Cyclone.Sports Blog

Game 5 Preview: Oklahoma State

10/23/2020

Iowa State has one of their biggest games in school history as they play Oklahoma State for the first place spot in the Big 12. Two great offenses with weapons, and Iowa State's game changing defense.

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Oklahoma State
What to Watch: QB Situation

With Shan Illingworth filling in during the majority of the season for injured Spencer Sanders, it will be interesting to see who takes the snaps for the Cowboys. With Sanders potentially coming back, it will be interesting to see what the Cyclones do. Illingworth is a straight pocket passer, while Sanders is an explosive mobile QB. Chubba Hubbard and Tylan Wallace will also play huge roles with their star and big play ability.

Iowa STate
What to Watch: Defense and Arnold Azuna

While it will be crucial for Iowa State to get the offense going, the defense is the pain point of emphasis. Not only will the defensive line need to get pressure, but the secondary will need to have another huge game. Star Safety Isheem Young will be out for the first half due to targeting, so Arnold Azuna will need to step in which he is very capable of creating solid plays for the Cyclones.

Next Day Thoughts: Texas Tech

10/11/2020

Iowa State continues their Big 12 domination with an obliteration of Texas Tech. After a crazy turn of events during Iowa State's first drive that resulted in a Texas Tech touchdown off a blocked Connor Assalley field goal attempt from 20 yards out, the Cyclones played well on both sides of the ball.

Breece Hall continued to look like one of the nation's best backs after another 100 yard rushing performance, something he has totaled every game this season. Hall has 135 yards and two touchdowns on the ground against the Red Raiders. It was also good to see Charlie Kolar get his first touchdown of the season.

DEFENSE

The main story of the day, however, was the defense. The secondary especially showed amazing strides. While the story of the defense before this game was the defensive line, the other aspects of the defense were great to see. The secondary had 5 pass defended, while the line had 2 sacks and 4 tackles for loss. The entire defense only gave up 270 total yards and 8 points.

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NExt Day Thoughts: Oklahoma

10/4/2020

Iowa State pulled off a culture changing upset during primetime last night on ESPN. This now makes the Cyclones 2-0 in Conference play and 2-1 Overall. This upset also led them back into the top 25 rankings, where they find themselves at #24 in the AP Poll.

Offense:

Breece Hall had another monstrous game as he proves himself as a top back in the country. He seemed to never go down on first contact and and looked strong the whole night. The play calling was also exceptional and was highlighted by the tight end to tight end trick play. Kene's kickoff return was also a spark when the Cyclone's needed it/

Defense

The Cyclones had another strong defensive outing. While the secondary still may be questionable at times, Isheem Young's game sealing interception made up for any questions. The defensive lined proved to be great again as they continued to get pressure with three or four rushers. The rush defense also looked good. Mike Rose seemed to be all over the field making plays. Jaquan Bailey also made some fabulous plays through the double and triple teams he was facing.

Relive the Second Half Comeback:

WEEK 3: OKLAHOMA PREVIEW

10/3/2020

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Iowa State comes in after an impressive win against TCU last week with huge performances by Breece Hall and Jaquan Bailey. Oklahoma on the other hand, just came off an upset loss to Kansas State for the second year in a row.

Cyclones

PLAYER TO WATCH: CHARLIE KOLAR

Kolar, who made his first start last week, still did not look 100%. Coming off a lower body injury which made his miss out on the opening loss to Louisiana, getting the tight end involved along with Sean Shaw Jr. and Tarique Milton is huge for the Cyclones. Breece Hall will also need to stay hot for the Cyclones to get the job done at Jack Trice.

Sooners

PLAYER TO WATCH: Spencer Rattler

While Rattler is a dynamic quarterback, he has a tendency to make some bad decisions under pressure. If Iowa State is able to create pressure like they did last week, it gives their secondary and themselves a chance to turn over the Sooners. This is huge for the Cyclone's chance to come away with a win this week.

Next day Thoughts: TCU

9/27/2020

Its always great to win, especially the conference opener. A lot of good things displayed by the Cyclones in their 3 point win against TCU.

Main Headlines

Breece Hall:

Hall had a monstrous game, and when the offensive line, who looked a lot better, was able to open up lanes for the true sophomore running back, he was able to show his explosiveness. Hall finished with 155 yards on the ground to go along with a catch for five yards. He also found the endzone 3 times.

Jaquan Bailey:

Bailey had a huge game and was finally able to break through and become Iowa State's all time leading sack leader. Not only did he accomplish that, he also came away with 3.5 sacks along with a forced fumble. The forced fumble was huge as it set up Purdy's TD pass to Darren Wilson Jr. right before half. He put on one of the greatest individual defensive performances in school history.

Defensive Line and Linebackers:

The defensive line and linebackers put together a magnificent performance. The D-line created a ton of pressure as well as the linebackers doing everything they were supposed to. Mike Rose also had a huge pick to seal the deal for the Cyclones.

Iowa State Defensive Backs:

While the secondary looked good last game except for the huge touchdown they gave up, they struggled a bit more at times yesterday. Even with the pressure created by Iowa State's defensive line, the Horned Frog Quarterbacks were still able to find their receivers.

