the brawl when he lost his cool and threw a punch. If Ford is out then Paschall should be out.

[Green26]

Just looking at UNI's record, as well as the records of their opponents, it doesn't look like UNI has played anyone any good except Iowa. The close loss is Iowa is very impressive. While UNI has beaten the rest of their opponents handily, and that's a positive indicator, I think we have see how they do against quality opponents.

[caribbeanhen]

they always look good until the CAA comes to town

[skinny_uncle]

Haha, that must mean Karim is easily better than Paschall because both of our RBs (Law and Anderson) outplayed Paschall yesterday.
He's the Karim of the crop.
xnodx


Rank Player Pos Cl Gm Carries Net TDs Avg Ydspgm
1 Deji Karim, Southern Ill. RB SR 5 95 834 8 8.78 166.80
2 Pat Paschall, North Dakota St. RB SR 6 119 869 6 7.30 144.83

[Gil Dobie]

The UNI vs SIU game will sort things out a little.

[nmatsen]

Just looking at UNI's record, as well as the records of their opponents, it doesn't look like UNI has played anyone any good except Iowa. The close loss is Iowa is very impressive. While UNI has beaten the rest of their opponents handily, and that's a positive indicator, I think we have see how they do against quality opponents.

A Montana fan looking down on our strength of schedule. Thats funny.


When you are 5-1 and it is this early in season obviously everyone you have played (accept for 1) is going to have one loss. At the I-AA level almost everyone has a I-A loss, so there are 2 losses. And most early non-conference opponents are poorer to begin with so add another loss there.

I would bet that if you look at the top 4-7 programs in the I-AA right now their opponents overall record is very poor. Not necessarily a fact, but a good guess.

[Houndawg]

A Montana fan looking down on our strength of schedule. Thats funny.


When you are 5-1 and it is this early in season obviously everyone you have played (accept for 1) is going to have one loss. At the I-AA level almost everyone has a I-A loss, so there are 2 losses. And most early non-conference opponents are poorer to begin with so add another loss there.

I would bet that if you look at the top 4-7 programs in the I-AA right now their opponents overall record is very poor. Not necessarily a fact, but a good guess.

A Montana fan looking down on anybody's sos is funny. I don't see them scheduling NDSU and SDSU who are right next door and don't fall under UM's standard "travel is too expensive" excuse for ducking good OOC competition.xwhistlex

[PantherRob82]

They've won every game handily. The closest it's gotten was a 15 point win on the road in a tough NDSU environment. Their only loss is to undefeated Iowa by 1 point on the road. The same Iowa who has beaten ALL their BCS opponents by a larger margin (including a win at #5 Penn State and a win against Michigan). N. Iowa looks like the team to beat this year. Thoughts?

I think the Top 5 or 6 are pretty interchangable at this point. Only team I haven't watched is UNH. UNI looked a little sloppy at times, but I would also say the Bison are better than their record.

[PantherRob82]

Clearly, they can play better. I think there might also be a bit too much confidence, too. I wish I could just say it was swagger but they were pretty chippy and made some stupid unsportsmanlike penalties in the middle and late in the game. #24 should be suspended from this week's game. Prick move out of bounds and a bad call by the refs. (wouldn't have mattered, though...)



Paschall should be out too then. He had Fort's facemask from in bounds, all the way to the wall, and then threw a punch. xnonono2x

[PantherRob82]

A Montana fan looking down on anybody's sos is funny. I don't see them scheduling NDSU and SDSU who are right next door and don't fall under UM's standard "travel is too expensive" excuse for ducking good OOC competition.xwhistlex

Montana played UC-Davis and Cal Poly this year. WAY better than our OOC and SIU's. xnonono2x

[Pant8her]

How good is UNI playing?

Good question, considering that conference play is just getting started. UNI is heading into the meat of their season and it is too early to judge IMO.

IIRC, there was a similar question earlier this year on St Francis of Pa, and look where they are now.xsmhx

This question should be applied to all the top ten teams not just UNI.

The proof is in the pudding as they say, and sheer speculation is just that.

IMO, New Hampshire , Villinova, and Richmond are the real deal. Although they will beat eachother up soon enough.

Peace

[Gil Dobie]

Paschall should be out too then. He had Fort's facemask from in bounds, all the way to the wall, and then threw a punch. xnonono2x

The Bison coaches have a ways to go with discipline. Almost every game the last 6 years, there's been bad penalties, and this season off the field activities. It's not the refs fault either.

[HensRock]

I have had UNI #1 in my AGS ballot since week 3.
Richmond is very good, but I think Villanova and William & Mary might be better, and now we can add UNH to that.

[jmc_jackrabbit]

UNI has got to be a top 3 team. I don't know that you can distinguish among the top 3 until they play each other. If UNI can escape with a home with vs. SIU and a road win at SDSU, that should tell doubters all they need to know.

[griz8791]

A Montana fan looking down on anybody's sos is funny. I don't see them scheduling NDSU and SDSU who are right next door and don't fall under UM's standard "travel is too expensive" excuse for ducking good OOC competition.xwhistlex

No doubt I will regret responding to this, because Green26 did bring this on himself and the rest of us.

However, Missoula - Fargo = 954 miles and Missoula-Brookings = 1055 miles. I realize the trip from Carbondale to Fargo is nothing to sneeze at (900 miles). Even so, Fargo and Brookings hardly qualify as "right next door" to Missoula. Moreover, OOC road trips to Lake Charles, Boone, Grand Forks, and Fargo are on the schedule in the next 5-6 years. The standard response to this upcoming schedule from everyone else who hears about it is that Montana "always" buys out OOC road trips, but it has been several years since that happened.

