Northern Iowa

[grizband]

I'm curious how other voters are considering Northern Iowa. Although their record is 2-3, UNI has played one of the toughest schedules in the nation to date. Reviewing their schedules shows close loses to top 10 programs (Montana and EWU), an FBS win (Iowa State), a conference win over SIU, and a conference loss to South Dakota. I'm honestly not sure where (or even if) to rank them at this point. Generally a 2-3 doesn't have a strong argument for inclusion in the poll, and I'm wondering if other voters are struggling with them as well.

[Catsfan90]

I'm not to sure how good of a team USD is? Can anyone shed some light on that? I'm struggling with this as well.

[grizband]

I'm not to sure how good of a team USD is? Can anyone shed some light on that? I'm struggling with this as well.
South Dakota is another interesting team, with a record of 2-3, but they have also played a fairly tough schedule. An FBS loss (New Mexico), a close win over Weber State (52-49). a close loss to North Dakota (47-44), a loss to Youngstown State (30-20), and now a close win over UNI (28-25).

[ursus arctos horribilis]

Man, this is hard because of what you say already. I think this depends on people's individual prctices on these things. I think that based on what they have done so far, they are top 25 and possibly just inside the top 20 but if you have them in the top 15 then I think that is fairly questionable....or at least starting to get in the questionable area.

If you didn't have em' in there I could see that but I think a case could pretty easily made that this is also questionable. As I said, UNI puts us in our usual tough spot to figure them out.

[Catsfan90]

Man, this is hard because of what you say already. I think this depends on people's individual prctices on these things. I think that based on what they have done so far, they are top 25 and possibly just inside the top 20 but if you have them in the top 15 then I think that is fairly questionable....or at least starting to get in the questionable area.

If you didn't have em' in there I could see that but I think a case could pretty easily made that this is also questionable. As I said, UNI puts us in our usual tough spot to figure them out.

If it were any other team/ conference I would say absolutely leave them out. But when SOS is thrown in, I can see a case going either way.

[ursus arctos horribilis]

If it were any other team/ conference I would say absolutely leave them out. But when SOS is thrown in, I can see a case going either way.

Yep, it's why all these teams and situations need to be looked at individually. There is a great value in the questioning like this and the mincing together of many different philosophies...which is what happens every week.

[grizband]

Should I throw this update debate on the main page? Might garner more responses

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[ursus arctos horribilis]

I'll move it over but poll voters should dang well be checking this forum as it is.

[TheKingpin28]

This was not a fair thing. I somehow left out Central Arkansas last week and did not realize it until it was too late and making sure they got in, really messed up how I wanted things to look. If I could have 26 teams, it would have been a lot easier but alas, it was not. I thought about it for about 20-25 minutes before I screamed at my computer for UNI losing and then tried to do the best I could from there. Had UNI won, I would not have felt the need to want 26 but it was not easy.

[PantherRob82]

UNI needs to prove something at some point. Sure they could have fairly easily been 5-0, but they also could be 1-4 just as easily(in which case they would win 6 straight).

[kalm]

It's tough finding any teams past 23 who have a quality win and even a mediocre SOS other UNI.

[Milktruck74]

I think if UNI loses to YSU, they all the sudden become a scary team for NDSU....A team with nothing to lose (probably not going to make it into the playoffs on that track) will actually play looser and actually look at NDSU as their season statement. If I'm the Bison, I want them to have won both of the next two before I show up at their place. just a thought.

[southpaw]

How much credit is UNI receiving for being UNI? If it was Weber State with the same credentials would people be ranking them in the top25? I doubt it.

[BigGoosie13]

Not to hijack the thread, but I was looking and the last three UNI-SDSU games were decided by 3 points, including two overtime games and a 10-7 game on Hobo Day. We might be a thrown punch away from starting a rivalry.

[PantherRob82]

How much credit is UNI receiving for being UNI? If it was Weber State with the same credentials would people be ranking them in the top25? I doubt it.

If Weber had an FBS win, I dominant conference win and lost to Montana and EWU in close battles like UNI did they would absolutely be ranked. Plenty of examples of non-name teams getting credit like that. Look at Nicholls State.

[POD Knows]

I might keep them in the top 25 because I think they would beat the bottom five in the poll pretty easily but who knows with those guys.

[nodak651]

I might keep them in the top 25 because I think they would beat the bottom five in the poll pretty easily but who knows with those guys.

Will South Dakota be #19 in your poll?

[dudeitsaid]

This whole debate is something that often seems to happen with UNI. My recollection is they are often the highest ranked team with the worst record. I'm never really sure why that is. But last year, Superman started a thread with this post:


So I took a look back at all of the Top 25 pre-season polls and compared them to the final poll each year to find out what teams are the most overrated by AGS voters and the most underrated by AGS voters year after year in a comparison of where they begin and end in the polls. Here ya go...

Overrated (in order by most overrated teams first):
1) Northern Iowa
2) Delaware
3) McNeese State
4) James Madison
5) Furman
6) Montana
7) Massachusetts
8) Cal Poly
9) Elon
10) Montana State


Originally Posted by bkrownd http://www.anygivensaturday.com/images/SeamusLight/buttons/viewpost-right.png (http://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?p=2269467#post2269467) You gotta be worth noticing to get "overrated"...just say'n...


