Good cop: Owen Slinde
After a down year and some off-the-field challenges, the Iowa State Cyclones are back in action against the University of Northern Iowa Panthers.
Sure, there are some uncertainties going into Saturday’s game, but I believe there to be great upside as well.
First, Cartevious Norton will get to showcase his true potential as he has been healthy and not barring any injuries. The running back room is deep and each player has different attributes so the confidence within the room is great.
Second, there are seven true freshmen in the two-deep listed on the depth chart, including Jack Sadowsky as the top gun for middle linebacker. This class has good potential and we will see flashes of it this weekend.
With a brand new coaching look on offense, pretty much revamping the whole staff, and possibly the best defensive backs in the Big 12 with T.J. Tampa and Myles Purchase, the Cyclones will use the energy of Jack Trice Stadium to their advantage.
Expect to see many new players in different positions on Saturday as they try to figure out what works well.
Score Prediction: Iowa State 31, Northern Iowa 14
Bad cop: Cayden Storm
UNI is an opponent that always gives Iowa State trouble, even in years where Iowa State looks like a possible Big 12 contender, so, in a game that starts the season filled with so many question marks, expect UNI to give Iowa State everything they can handle.
Iowa State has had a disaster of an off-season stemming from the gambling scandal that rocked the state of Iowa’s two biggest Universities. Most notably absent from the Cyclones roster are 2022 starting quarterback Hunter Dekkers and breakout star running back Jihrel Brock.
Losing Dekkers and Brock are huge blows to Iowa State, who already had a lot to prove on the offensive side of the ball this year after averaging only 20.17 points per game in 2022 and losing star receiver Xavier Hutchinson.
Matt Campbell’s plan to replace Dekkers seems to be a quarterback-by-committee approach, as it is expected that Rocco Becht, JJ Kohl and maybe even Tanner Hughes will take some snaps on Saturday.
With no one standing out at practice enough to take a stranglehold on the job and it being the first career start for whoever eventually wins out, I have little confidence that we will see a standout performance from the Cyclones offense as they try to figure things out with their new pieces. First-year offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase will have his work cut out for him.
Luckily for the offense, Iowa State’s defense has been as good as they come in the Big 12. While the Cyclones defense may be strong throughout this upcoming season, there will likely be some growing pains.
Week one prevents some challenges as they have to replace all-time sack leader and first-round pick Will McDonald, linebacker O’Rien Vance and safety Anthony Johnson. Though these gaps in the defense might take time to fill, I have faith that defensive coordinator Jon Heacock and his players will do just enough to escape with a week one win.
