Getty Head coach Matt Campbell and the Iowa State Cyclones kick their 2023 season off against Northern Iowa.
The Iowa State Cyclones (0-0) will host the Northern Iowa Panthers (0-0) at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames on Saturday, September 2.
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If you’re in the United States, the only way to watch the game is on ESPN+:
ESPN+ includes hundreds of college football games in 2023, plus dozens of other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary and additional original content (both video and written) for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year (or $13.99 per month for a bundle of all three of ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu).
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch Northern Iowa vs Iowa State live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com.
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UNI vs Iowa State Football Preview
The Cyclones finished with the 4-8 record last year, going just 1-8 in Big-12 play. Iowa State scored just over 20 points on offense per game, and allowed just over 20 points on the defensive side of the ball, as well. Iowa State is expected to have a solid defense once again this year, but there are a number of question marks on the offensive side of the ball, including who the team’s starting quarterback will be.
After QB Hunter Dekkers was charged with betting on the team’s game’s and rendered unable to play, Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell says the team is still working through the details of finding another starter, with both Rocco Becht and JJ Kohl likely to see playing time in this game.
“Throughout the week will probably help decide that,” Campbell said, about which QB will start. “I would expect that you’re going to see certainly both Rocco and JJ, and maybe even some opportunities for Tanner (Hughes) in this football game.”
Several other members of the team starting lineup were also hit with gambling violations and won’t be in this game, so it’ll be up to reserve players to step up.
On the other side, the Panthers finished with a 6-5 overall record in 2022, averaging an impressive 33.0 points a game on offense while allowing 25.7 points per contest on defense. UNI will once again be led by quarterback Theo Day, who completed 65% of his passes last season, while also throwing 26 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
“Theo, you’ve just got a lot of respect for him,” Campbell said about the UNI signal-caller. “I’ve watched enough of his videotape to understand and appreciate what his talent level is. Big, great vision, ability to make all the throws, he’s got that great whip on the ball. For us, it presents a great challenge out the gate. One of the better quarterbacks that I’ve seen in a while. …It’ll be a good challenge for us, and obviously, they can spread the ball and make you pay really fast.”
Shawn Kenney will serve as Play-by-play analyst, while the game’s Color analyst will be Todd Doxzon.
Iowa State leads the all-time series against UNI, 24-6-3. These two teams last faced off in 2021, with the Cyclones winning, 16-10. Campbell is 3-1 against the Panthers heading into this game.