That's kind of my point. We, collectively, continue to overvalue the same teams season after season at the beginning of the year, while ignoring teams that prove more often than not we aren't giving them the consideration they deserve. Basically allowing UNI, Delaware, and McNeese (they were the most overrated by a wide margin) to get by on name recognition while continuing to look down on schools like Coastal Carolina, SC State, and Jacksonville State because they aren't from one of the perceived "power" conferences. So these overrated teams we think are worth noticing, more often than not, aren't worth as much as we assume.

Thought that was an interesting thread...but it appears once again, maybe UNI is a bit overrated? And maybe it's just because the often have flashes of brilliance that show what they could be. But it does seem like they put the voters in the position of wondering what to do with them more often then not. Wish I had time to vote, but I work seven days a week most of the time, and wouldn't want to do the disservice of not being able to apply the required diligence to give a solid poll.

[Gangtackle11]

It's like death & taxes is the UNI debate. Mark your calendar.

[Bisonwinagn]

I think if UNI loses to YSU, they all the sudden become a scary team for NDSU....A team with nothing to lose (probably not going to make it into the playoffs on that track) will actually play looser and actually look at NDSU as their season statement. If I'm the Bison, I want them to have won both of the next two before I show up at their place. just a thought.

Blah UNI always plays well against NDSU no matter what their record is. They could be 0-10 and still have a great game against the Bison. Also UNI tends to play much better with their backs to the wall and I would expect them to beat YSU. They have 4 top 25 games left and could earn their way back up in the poll.

[dudeitsaid]

BTW, it also seems UNI stays high in the Sagarin and Massey, no matter what the record is. They're 4th in the Sagarin, a couple spots above an undefeated Chatty team. They are 13th in Massey.

[BisonTru]

UNI is one of the top 25 teams in the country. I see no reason to push a team out of the poll because they went and challenged themselves in the OOC. If they played three pioneer teams and were 4-1. How many people would have then outside the 25?

[POD Knows]

Will South Dakota be #19 in your poll?

I don't know, they are hard to figure out as well but they are playing some decent football. I think the win over UNI is kind of a one off deal like the win against NDSU last year.

[geaux_sioux]

I don't know, they are hard to figure out as well but they are playing some decent football. I think the win over UNI is kind of a one off deal like the win against NDSU last year.

Because of their qb they can beat anyone. They can also lose to anyone because of him as well though since he makes some questionable throws.

[semobison]

I don't know, they are hard to figure out as well but they are playing some decent football. I think the win over UNI is kind of a one off deal like the win against NDSU last year.

Except USD is 2-2 against UNI the last four seasons. Go figure!

[penguinpower]

Youngstown, as bad as they have played im October over that last few years was also a top 25 team with this logic, but they haven't finished as a top 25. I'm not saying that YSU will beat them. YSU doesn't play the strong schedule, but they were better than many teams in the playoffs.

[POD Knows]

Except USD is 2-2 against UNI the last four seasons. Go figure!

Yea I know, weird. Some teams just don't match up that well against each other and USD had some really bad teams during those years but that program looks like it might be turning a corner, or not, who knows.

[YoUDeeMan]

UNI's QB is erratic (how is that guy still in the POTY award racexeyebrowx) and their D keeps making mistakes. They are not a top 25 team.

Yet they get rewarded.

To the people who say UNI would be 4-1 with a different schedule...YOU DON'T KNOW THAT. You simply don't know that. Every team has a bad game or two and could lose to just about anyone in the top 40, but some guys make up stories that their team would be perfect if they played imaginary opponents.

If they go 2-9, some dolts would, and some computer might, still put them in the top 25 because of their SOS.

Folks, at some point you have to WIN. And at some point you have to stop being erratic and making excuses.

The games are played, and the results (W-L) should matter. To not move teams up or down based upon actual results is absurd...you might as well just write down your top 25 at the beginning of the year and not move a damn team because you think that is where they belong IF something else happened other than what actually happened or IF they played some imaginary team or IF they were in a different conference of IF they were in some different reality.

Delaware plays nova tough each year, so if nova makes the playoffs, why doesn't the committee add UD because UD would make some noise in that bracket especially if they played in a different conference. Cripes...that is how absurd some of you guys sound.

UNI can play their way back into the top 25, but to put a 2-3 team in there because you think they would have had different results if we were on Earth II is absurd. When you lose, it actually means something.

[BisonTru]

UNI's QB is erratic (how is that guy still in the POTY award racexeyebrowx) and their D keeps making mistakes. They are not a top 25 team.

Yet they get rewarded.

To the people who say UNI would be 4-1 with a different schedule...YOU DON'T KNOW THAT. You simply don't know that. Every team has a bad game or two and could lose to just about anyone in the top 40, but some guys make up stories that their team would be perfect if they played imaginary opponents.

If they go 2-9, some dolts would, and some computer might, still put them in the top 25 because of their SOS.

