Peacocks see determination, details as keys to snapping skid
By Biingo Lewis/Collegian Staff
Upper Iowa University’s football team found itself 0-6 after suffering a tough 37-20 loss against 25th-ranked Augustana. This followed a tough 20-14 loss the week before against Southwest Minnesota State at UIU’s Homecoming.
The Peacocks were in the lead throughout most of the game until the second half and came up short for the third time in a row. It was the 3rd time the team had won most of the game but lost within the final quarter.
The boys in blue are getting closer every week to securing a win. There are still five games that remain and five more opportunities to turn the program towards the direction they want to go in.
Their 0-6 record is displeasing to the student-athletes in Fayette, but change has started since that last defeat. The team has become even more determined to fix whatever changes that need to be made from the coaches to the trainers to the athletes themselves to turn this season around.
The Peacocks want to win from this point on, but in order to compete and hopefully secure a win, they must correct their mistakes and to change up their routines regarding practices and the culture surrounding the team.
Head coach Jason Hoskins sees the potential within the team to be great and has been going out of his way to find solutions to help the team build and get better. “We have to learn how to win more,” Hoskins said. “Teams that are comfortable with winning find ways to win. We must develop that train. In order to win we have to develop it, but in order to get that trait, we have to come back and fix our misses, pay attention to the fine details.”
Zach Reader has become the starting quarterback after an injury of Marcus Orr. Reader has noticed some small fixes that could be made to help change the morale of the team. “Lately our team has seen success in areas where the group watches over an hour of film each day,” he said. “We believe that watching film of our opponent will help us gain an edge by knowing certain tendencies, offensive and defensive coverages and weaknesses. Our program is on definitely on the right track and shows moments of championship-level football.
“Every team is beatable and if we have a person who doesn’t believe that we need to weed out those cancers because we have the talent to be a top team in this league, it’s time we start playing like it.”
Rhett Mizer, defensive backs coach for the team, has been there since 2019 starting off as a graduate assistant for two years and now being hired as an official positions coach. Mizer has stuck with this group of men for a while and has noticed strides but has also noticed small details that could be fixed as well.
“We’re just preparing by focusing on the smaller details and getting ready to go force the issue,” Mizer said. “We have too much potential on and off the field to not allow it be fully revealed.”
This team has the right amount of sacrifice, leadership, effort, dedication, grit, and enthusiasm to turn this around. It will be exciting to see.
“From a team standpoint, we have to grow together as a group, we have to have more unity and trust and love one another,” Hoskins said.
“Going into the rest of the season I feel like the mindset of ‘if not us, then who? And if not now, then when?’” Reader said.