Of course, that is the future OOC schedule. While I am not mortified by the current OOC schedule, I do realize it's a glass house as far as going after anyone else's OOC schedule.

[Houndawg]

No doubt I will regret responding to this, because Green26 did bring this on himself and the rest of us.

However, Missoula - Fargo = 954 miles and Missoula-Brookings = 1055 miles. I realize the trip from Carbondale to Fargo is nothing to sneeze at (900 miles). Even so, Fargo and Brookings hardly qualify as "right next door" to Missoula. Moreover, OOC road trips to Lake Charles, Boone, Grand Forks, and Fargo are on the schedule in the next 5-6 years. The standard response to this upcoming schedule from everyone else who hears about it is that Montana "always" buys out OOC road trips, but it has been several years since that happened.

Thanks for edycatin' me.xthumbsupx

[4th and What?]

UNI is tough to place on my ranking because of the sos already mentioned. I have only seen them in the Iowa game, in which they looked like a monster team on both offense and defense. If they hit one of those two field goals at the end I think I have them in the #1 slot in my poll. Without beating Iowa, as long as there is an undefeated team in the CAA I think I am holding them at #2, just based on resume.

That being said, I think they will be the team to beat in the playoffs, based on the one game I saw them play as long as they can stay sharp.

[skinny_uncle]

UNI is tough to place on my ranking because of the sos already mentioned. I have only seen them in the Iowa game, in which they looked like a monster team on both offense and defense. If they hit one of those two field goals at the end I think I have them in the #1 slot in my poll. Without beating Iowa, as long as there is an undefeated team in the CAA I think I am holding them at #2, just based on resume.

That being said, I think they will be the team to beat in the playoffs, based on the one game I saw them play as long as they can stay sharp.
There aren't many undefeated teams left. I can only think of 4 (Montana, Richmond, UNH and Colgate). Did I miss anybody?

[Green26]

Thanks, PantherBob.

Montana has also played ranked NAU on the road, as Cal Poly and Davis as you mentioned. Cal Poly beat So. Dak. St. the week before playing UM. Depending on whose ranking/rating and the particular date, Montana has beaten 3 ranked teams up till this point.

By the way, previously, I was not commenting on out of conference schedules, I was commenting on schedules to date (as well as the overall schedule in the case of So. Ill.).

All this being said, like PantherBob said in another thread, no one is invinceable. While Montana has had some nice wins, and has shown some good things, it remains to be seen how good they are (or will become). They are progressing, but they are not yet clicking on enough cylinders and are certainly not on a roll (like they often get on). They could be beaten at any time. My feeling--from afar--is that UNI may be very good, but they haven't had a tough enough schedule to prove it. No knock on them, as the team certainly didn't prepare the schedule. For all of what appears to be the top teams, including all of the CAA teams, it remains to be seen who will emerge as the more dominant teams. Look at McNeese.

[DOME]

But there should be a disclaimer. We got them in the first game of the year. They were probably not as "up" for us as we were for them. They were still playing Paki O'Mera. They have now found their running game with a split of Robinson and Wegher.

And by the way this is not me being a Hawkeye apologist it may be me just trying to downplay the hype, and make sure I do not get ahead of myself. For the record I cheer against the Hawks every week that they play.

We are very good, but I do not think we should be ranked #1 and I really do not want to be the "favorite" for the national championship. I like being the underdog a little bit more, and maybe that just goes back to me being so disappointed in 2007.

It was also UNI's first game of the season.

Are you trying to say that Mark Farley is a better coach than Kirk Ferrentz?

[EVSpanther]

Based solely on what I saw in the NDSU/UNI game, I wasn't impressed. If NDSU would have been able to not have so many penalties, we would have had a chance to win. The UNI defense was sucking a lot of wind in the 4th quarter. Maybe conditioning will be a problem on the home stretch of the season and the post season. NDSU put up lots of yards and controlled the LOS late in the game.

Clearly, they can play better. I think there might also be a bit too much confidence, too. I wish I could just say it was swagger but they were pretty chippy and made some stupid unsportsmanlike penalties in the middle and late in the game. #24 should be suspended from this week's game. Prick move out of bounds and a bad call by the refs. (wouldn't have mattered, though...)

That all said, I'd really like UNI to win out.

I'll agree that our guy should be penalized somehow for his continual push out of bounds, but at the same time Pashall should be penalized for his reaction, as he did punch our guy in the helmet. Both players did something stupid and uncalled for in the area of sportsmanship and competition.

[unialum95]

The UNI vs SIU game will sort things out a little.

It does every year. xcoffeex

[MplsBison]

They're definitely a top 3 team in the nation, should compete for the NC this year.

But SIU and SDSU will have a chance to beat them if they play a perfect game.


MVFC is very talented this year, probably the best conference in the nation.

[Grizaholic17]

UNI is seeming like the team to beat. People can say that they have not played the best teams thus far, but when you lose to Iowa on the road by 1 point (the griz lost by almost 40 a few years back), then that team is something special. It could be said that Iowa didn't truly prepare like they should have for UNI, but nonetheless, the score speaks for itself.

And in response to the "montana hasn't played a great OOC schedule"...as stated, we have played 3 ranked teams as of the date we played them. We have 2 more ranked teams to play and possibly three by the end of the season. We are paying our dues...and I will admit that we are quite clicking yet. xpeacex

[UNI Pike]

Griz have been working to reverse the OOC stigma - UNI has been taking up MT's old habits. If we schedule Wagner & St Francis next year, I am going to slit my wrists.