Folks, at some point you have to WIN. And at some point you have to stop being erratic and making excuses.

The games are played, and the results (W-L) should matter. To not move teams up or down based upon actual results is absurd...you might as well just write down your top 25 at the beginning of the year and not move a damn team because you think that is where they belong IF something else happened other than what actually happened or IF they played some imaginary team or IF they were in a different conference of IF they were in some different reality.

Delaware plays nova tough each year, so if nova makes the playoffs, why doesn't the committee add UD because UD would make some noise in that bracket especially if they played in a different conference. Cripes...that is how absurd some of you guys sound.

UNI can play their way back into the top 25, but to put a 2-3 team in there because you think they would have had different results if we were on Earth II is absurd. When you lose, it actually means something.

Wow the same dude that's propping up SHSU for their impressive close game with NDSU last year is going to lecture everyone else on imaginary games. 🙄

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

UNI is one of the top 25 teams in the country. I see no reason to push a team out of the poll because they went and challenged themselves in the OOC. If they played three pioneer teams and were 4-1. How many people would have then outside the 25?


They are out of my top 25 poll this week.

[MR. CHICKEN]

.........SOMEBODAH.....CHECK ON CLENZ.......HOPE HE'S NOT HANGIN'....LIKE UH.....HALLMARK X-MAS ORNAMENT........IN DUH BACKYARD......OAK................BROCK!

[kalm]

UNI's QB is erratic (how is that guy still in the POTY award racexeyebrowx) and their D keeps making mistakes. They are not a top 25 team.

Yet they get rewarded.

To the people who say UNI would be 4-1 with a different schedule...YOU DON'T KNOW THAT. You simply don't know that. Every team has a bad game or two and could lose to just about anyone in the top 40, but some guys make up stories that their team would be perfect if they played imaginary opponents.

If they go 2-9, some dolts would, and some computer might, still put them in the top 25 because of their SOS.

Folks, at some point you have to WIN. And at some point you have to stop being erratic and making excuses.

The games are played, and the results (W-L) should matter. To not move teams up or down based upon actual results is absurd...you might as well just write down your top 25 at the beginning of the year and not move a damn team because you think that is where they belong IF something else happened other than what actually happened or IF they played some imaginary team or IF they were in a different conference of IF they were in some different reality.

Delaware plays nova tough each year, so if nova makes the playoffs, why doesn't the committee add UD because UD would make some noise in that bracket especially if they played in a different conference. Cripes...that is how absurd some of you guys sound.

UNI can play their way back into the top 25, but to put a 2-3 team in there because you think they would have had different results if we were on Earth II is absurd. When you lose, it actually means something.

They still have to play NDSU, WIU, SDSU, and YSU. The odds of them remaining in the top 25 are slim. But for right now, a case that their FBS win and 2 losses by a combined 13 points against a top 4 SOS keeps them ranked is justified. Or should we start ranking 1 loss pioneer and MEAC teams in the top 10 now?

[Gil Dobie]

UNI players should be a top 25 team year in and year out. The way they play against NDSU every year is a testament to there ability. Coaching on the other hand, may be keeping them down. The coaching staff is good, but there just seems to be something missing to get them over the top.

[kalm]

UNI players should be a top 25 team year in and year out. The way they play against NDSU every year is a testament to there ability. Coaching on the other hand, may be keeping them down. The coaching staff is good, but there just seems to be something missing to get them over the top.

Didn't they lose their OC after only 1 year? He seemed to have them headed in the right direction at the end of last season.

[FCSwatcher]

UNI's QB is erratic (how is that guy still in the POTY award racexeyebrowx) and their D keeps making mistakes. They are not a top 25 team.

Yet they get rewarded.

To the people who say UNI would be 4-1 with a different schedule...YOU DON'T KNOW THAT. You simply don't know that. Every team has a bad game or two and could lose to just about anyone in the top 40, but some guys make up stories that their team would be perfect if they played imaginary opponents.

If they go 2-9, some dolts would, and some computer might, still put them in the top 25 because of their SOS.

Folks, at some point you have to WIN. And at some point you have to stop being erratic and making excuses.

The games are played, and the results (W-L) should matter. To not move teams up or down based upon actual results is absurd...you might as well just write down your top 25 at the beginning of the year and not move a damn team because you think that is where they belong IF something else happened other than what actually happened or IF they played some imaginary team or IF they were in a different conference of IF they were in some different reality.

Delaware plays nova tough each year, so if nova makes the playoffs, why doesn't the committee add UD because UD would make some noise in that bracket especially if they played in a different conference. Cripes...that is how absurd some of you guys sound.

UNI can play their way back into the top 25, but to put a 2-3 team in there because you think they would have had different results if we were on Earth II is absurd. When you lose, it actually means something.

Reputation Bias and conference bias


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[UNIFanSince1983]

Do not rank UNI we are not good enough right now.

[McNeese75]

They are out of my top 25 poll this week.

No doubt they have potential, but at some point they have to perform.

[UNIFanSince1983]

Didn't they lose their OC after only 1 year? He seemed to have them headed in the right direction at the end of last season.

Yes we did. He had some philosophical disagreements with Farley so they parted ways.

Not sure how much it really affected us unless he was a better play caller because they look like the same plays as last year. They really just aren't working the way they did at the end of last year.

[clenz]

I'm not even going to read the thread.


If you are voting for UNI you shouldn't be voting

/thread.

[The Yo Show]

I'm not even going to read the thread.


If you are voting for UNI you shouldn't be voting

/thread.

I disagree. There is an argument to put them in the last couple spots of your top 25 in my opinion. However, depending on how this week turns out, that may not be the case next week.

[Bisonator]

Sucks. That is all. :D

[smilo]

I'm not even going to read the thread.


If you are voting for UNI you shouldn't be voting

/thread.

I struggled to find more than 22 teams that deserved to be ranked in all honesty, so I just gave them one of the other three spots. Weak back-end right now.

[OhioHen]

General rule - I won't rank a team with a losing record unless I can make a compelling argument to myself that they are truly better than the similar teams with a (barely) winning record. UNI is the one team that drives me batty every year - they're THIS close to being a top five team but instead show up as a sub-.500 team.

This week - couldn't pull the trigger and they are my first team out (and thus the most significant loss).

[BisonTru]

General rule - I won't rank a team with a losing record

This is why every AD is tripping over themselves to schedule the Pioneer/SWAC teams OOC.

[clenz]

Realistically the easy way to look at this is the team is about 3 or 4 missed field goals away from being 5-0.

The deeper dive reveals that the special teams is the easy scapegoat for the complete lack of offensive identity driven entirely around Farley's fascination with an offense built around a quarterback he wants to have but has never had.

Until Farley decides to end this "dual threat" system with quarterbacks that aren't a dual threat and goes back to a power style with a throwing quarterback UNI will never be anything different than they are now.

The growing amount of apathy, and disengagement, from the UNI fan base in regards to football is unmatched - even by what UD has gone through. Before the game was over on Saturday I was having a deep dive conversation about the basketball season. UNI fans that haven't missed a game in decades are saying they will skip any game that conflicts with a playoff MLB game of their team.

Same story different year. Only difference is UNI fans have finally hit their breaking point on it.

[UNIFanSince1983]

Realistically the easy way to look at this is the team is about 3 or 4 missed field goals away from being 5-0.

The deeper dive reveals that the special teams is the easy scapegoat for the complete lack of offensive identity driven entirely around Farley's fascination with an offense built around a quarterback he wants to have but has never had.

Until Farley decides to end this "dual threat" system with quarterbacks that aren't a dual threat and goes back to a power style with a throwing quarterback UNI will never be anything different than they are now.

The growing amount of apathy, and disengagement, from the UNI fan base in regards to football is unmatched - even by what UD has gone through. Before the game was over on Saturday I was having a deep dive conversation about the basketball season. UNI fans that haven't missed a game in decades are saying they will skip any game that conflicts with a playoff MLB game of their team.

Same story different year. Only difference is UNI fans have finally hit their breaking point on it.

On the bright side barring another FBS running QB transfer (which I am not counting out yet) Farley will have no choice but to have a passing QB next year.

As has been shown it is easier to run the spread with a passing QB who is sort of mobile. Instead of a running QB who can sort of pass.

[MR. CHICKEN]

........STRENGTH UH SKED....KEEPS 'EM AFLOAT...........N. IOWA AD.........CONSIDER....SAC. STATE/U.C DAVIS...TA COUNTER.....DA MEAT GRINDER.....VERAH HONORABLE.....TA WANT DUH TOUGHIES......BUT IFIN' YER PLAYIN' FO' UH DANCE TICKET........AT SOME POINT......DUH "L's'........GOTTAH OUTWEIGH....DUH....SKED RATING.......BROCK!

[KPSUL]

There are only 4 teams in FBS that have played a schedule as tough as UNI's: UNI, NDSU, EWU and MT. No one else is very close, so that makes it a tough call since it is impossible to make a comparison between UNI and any one but the other three with the brutal early schedules. I don't think anyone is wrong for deciding not to rank them, nor do I think ranking them in the 21-25 range is wrong. It is legitimately a subjective and reasonable call either way.

[clenz]

On the bright side barring another FBS running QB transfer (which I am not counting out yet) Farley will have no choice but to have a passing QB next year.

As has been shown it is easier to run the spread with a passing QB who is sort of mobile. Instead of a running QB who can sort of pass.
I wouldn't doubt he brings one in. It's what he does.

Then again, he already brought one in before this year....kind of.

The kicker is he has said Eli Dunne has the physical and mental tools to be an NFL QB....yet he won't play him over Bailey. Why? Who the **** knows. We've wasted two years of Dunne's eligibility on Bailey. Dunne is one of the best QBs to ever play high school football in the state of Iowa (3 year starter, 3x All State, 8,107 passing yards, 538 completions, 75 touchdowns...won the "Iowa Heisman" as a senior). He's 6'5 230lbs. He has the arm to make the throws. He has the ability to move when needed. When asked preseason if Dunne would see the field this year, given Farley's praise of him, Farley responded "We might work in a series or two but other than that no".

There are two other QBs currently on the roster that will challenge for the starting spot next year - the kid that was "kind of" a transfer this year. He came in real late - like a week before camp - is Colton Howell from Butler CC in Kansas (one of the top CC in the nation). He was going to be their starting QB this year but about a week and a half before camp decided to withdraw from Butler and transfer to UNI. Supposedly he did this because Collin Klien was hired as QB coach away from K-State and Howell and Klien are close. I know nothing of the kid other than he played a bit as a freshman at Butler CC and was supposed to be their starter this year. Tape looks good, but who doesn't "on tape". He apparently went 3-0 as a starter as a freshman with a 71% completion rate. Stats are harder to verify though as different sites show different things and Butlers website seems quite unreliable. His tape shows he's real good at the fade route, which is good because UNI loves throwing 30 yards down field outside the numbers. He seems to be a passer that can run - along the lines of a TC at South Dakota State. http://www.hudl.com/video/3/1671077/5721cfb10c5e681224a874fd


The only other QB that could challenge is Christian Ellsworth from St. Libory, Nebraska. He's 6'2 212lbs. Ellsworth also seems like a kid that throws but can run if needed. As a senior he was 200-324 for 2,300 yards and 24 touchdowns....was also the teams leading rusher. He holds Nebraska state records in career passing yards and career completions and completed 68% of his passes as a senior in 2015. His tape certainly shows he isn't a burner in open space by any means. It'd also guess that he went to a pretty small school as he's bigger than most OL and DL on the field with him. I'd guess that's why he never got an offer from the schools listed as recruiting him. He had Iowa, Nebraska, K-State, Kansas, Colorado listed as recruiting him. Took visits to Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa. I'd guess, what appears to be a lack of competition, kept an offer off the table and kept him as a walk on offer. I looked up his home town - it's not a town. It's an unincorporated community. Then I looked and he played at Grand Island NW...a school of about 650 kids 9-12, which is about the same size of HS Dunne went too.

It looks like the "running" quarterback isn't going away. It does, however, look like the shift might be going back towards a pass first quarterback. Probably closer to Pat Grace than Eric Sanders, but I'd take Pat Grace the quarterback in a second. Pat Grace the human being? He can pass on.

To be honest, we are seeing that shift with Bailey, which is causing the problems. They are wanting him to be a passer. They have built a midset for him to be a passer first, which isn't him. During camp they'd blow the play dead if he broke the tackle box. He's trying to hard to be a passer and it's not working. Which goes back to this staff not being able to identify what they want to be and building on it.

I'm hopeful we see Dunne become that guy.

[Professor Chaos]

Here's how I look at it. I put UNI at #21 above teams like EIU, SUU, UNH, Harvard, and NC A&T. My reasoning is I look at how well do I think those teams would've done with UNI's schedule:

@ Iowa St
vs Montana
@ EWU
vs SIU
@ USD

I couldn't say any of those teams would be better than 2-3. Having said that I looked at how close UNI played @EWU and vs Montana (who I have at #2 and #9) and think would any of those aforementioned teams have played those two top 10 teams that well? My answer was no I don't think so.

Is that a really subjective process? Yup, but it makes sense for me and I use it quite frequently to try to differentiate teams who have a vastly varying strength of schedules.

[ngineer]

I agree with the conundrum. I do not like giving credit for "good losses" and, yet, a close loss to a bigger or very similar team should say something. In the end, to quote Dennis Green, "You are what your record says you are."

[UNIFanSince1983]

I wouldn't doubt he brings one in. It's what he does.

Then again, he already brought one in before this year....kind of.

The kicker is he has said Eli Dunne has the physical and mental tools to be an NFL QB....yet he won't play him over Bailey. Why? Who the **** knows. We've wasted two years of Dunne's eligibility on Bailey. Dunne is one of the best QBs to ever play high school football in the state of Iowa (3 year starter, 3x All State, 8,107 passing yards, 538 completions, 75 touchdowns...won the "Iowa Heisman" as a senior). He's 6'5 230lbs. He has the arm to make the throws. He has the ability to move when needed. When asked preseason if Dunne would see the field this year, given Farley's praise of him, Farley responded "We might work in a series or two but other than that no".

There are two other QBs currently on the roster that will challenge for the starting spot next year - the kid that was "kind of" a transfer this year. He came in real late - like a week before camp - is Colton Howell from Butler CC in Kansas (one of the top CC in the nation). He was going to be their starting QB this year but about a week and a half before camp decided to withdraw from Butler and transfer to UNI. Supposedly he did this because Collin Klien was hired as QB coach away from K-State and Howell and Klien are close. I know nothing of the kid other than he played a bit as a freshman at Butler CC and was supposed to be their starter this year. Tape looks good, but who doesn't "on tape". He apparently went 3-0 as a starter as a freshman with a 71% completion rate. Stats are harder to verify though as different sites show different things and Butlers website seems quite unreliable. His tape shows he's real good at the fade route, which is good because UNI loves throwing 30 yards down field outside the numbers. He seems to be a passer that can run - along the lines of a TC at South Dakota State. http://www.hudl.com/video/3/1671077/5721cfb10c5e681224a874fd


The only other QB that could challenge is Christian Ellsworth from St. Libory, Nebraska. He's 6'2 212lbs. Ellsworth also seems like a kid that throws but can run if needed. As a senior he was 200-324 for 2,300 yards and 24 touchdowns....was also the teams leading rusher. He holds Nebraska state records in career passing yards and career completions and completed 68% of his passes as a senior in 2015. His tape certainly shows he isn't a burner in open space by any means. It'd also guess that he went to a pretty small school as he's bigger than most OL and DL on the field with him. I'd guess that's why he never got an offer from the schools listed as recruiting him. He had Iowa, Nebraska, K-State, Kansas, Colorado listed as recruiting him. Took visits to Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa. I'd guess, what appears to be a lack of competition, kept an offer off the table and kept him as a walk on offer. I looked up his home town - it's not a town. It's an unincorporated community. Then I looked and he played at Grand Island NW...a school of about 650 kids 9-12, which is about the same size of HS Dunne went too.

It looks like the "running" quarterback isn't going away. It does, however, look like the shift might be going back towards a pass first quarterback. Probably closer to Pat Grace than Eric Sanders, but I'd take Pat Grace the quarterback in a second. Pat Grace the human being? He can pass on.

To be honest, we are seeing that shift with Bailey, which is causing the problems. They are wanting him to be a passer. They have built a midset for him to be a passer first, which isn't him. During camp they'd blow the play dead if he broke the tackle box. He's trying to hard to be a passer and it's not working. Which goes back to this staff not being able to identify what they want to be and building on it.

I'm hopeful we see Dunne become that guy.

See that is what I am looking for. We need a QB that is a passer first and can run if needed. I think all 3 of the guys you mentioned seem to be that way to me. Like you said more in the mold of Pat Grace and Eric Sanders. Far from the mold of Rennie, Carnes (who honestly wasn't a good runner AND couldn't pass), and Bailey.

[Kemo]

UNI is still in my poll, not because they deserve to be, but rather I have to fill 25 spots and there aren't 25 teams more deserving. Pretty simple, really.

[Penguin Nation]

There are not 25 teams in the FCS that would defeat UNI. Teams shouldn't be punished for a strong SOS, just like teams shouldn't be rewarded for playing a weak OOC schedule. Massey has them ranked #13 above teams like JMU. If I were making a poll, they'd be upper teens.

[YoUDeeMan]

Wow the same dude that's propping up SHSU for their impressive close game with NDSU last year is going to lecture everyone else on imaginary games. 

What game last year? xeyebrowx

Montana's meth problem must be moving east.

SHSU played NDSU two years ago. SHSU had several wide open WRs behind the NDSU defense and Johnson barely missed them. Never was impressed with Johnson's accuracy...too inconsistent. I referenced that game, and also the JSU/NDSU game from the following year, because sometimes looking at scores or stats doesn't always indicate how close a game could have been.

In the same vein, the people that hang their hats on the fact that UNI has had several close games with the Bison like to say that means UNI is one of the best teams out there.

A few plays can alter a game significantly putting a close game out of reach, and sometimes close scores don't indicate how another team isn't as good as it seems. Furthermore, just because one team has a style of play that allows them to stay close to a highly rankled team, doesn't mean that style of play from the loser indicates that they would be a better team against other teams with different styles.

[UNIFanSince1983]

What game last year? xeyebrowx

Montana's meth problem must be moving east.

SHSU played NDSU two years ago. SHSU had several wide open WRs behind the NDSU defense and Johnson barely missed them. Never was impressed with Johnson's accuracy...too inconsistent. I referenced that game, and also the JSU/NDSU game from the following year, because sometimes looking at scores or stats doesn't always indicate how close a game could have been.

In the same vein, the people that hang their hats on the fact that UNI has had several close games with the Bison like to say that means UNI is one of the best teams out there.

A few plays can alter a game significantly putting a close game out of reach, and sometimes close scores don't indicate how another team isn't as good as it seems. Furthermore, just because one team has a style of play that allows them to stay close to a highly rankled team, doesn't mean that style of play from the loser indicates that they would be a better team against other teams with different styles.

The amount of Delaware fans who are now SHSU fans is amazing. However, you have a point who knows what UNI does against other teams despite the fact that they are the only team to consistently challenge NDSU during this run.

And yeah I agree a few plays can make a difference in a close game. Like last years playoff game in Fargo where NDSU returned the 2nd half kick off for a TD. In a game that was 10-7 in favor of UNI at the time it did make a difference. That doesn't happen who knows what happens later in the game as NDSU stole all the momentum back at that point. I expect you haven't seen any of the NDSU vs UNI games otherwise you would know those are tight games where a small play makes the difference and UNI could have easily won both last year. Not to mention the year before where NDSU's only loss was a beat down in Cedar Falls.

All in all does that mean we are one of the best? Of course not. It does, however, mean if someone else wants a championship they better hope we get to them first. But of late I wouldn't expect a Delaware fan to understand what it is like to play high quality teams close.

