The Northern Iowa Panthers will come into Ames this Saturday in search of a great way to start the season. That’s not going to be an easy task, though, against the Iowa State Cyclones, though, the Panthers have split the last four meetings with Iowa State (+10000 to win the national title) since 2013. Read on fore preview of this matchup.
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Betting Preview for the Northern Iowa Panthers vs Iowa State Cyclones Week 1 College Football Game on August 31 2019
Where: Jack Trice Stadium, Ames
When: Saturday, August 31 , 2019, 12:00 PM ET
Line: Northern Iowa Panthers (Odds) vs. Iowa State Cyclones (Odds) – view all 2019 NCAAF lines
TV Broadcast: FS1
Betting on the Northern Iowa Panthers (0-0 Overall / 0-0 Conference)
The Panthers are coming into this game as the underdog, but don’t tell that to Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell, who’s had experience losing to Northern Iowa. In fact, his first game as the Cyclones’ head coach resulted in a 25-20 defeat at the hands of the Panthers back in 2016. Apart from that, Campbell thinks highly of Panthers quarterback Will McElvain. A redshirt freshman, McElvain was formerly a walk-on in Iowa before changing decision to go to Northern Iowa instead. Campbell has been on the record saying that he thinks the “world” of McElvain. Hopefully for the Panthers, McElvain will show his promising talent and be a stable presence in the pocket for a team that turned the ball over just 14 times in 2018. Helping McElvain on offense is tight end Briley Moore, who paced the Panthers last season with 39 catches and 536 receiving yards to go with four touchdowns.
Betting on the Iowa State Cyclones (0-0 Overall / 0-0 Conference)
Replacing running back David Montgomery (now a Chicago Bears tailback) isn’t going to be easy, especially with the production he gave the Cyclones out of the backfield last season. The Cyclones are likely to find someone who can take over the spot of Montgomery, but they can always go for the running back by committee approach. At the very least, Iowa State has a sturdy offensive line to use in its running game. Last season, the Cyclones were 18th in the nation with 119.8 rushing yards per game. On the other side of the ball, the Cyclones’ defense has enough talent and experience to deflect whatever the Panthers’ offense throws Iowa State’s way. A total of eight starters have decided to give it another year to be part of the Cyclones’ defense that allowed just 22.8 points and 355.0 total yards per game last season.
The under is 4-1-1 in the Cyclones’ last six games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Cyclones win, 30-13.
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