South Dakota State Jackrabbits vs Northern Iowa Panthers Prediction, 2/19/2021 FCS Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: South Dakota State Jackrabbits vs Northern Iowa Panthers

Date: Friday, February 19, 2021

Location: UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, IA

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: South Dakota State (-3)

UNI-Dome is the venue where and the Northern Iowa Panthers will play the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Friday. South Dakota State opens this game as 3-point favorites. The over/under is set at 42.

The FCS Spring schedule gets underway when #5 ranked South Dakota State plays Northern Iowa, who is currently ranked #3. Both teams are returning key members of last years teams. Pierre Strong Jr. returns for the Jackrabbits after finishing with over 1,000 yards in each of the past 2 seasons. Strong should get a lot of carries in this one as South Dakota State tries to control the clock to keep the ball out of Will McElvain's hands. He's only a sophomore, but the Panthers belive McElvain could develop into one of the their better quarterbacks. These 2 teams are familiar with each other as well, so look for both defenses to play well. There may be a lot of penalties due to the long layoff and Covid-19 related practice restrictions, but Spring football is here so it should be celebrated.

In their last game last season, South Dakota State played the Panthers and took the defeat by a score of 13-10. Keaton Heide went 14/27 with 167 yards passing and added 1 touchdown. He threw 1 interception on the day. Mikey Daniel led the team on the ground for the game. He broke a long run for 8 yards but he wasn't able to run one in for a touchdown. He ran for a total of 43 yards via 9 carries which meant he was running for 4.8 yards per run. Adam Anderson was the receiving yardage leader with a total of 84 yards on 4 receptions. He had an average of 21.0 yards per reception for the game. The South Dakota State Jackrabbits ended up running the ball 23 times and racked up a total of 53 yards earning them an average of 2.3 yards per run. Overall, they ran 50 plays which gave them a total of 220 yards. On the day, the Jackrabbits earned 11 1st downs and they had a total of 7 penalties for 70 yards. On the defensive side of the ball, South Dakota State gave up 11 completions on 20 throws for a total of 124 yards, and a completion percentage of 55.0%. In the running game, the Jackrabbits gave up 114 yards on 44 tries which is an average of 2.6 yards per rushing attempt allowed. On the day, they gave up a total of 238 yards and earned 1 takeaway.

In their win over South Dakota State, Trevor Allen led the Panthers in rushing for the game. His longest run of the day went for 16 yards and he ran for 1 touchdown for the game. He rushed for a total of 90 yards via 24 carries which gave him an average of 3.8 yards per run. Aaron Graham was the leader in receiving yardage with a total of 45 yards on 3 receptions. He averaged 15.0 yards per reception for the game. Will McElvain went 11/20 with 124 yards passing but wasn't able to get any balls in the endzone via the pass. He gave away 1 pick in the game. The Northern Iowa Panthers ended up running the ball 44 times and totaled 114 yards giving them an average of 2.6 yards per rushing attempt. On the day, the Panthers totaled 15 1st downs and they totaled 10 penalties for 76 yards. In the game, they ran 64 plays which added up to 238 yards. When discussing the defense, Northern Iowa gave up 14 catches on 27 throws for a total of 167 yards, and a completion percentage of 52.0%. Overall, they gave up a total of 220 yards and forced 1 turnover. In the running game, the Panthers gave up 53 yards on 23 tries which means they had an average of 2.3 yards per carry allowed.

Who will win tonight's FCS game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take South Dakota State (-3)

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