Saturday, August 29, 2009

Seven days until Kickoff at Kinnick Stadium for the 2009 Iowa Football season ...

Well, we got a little football under our belts at Kingston Stadium last night, with the Washington Warriors victory over Cedar Falls in the opener, 28-10, in the high school opener for both teams.

Now, we turn to College Football in 2009 starting on Thursday, with games beginning for the in-state schools in FBS or FCS. Iowa State University (3-9 in '08) will open with North Dakota State (6-5, as a FCS school) on Thursday. The rest of the State gets started on Saturday, with the University of Northern Iowa coming down I-380 to Kinnick Stadium to open at the University of Iowa for another FBS vs. FCS showdown.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are coming off a 9-4 season (5-3 in the Big Ten) last year. The Hawkeyes look to become a contender in the Big Ten, for the first time, since the '04 season. UNI (12-3, as a FCS school).

Iowa has had some injuries and some suspensions entering the 2009 fall camp that they are working around. It will be interesting to see what newcomers step forward in '09. ESPN's Adam Rittenberg has a blog article titled: More on Iowa's injury situation. UNI has some suspension headed into the opener with Iowa too. A couple articles on the UNI situation: Chicago Tribune and The Gazette.

In Ames on Thursday, the Iowa State Cyclones will welcome in the Paul Rhoads era in football. The two year Gene Chizik era has moved on, after a 5-19 record. Since 1999, Iowa State is 6-0 in season openers vs. FCS opponents. All six opponents play in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, like North Dakota State. North Dakota State is 3-2 vs. FBS schools, with two losses totaling 4 points. Look for Iowa State to continue the streak in the 2009 opener against FCS schools.

peace

No comments: