After having more trouble than expected in the season opener against Miami University, Iowa’s defense redeemed itself with a dominating performance against in-state rival Iowa State last week.
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If NDSU’s defense could hold Iowa to 231 total yards, what are the Badgers or Wolverines going to be able to do? NDSU only has two future games against FBS teams scheduled, the next being OR in 2020. North Dakota State might not lose again all season and a sixth straight FCS title is a distinct possibility.
Iowa defensive lineman Nathan Bazata (99) chases North Dakota State quarterback Easton Stick during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016, in Iowa City, Iowa. Iowa (2-1) is arguably the most impressive victory with the Hawkeyes coming in ranked No. 11 in the FBS top 25 poll.
Iowa subsequently went three-and-out, and North Dakota State got the ball at its own 34-yard line with 1:44 left. “They’re accustomed to winning”. “… I thought our offense was wearing them down and if we could get a stop, I felt we could dial up enough plays to get us in field goal range”.
“I’ll go out on a limb and predict this will be a really strong team, a really tough opponent for us”. That’s one fewer than last week with two dropping out since having five in the top 25 after the first week of the season.
“It was a chip on my shoulder because last week I didn’t play my best ball”, Frazier said. They’ve successfully avoided any slip-ups against inferior squads since the start of last season, and pride themselves on the fact they don’t take any teams lightly.
Iowa: The Hawkeyes can forget about the playoffs. “That’s what it’s going to be”. This on the heels of the their thrilling upset of the Number 13 Iowa. “We belong in the game; we belong in the spotlight”, North Dakota State coach Chris Klieman said. “Those costly errors, those little detail things, they ended up catching us in the end and made a big difference”.
The Bison had a chance to win the game the drive before.
“We don’t want anybody to come in here and beat us”. They played with the most intensity. Beathard has completed 67 percent of his passes for 427 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Beathard returned – and said after the game that he felt fine, by the way – and threw a 9-yard TD pass to wide receiver Matt VandeBerg to give the Hawkeyes a 21-14 lead with 2:12 left in the third. He has 30 career touchdown passes, the ninth most in school history.
Freshman quarterback Alex Hornibrook orchestrated a late-game surge and junior kicker Rafael Gaglianone kicked three field goals as Wisconsin (2-0) scored the final 10 points. “We left a lot of plays out there and just didn’t play very well”. “We have a ton of respect for them”.
“They are doing something right if they are a five-time national champ”, Iowa linebacker Ben Niemann said. He had one of his better games with seven tackles and a sack, but he wasn’t satisfied because the defensive gave up three points.
Pedersen’s kick was the defining moment of the game, but NDSU played great against Iowa the whole way through. From a size and style perspective, North Dakota State approaches the game like the majority of teams the Hawkeyes will face in upcoming weeks.
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Stick started the game-winning drive with an electric 29-yard run on a quarterback draw.
