Nearing on the horizon for the Hawkeyes is a home game with the immensely talented defending Big Ten champion Penn State Nittany Lions. It will be hard, but the Hawkeyes still have a game this weekend against the North Texas Mean Green.
Is it a potential trap game for the Hawkeyes who look to remain unbeaten heading into a game against a college football playoff contender, with not one, but two Heisman favorites on offense?
It most certainly could be. The Mean Green have a talented offense with the ‘Air Raid’ approach under young coach Seth Littrell. North Texas’ offensive coordinator was a college quarterback that put up record stats at Texas Tech in Graham Harrell.
The quarterback is a sophomore from Oklahoma names Mason Fine. Fine is off to a strong start with 6 touchdowns and 2 intereceptions to go along with 648 yards passing in two games. He leads Conference USA in many of the categories thus far.
Kirk Ferentz was complimentary of Fine, even comparing him to former Penn State QB Matt McGloin. McGloin came into Kinnick Stadium in 2012, and led the Nittany Lions to a beatdown of the Hawks:
He’s a really good player. Watching him on tape, he reminds me of McGloin from Penn State five years ago. I tell you, a lot of their skill guys, they’re not big guys, but he’s a really good quarterback. He makes good decisions. He’s fast, efficient, he’ll run the ball, throws it where it needs to go. He gets it there quickly. So, if you leave somebody open, he’s going to find that guy and get the ball there pretty effectively. So it’s going to be a big challenge for us.
Fine has two fellow sophomore wide receivers from the lone star state that he has been feeding in the first two games in Jalen Guyton and Michael Lawrence.
For the Hawkeyes, they must focus on the task at hand as North Texas was a bowl team last season, and will be trying to derail the positive vibes coming off of the thrilling victory in Ames.
Iowa is coming into the game with Co-Offensive Big Ten Player of The Week at quarterback in Nathan Stanley. Stanley is third in the nation in touchdown passes (8), and is still learning going into his third career start. Akrum Wadley has been dominant thus far this season, and can further push himself into the national spotlight with more eye popping statistics.
Defensively, the Hawkeyes were outstanding in the first game against the highly regarded Josh Allen and Wyoming offense. The starting linebackers Bo Bower, Josey Jewell and Ben Niemann collectively accrued 38 tackles. Last week against the Cyclones they gave up 41 points, and were gashed through the air, and the ground. This week could be a good time to figure things out before Trace McSorley and Saquon Barkley head west to Iowa City.
Predictions
North Texas @ Iowa:
Joe Favia (Dear Old Gold)– Hawkeyes 45 North Texas 14
Devin Keller (Dear Old Gold)– Hawkeyes Over North Texas
Patrick Mooney (Dear Old Gold)– Hawkeyes (4 Touchdowns) Over North Texas
Brendan Stiles (Hawkeyes Expert)- Hawkeyes Over North Texas
Illinois @ South Florida:
Joe, Devin, Patrick, Brendan – South Florida
Air Force @ Michigan:
Joe, Devin, Patrick, Brendan – Michigan
Northern Illinois @ Nebraska:
Joe, Devin, Patrick, Brendan – Nebraska
Morgan State @ Rutgers:
Joe, Devin, Patrick, Brendan – Rutgers
Wisconsin @ BYU:
Joe, Devin, Patrick, Brendan – Wisconsin
Middle Tennessee @ Minnesota:
Joe, Devin, Patrick, Brendan – Minnesota
Purdue @ Mizzou:
Joe, Brendan – Purdue
Devin, Patrick- Mizzou
Army @ Ohio State:
Joe, Devin, Patrick, Brendan – Ohio State
Georgia Southern @ Penn State:
Joe, Devin, Patrick, Brendan – Penn State
Bowling Green @ Northwestern:
Joe, Devin, Patrick, Brendan – Northwestern