GAME ONE || SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2015 || 12:00PMFAYETTE, IOWA || HARMS-EISCHEID STADIUMNORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY AT UPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY
WEEKLY NOTES
UPPER IOWA || NORTHERN STATE || NORTHERN SUN || TWO DEEP
LIVE OPTIONS
LIVE STATS || LIVE WEBCAST || NSICSCORES.COM || TICKETS || AM 950 KOEL
THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK FOOTBALL... Upper Iowa opens the 2015 campaign at home this Saturday with a Northern Sun Conference cross-division game against Northern State University. UIU owns a 3-2 series record including three straight wins since joining the NSIC prior to the 2006 season, but the teams have only met once in the last five seasons. The Wolves are coming off one of their best seasons in the Northern Sun thanks to an 8-3 campaign in 2014 after posting a 6-1 mark against NSIC North Division. Upper Iowa is coming off a second straight 6-5 mark in 2014 thanks to a 4-0 record against the NSIC North and wins over Augustana University and Wayne State College. Since the NSIC split into divisions prior to the 2012 season, UIU has a 9-3 record against the NSIC North.
THE SERIES... The Peacocks and Wolves met four times from 2006-09 including a pair of games at each team's home stadium, but have only seen each other once in the last five seasons. Northern State earned 26-20 and 55-35 wins over the first two years, but Upper Iowa bounced back with 31-26 and 42-35 wins to even the series at two wins apiece. After a three-year break in the series, UIU traveled to Aberdeen, South Dakota in 2013. The Peacocks' defense played a solid game allowing only 17 points and forcing a fumble with less than two minutes to play in the fourth quarter as the team trailed 17-16. With just thirty-five seconds to play, Upper Iowa scored the go-ahead touchdown on an 11-yard scamper by
Chris Smith to push the visitors to the victory and a 3-2 series lead.
ONE FINAL LOOK BACK AT 2014... The Peacocks finished their 2014 season with a 6-5 overall record and a 2-5 mark in the NSIC South Division. Upper Iowa's 4-0 record against the NSIC North Division, which included a win on the road at St. Cloud State University, propelled the team to a second straight winning season for the first time since 1963 and 1964 when the team won 6 and 8 games in consecutive years. The half dozen victories also included a Homecoming Weekend victory over Augustana College as the team pushed their record to 5-0. A loss to Winona State University at home came in between a pair of three-point losses on the road to Southwest Minnesota State University and Concordia University, St. Paul in overtime. UIU earned their sixth win of the season in an impressive victory over Wayne State College on senior day putting 59 points on the scoreboard at Harms-Eischeid Stadium. The Peacocks closed out their season with losses on the road to the nationally-ranked University of Sioux Falls (#17) and Minnesota State University, Mankato (#1). The six victories last season mark the 17th time a football team at UIU has reached the 6-win mark in the program's 120-year football history. The Peacocks, who have only had five winning seasons prior to 2013 since 1966's 8-2 campaign, wrapped up just their 36th winning season in their history.
ALL-NSIC PERFORMERS RETURN... The NSIC coaches named a program-record 10 Peacocks to the All-NSIC South Division Team with six players named to the first team, two to the second team and two more to the Honorable Mention list. Two first team performers are back on defense in the form of linebacker
Alex Wahl and defensive lineman
Jevell Rollins, while the remaining eight All-NSIC honorees all played their senior season for UIU last year.
WAHL AND MACTAGGART TABBED NSIC PLAYERS TO WATCH... Senior linebacker
Alex Wahl was named to the 2014 Beyond Sports Network All-Region First Team & Daktronics All-Region Second Team, as well as the All-NSIC South Division First Team, after leading the team on defense with 127 tackles including 80 solo tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss and 5 sacks. He also forced 4 fumbles and blocked a kick. His total tackles, solo tackles, and tackles for loss are all new high marks for Upper Iowa. Junior wideout
Trey MacTaggart also returns as an NSIC Player to Watch after he pulled in 32 catches in 11 games last season for 377 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also returned 15 kickoffs for 283 yards, an 18.9 yard average, and 11 punts for 133 yards and one 91-yard touchdown, a 12.1 yard average.
RADIO... Upper Iowa Peacock football can be heard throughout the remainder of the 2015 season courtesy of AM 950 KOEL.
THE BROADCAST TEAM... Play-by-play announcer Joe Stasi is in his 13th season as the "Voice of the Peacocks." For the fourth consecutive year he is joined on the broadcast by Zach Carlyle, a recent graduate (2015) of Upper Iowa. The pre-game show is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
A LOOK AT THE WOLVES... Northern State was picked to finish seventh overall, with 133 points, and second in the North Division, with 40 points, in this year's NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Wolves are coming off a 2014 campaign with nine NSIC honorees highlighted by NSIC Coach of the Year Tom Dosch who led the Wolves to an 8-3 mark on the year. The eight wins were the most at Northern since the Wolves went 9-2 in 1999. NSU went 6-1 in the NSIC North Division and recorded a 5-1 record on the road.
Conner Doherty and Devin Olson were named the NSU players to watch in 2015. Doherty started all 11 games in 2014 leading the team with 51 receptions for 718 yards. He tallied six touchdowns on the year, with two a piece against both Minot State and St. Cloud State. He tallied a season high 175 yards of offense against St. Cloud State and was named All-NSIC first team North Division, All-Super Region Three second team, and Don Hansen All-Super Region team. Olson started all 11 games in 2014, leading the team with 81 tackles (36 solo), 3.5 sacks, and 6.5 tackles for a loss. He recorded a season high 15 tackles versus Bemidji State.
Four members were named to the USA College Football Preseason All-America teams. Doherty, Chad Stoterau, and Tyler Robel earned first team honors while Adrian Krupka was name honorable mention. Stoterau started all 11 games for the Wolves on the defensive line. He was fourth on the team with 52 tackles. Chad led team with two fumble recoveries and tallied one sack. The sophomore was named to the NSIC All-Conference First team for the North Division. Robel started in all 11 games for the Wolves as a member of the offensive line. He was named to the NSIC All-Conference First team in the North Division. Krupka appeared in all 11 games for the Wolves a season ago, where he average 36.6 yards per punt. As a junior, Adrian tallied 50 punts for 1831 yards and four kick-offs for 152 yards. He was named NSIC All-Conference Honorable Mention in 2014.