[Roamingriz]

Here's how I look at it. I put UNI at #21 above teams like EIU, SUU, UNH, Harvard, and NC A&T. My reasoning is I look at how well do I think those teams would've done with UNI's schedule:

@ Iowa St
vs Montana
@ EWU
vs SIU
@ USD

I couldn't say any of those teams would be better than 2-3. Having said that I looked at how close UNI played @EWU and vs Montana (who I have at #2 and #9) and think would any of those aforementioned teams have played those two top 10 teams that well? My answer was no I don't think so.

Is that a really subjective process? Yup, but it makes sense for me and I use it quite frequently to try to differentiate teams who have a vastly varying strength of schedules.

Small example that I think is transitory, SUU did play Montana and lost 43-20.

[neverobeyed]

I wouldn't doubt he brings one in. It's what he does.

Then again, he already brought one in before this year....kind of.

The kicker is he has said Eli Dunne has the physical and mental tools to be an NFL QB....yet he won't play him over Bailey. Why? Who the **** knows. We've wasted two years of Dunne's eligibility on Bailey. Dunne is one of the best QBs to ever play high school football in the state of Iowa (3 year starter, 3x All State, 8,107 passing yards, 538 completions, 75 touchdowns...won the "Iowa Heisman" as a senior). He's 6'5 230lbs. He has the arm to make the throws. He has the ability to move when needed. When asked preseason if Dunne would see the field this year, given Farley's praise of him, Farley responded "We might work in a series or two but other than that no".

There are two other QBs currently on the roster that will challenge for the starting spot next year - the kid that was "kind of" a transfer this year. He came in real late - like a week before camp - is Colton Howell from Butler CC in Kansas (one of the top CC in the nation). He was going to be their starting QB this year but about a week and a half before camp decided to withdraw from Butler and transfer to UNI. Supposedly he did this because Collin Klien was hired as QB coach away from K-State and Howell and Klien are close. I know nothing of the kid other than he played a bit as a freshman at Butler CC and was supposed to be their starter this year. Tape looks good, but who doesn't "on tape". He apparently went 3-0 as a starter as a freshman with a 71% completion rate. Stats are harder to verify though as different sites show different things and Butlers website seems quite unreliable. His tape shows he's real good at the fade route, which is good because UNI loves throwing 30 yards down field outside the numbers. He seems to be a passer that can run - along the lines of a TC at South Dakota State. http://www.hudl.com/video/3/1671077/5721cfb10c5e681224a874fd


The only other QB that could challenge is Christian Ellsworth from St. Libory, Nebraska. He's 6'2 212lbs. Ellsworth also seems like a kid that throws but can run if needed. As a senior he was 200-324 for 2,300 yards and 24 touchdowns....was also the teams leading rusher. He holds Nebraska state records in career passing yards and career completions and completed 68% of his passes as a senior in 2015. His tape certainly shows he isn't a burner in open space by any means. It'd also guess that he went to a pretty small school as he's bigger than most OL and DL on the field with him. I'd guess that's why he never got an offer from the schools listed as recruiting him. He had Iowa, Nebraska, K-State, Kansas, Colorado listed as recruiting him. Took visits to Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa. I'd guess, what appears to be a lack of competition, kept an offer off the table and kept him as a walk on offer. I looked up his home town - it's not a town. It's an unincorporated community. Then I looked and he played at Grand Island NW...a school of about 650 kids 9-12, which is about the same size of HS Dunne went too.

It looks like the "running" quarterback isn't going away. It does, however, look like the shift might be going back towards a pass first quarterback. Probably closer to Pat Grace than Eric Sanders, but I'd take Pat Grace the quarterback in a second. Pat Grace the human being? He can pass on.

To be honest, we are seeing that shift with Bailey, which is causing the problems. They are wanting him to be a passer. They have built a midset for him to be a passer first, which isn't him. During camp they'd blow the play dead if he broke the tackle box. He's trying to hard to be a passer and it's not working. Which goes back to this staff not being able to identify what they want to be and building on it.

I'm hopeful we see Dunne become that guy.

I am hopeful, too, but not counting on it.

That there was only *officially* 12+k in the seats for Montana (it felt smaller to me ... there were sections of the east side of the Dome between the 20 and 35 where you could have a row to yourself) tells a lot about how people are feeling about UNI football, regardless of the other game in the state that day. As Clenz writes, hardcore fans are turning to other things. I have seen that as well.

[Kabooom]

UNI seems to always have the horses to be in the top 10, but possibly not the right focus for season long success.

Not in the top 10 and loosing games now possibly due to the relentless efforts it took of the team to BEAT STATE??..... Coach Farleys number 1 point of emphasis for the year I have often wondered??....

Did beating STATE take a little too much hamburger outta the Panthers? ...Might not be the same team that handled the Cyclones at the beginning of the season.

Anyways, I hope the Panthers can catch a break and keep the rest of their season respectable in the MVC , and help save our damn RPI...lol.... xthumbsupx

[ngineer]

UNI seems to always have the horses to be in the top 10, but possibly not the right focus for season long success.

