Game week is here. The opener is usually the most-anticipated game of the season. With it being Northern Iowa this year, that takes a little off the first-game luster and has folks looking ahead to Washington and UCLA. But UNI is good. At today's media luncheon, linebacker David Nixon called Panthers running back Corey Lewis the best RB the Cougars will face this season. He also praised receiver Johnny Gray. Both are preseason All-Americans in the Football Championship Subdivision.
While Bronco Mendenhall compares UNI to Eastern Washington, a team BYU beat 42-7 last year, it's important to remember that EWU trailed just 14-7 late in the first half. UNI is better than EWU and will hang around for much of the opening half. But not for the whole game.
Here's how I see the game going, with a quarter-by-quarter scoring breakdown.
End of first quarter
BYU 10, UNI 7.
Cougars score early and add a Mitch Payne field goal. But a defensive miscue lets Gray get free for a score.
End of first half
BYU 24,UNI 7
Cougars start to take control with balanced offense. Defense settles in. 14-0 edge for Cougs in quarter No. 2.
End of third quarter
BYU 34, UNI 10
Panthers add a field goal, but Cougars score 10 more.
Final score
BYU 41, UNI 17
Lewis breaks off big run for Panthers' second TD. Cougs win big in opener.
I played the game out video-game style today and BYU won 49-21. Max Hall went 13-for-25 for 357 yards and four touchdowns. Lewis scored all three of UNI's TDs, ripping off some long runs. But BYU ran well with Unga and, other than some surprising picks thrown by Hall, controlled the game. It was tied 14-14 at one point, though.
Here's to Saturday. 4 p.m. The Mtn. (channel 616 on DirecTV).
1 comment:
Just how did you play it out "game style?" Do you mean you used some video game and somehow gave certain possitions various strengths or weaknesses - if so I honestly didn't know you could do that and would love to know the game and system you used.
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