– Last Updated on January 25, 2023 1:19 pm
Week 1: Panthers vs Cyclones Odds
College football betting sees the Northern Iowa Panthers taking on the Iowa State Cyclones Saturday September 5th at Jack Trice Stadium. Ames Iowa Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NCAA football season long so stay tuned for more FREE college football predictions.
Northern Iowa (0-0) vs. Iowa State (0-0)
Week 1
Date: Saturday, September 5
Time: 8:00 PM
Venue: Jack Trice Stadium Ames, Iowa
NCAA Football Spread: OFF
NCAA Betting Total: OFF
NCAA Moneyline Odds: OFF
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Can lightning strike the Cyclones for 3 years in a row? Well, 2 seasons back they lost to Northern Iowa in the opener and last season they lost to North Dakota State in the opener and those are both FCS teams.
Yeah Iowa State is from the Big 12, but they only won 2 games last season and went 0-9 in conference play. They cannot take Northern Iowa for granted, as they went 9-5 last season and beat the Cyclones 2 seasons ago.
NIU did lose their first 2 games of the season last year, but only lost to Iowa by 8 points and Hawaii by 3 points.
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Iowa State
One of the reasons for optimism this season for Iowa State is that their defense cannot be as bad as last season.
They ranked last in the nation in yards allowed last season, but they have many returning players on that side of the ball and 2013 junior college defensive player of the year Demond Tucker.
The Cyclones went through a 4-player competition to win the QB battle and Sam B. Richardson will be back under center after passing for 2,669 yards and 18 TD last season.
The top 2 WR’s for Iowa State are back and while Richardson also led the team in rushing last season this season the ISU rushing attack will be a 3-headed monster with Tyler Brown, Mike Warren and Joshua Thomas in the backfield.
In an interesting stat Richardson is 1 of 7 returning FBS players who have combined for at least 4,000 yards passing and 1,000 rushing in their careers.
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Northern Iowa
It looks as if Sawyer Kollmorgen will get the start under center for the Panthers and he has a decent WR corps and last season passed for 1,635 yards with 12 TD.
The Panthers were a run-first team last season with star RB David Johnson gone. Ex Kansas RB Darrian Miller will be taking over at RB and he has some big shoes to fill and must play well for NIU to score another upset against Iowa State.
The main reason Iowa State lost 2 seasons ago to the Panthers was that Johnson rushed for 240 yards.
Iowa State S Kamari Cotton-Moya was the Big 12 defensive freshman of the year last season with 77 tackles and he will be one of the main guys that will have to keep Miller from having a big game on the ground.
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Iowa State’s improved defense will be showcased in this game, as they will contain Miller and the Panthers will not light up the scoreboard.
NCAA Football Handicapping Trends
* Cyclones are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games.
* Cyclones are 0-3 ATS in their last 3 home games.
* Cyclones have an Under record of 4-0 in their last 4 games.
* Cyclones have an Over record of 4-2 in their last 6 home games.
Week 1 NCAA Football Prediction
The Cyclones will not fall for a 3rd straight season to a FCS team and they will get some revenge on the Panthers from their loss 2 seasons ago.
4* Free NCAA Betting Pick: Iowa State By 3 TD’s
This game will not be a massive blowout, but look for Iowa State to easy win by double digits.
Week 1 Score Prediction: Iowa State 33 – Northern Iowa 10
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