Not in the top 10 and loosing games now possibly due to the relentless efforts it took of the team to BEAT STATE??..... Coach Farleys number 1 point of emphasis for the year I have often wondered??....

Did beating STATE take a little too much hamburger outta the Panthers? ...Might not be the same team that handled the Cyclones at the beginning of the season.

Anyways, I hope the Panthers can catch a break and keep the rest of their season respectable in the MVC , and help save our damn RPI...lol.... xthumbsupx

Might be something said about that. Too much emphasis can result in not only a let down after the "big game", but a feeling of over confidence in facing the next "lesser" opponents on the schedule. Talent only takes you so far. Mental toughness and focus is almost as important.

[JayJ79]

Iowa State may not even be in the top half of UNI's opponents this year if you were to rank them to quality. (at least not Week 1 Cyclones, they may have progressed some since then, I haven't really paid attention)

[neverobeyed]

UNI seems to always have the horses to be in the top 10, but possibly not the right focus for season long success.

Not in the top 10 and loosing games now possibly due to the relentless efforts it took of the team to BEAT STATE??..... Coach Farleys number 1 point of emphasis for the year I have often wondered??....

Did beating STATE take a little too much hamburger outta the Panthers? ...Might not be the same team that handled the Cyclones at the beginning of the season.

Anyways, I hope the Panthers can catch a break and keep the rest of their season respectable in the MVC , and help save our damn RPI...lol.... xthumbsupx

Not likely. Farley had already beaten ISU.

His opponent of focus is NDSU and has been for seasons.

[neverobeyed]

Iowa State may not even be in the top half of UNI's opponents this year if you were to rank them to quality. (at least not Week 1 Cyclones, they may have progressed some since then, I haven't really paid attention)

True. Several on UNI's schedule this season would have all won in Ames in week one, IMO. Probably wouldn't have been as close for any of them as it was for UNI, either.

[AmsterBison]

SHSU played NDSU two years ago. SHSU had several wide open WRs behind the NDSU defense and Johnson barely missed them. Never was impressed with Johnson's accuracy...too inconsistent. I referenced that game, and also the JSU/NDSU game from the following year, because sometimes looking at scores or stats doesn't always indicate how close a game could have been.

In the same vein, the people that hang their hats on the fact that UNI has had several close games with the Bison like to say that means UNI is one of the best teams out there.


SHSU in 2014 was a close 35-3 game? I'd like to see what blowing them would look like. :) And, hey, it's not like NDSU didn't have wide open guys who were just barely missed in almost every playoff game in 2013 and 2014. For instance, in the SHSU game, I remember an NDSU TE wide open 40 yard downfield and the pass was the tiniest of margins too long. SHSU's main problem was on defense. Heck, the only reason SHSU had a scoring drive at all was that somehow NDSU allowed that inaccurate passer to pick up a 3&16 from their own 7 yard line on a freaking QB draw.

On the other hand, I completely agree that UNI gets too much credit from Bison fans for playing NDSU tough. You know who played NDSU the toughest during the D2 championship run? Minnesota State - Mankato, that's who. Sure didn't translate to them doing anything nationally. Yeah, UNI is better in the FCS than Mankato was in D2, but 2-3, even against very good competition doesn't not bode well.

There is no doubt that UNI matches up extremely well with NDSU, but they've got to start putting some wins together and start beating top teams that play different styles of football than NDSU to take it to the next level.

[BisonTru]

What game last year? xeyebrowx

Montana's meth problem must be moving east.

SHSU played NDSU two years ago. SHSU had several wide open WRs behind the NDSU defense and Johnson barely missed them. Never was impressed with Johnson's accuracy...too inconsistent. I referenced that game, and also the JSU/NDSU game from the following year, because sometimes looking at scores or stats doesn't always indicate how close a game could have been.

In the same vein, the people that hang their hats on the fact that UNI has had several close games with the Bison like to say that means UNI is one of the best teams out there.

A few plays can alter a game significantly putting a close game out of reach, and sometimes close scores don't indicate how another team isn't as good as it seems. Furthermore, just because one team has a style of play that allows them to stay close to a highly rankled team, doesn't mean that style of play from the loser indicates that they would be a better team against other teams with different styles.

Thanks for coming back and clarifying that. I was really struggling to pin point WTF you were talking about.

So, you believe that SHSU looked much better two ****ing years ago in a playoff game than the stats and scoreboard showed?

First, no they didn't. I watched that whole game and a couple deep completions aren't going to change that game much. Second, why does a game from two years ago even matter? Are you bumping them ahead of Eastern Washington because they once beat them in the playoffs also?

[UNIFanSince1983]

Iowa State may not even be in the top half of UNI's opponents this year if you were to rank them to quality. (at least not Week 1 Cyclones, they may have progressed some since then, I haven't really paid attention)

Iowa State has vastly improved since the first week against us. The last two games have been games where they should have won at home vs Baylor and on the road vs Okie State. Obviously since they are Iowa State they blew both games, but that is a much better team than we played.