Purdy and the Passing Game:

Brock Purdy recorded his first passing touchdown and seemed to settle in well to the game. However, Purdy does not seem to be his explosive self. Hopefully, with a healthy Milton and Kolar next week, we will see an explosive Purdy against Oklahoma.

Week 2: TCU Preview

9/24/2020

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This game seems to almost be a must win game for the Cyclones as they travel to Fort Worth to play the Horned Frogs. Iowa State is coming off an embarrassing loss to Louisiana while this is the Horned Frog's opener.

Iowa STate

What to Watch for:

While play-calling and special teams play were the real question marks last week for the Cyclones, the main question has to be special teams play. They allowed two special teams touchdowns in their home opener, and without a designated special teams coach since early 2019, they need to get this figured out.

Another huge question will be Charlie Kolar and his status after missing Iowa State's first game.

TCU

What to Watch for

Quarterback play is the number one question for the Horned Frogs. Last year's starter Max Duggan, who was just cleared after a offseason heart condition, will not be getting the start. TCU will instead turn to Matthew Downing, a sophomore transfer from Georgia. This is huge, because unlike Max Dugan, who Matt Campbell spoke highly of, Downing only has 88 career passing yards.

TCU's safetys are also loaded, with Big 12 stars Trevon Moehrig and Ar'darius Washington both returining. They were both graded highly by Pro Football Focus.

Next Day Thoughts: UL-Lafayette

9/13/2020

Positives

Defense

Iowa State's defensive was actually very impressive. Other than the 78 yard touchdown they gave up, they were very good (Not counting the last drive, the whole team had given up including Coach Campbell). The defensive line was very good including new comer Latrell Bankston. The linebackers looked good as well, and the secondary looked alright as well.

Breece Hall

Breece averaged over 5 yards per carry while rushing for over 100 yards and getting into the end zone once. Before Downing went down, the O-line looked pretty good for the Cyclones, creating holes for Hall.

Negatives

Passing Game

The Wide Receives did not look good. Purdy did not look good. Play calling was interesting in second half. Just not good. Interesting to see how much Hutchinson was targeted.

Special Teams

No explaining needed. Iowa State has not had a special teams coach since 2018.

Top 10 Most Impactful Cyclone Football Players 2020

9/11/2020

This article features the ten most impactful Cyclones of the 2020-21 season. One player will be added daily, until the countdown is completed from 10-1!

10. Tarique Milton-WR

Tarique Milton has proven to be a star wide receiver for the Cyclones. He totaled 722 receiving yards for the Cyclones, falling right behind Deshaunte Jones for the team lead for the Cyclones during the 2019 season. He also added 3 receiving touchdowns during the 2019 season. Milton’s most productive career game was against Iowa this latest season where he totaled 144 yards and a touchdown. The Florida native increased his receiving productivity by over 300 yards from the 2018 to 2019 seasons, and looks to make another jump as he is projected to be ISU’s number one wide receiver this year, followed by honorable mention Sean Shaw Jr. He will most likely also handle punt return duties for the Cyclones again this upcoming season, a position where he was nominated as Third-Team All-Big 12.
Fun Fact: Milton also attended the same high school as Iowa State standout Wide Receiver Quentin Bundrage(via Cyclones.com)

Week 1: Ul-Lafayette Preview

9/11/2020

Iowa State will take on the the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on Saturday (9/12) at 11 (CT) on ESPN. Here is the preview podcast to go along with the article:

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Previewing Iowa State

Week 1 Depth Chart Released

Iowa State has released their depth chart for week 1. Some surprises include freshman converted wide receiver T.J. Tampa is high up on Iowa State's cornerback depth chart. The offensive line does not look like it is completely set in stone yet as well. Lastly, Corey Dunn and Joe Rivera will compete for the starting punter job and could split time.

Player to Watch: Breece Hall

Iowa State's Offense is stacked this year. With the new look offensive line, this is a big game for Breece Hall. UL also allowed almost 175 yards rushing per game last year while allowing less than 200 yards per game over the air, so look for Breece and the other running backs to do some damage. Purdy could also have a big game on the ground for the Cyclones.

Player to Watch: Jaquan Bailey

Iowa State's Co-All Time Sack Leader returns after missing most of last year. Bailey will look to boost his draft stock while greatly bolstering Iowa State's defensive line this year.

UL-Layafette Preview

The Ragin Cajuns bring in a prolific offense featuring quarterback Levi Lewis who had over 3000 passing yards to go along with 26 touchdowns last year. He also takes care of the ball, only tossing 4 interceptions. Their running back, Elijah Michell also had over 1000 yards rushing and double digits touchdowns. Their defense is also good. Their pass defense was incredible last year, allowing less than 200 passing yards and less than 1 passing touchdown a game last season. They run defense, however, was a bit shaky, allowing a 174 rushing yards per game. All this together gave Louisiana 11 wins last season, look for them to put up a strong fight against the Cyclones.

Cyclones in the NFL Preview (2020)

8/26/2020

With the NFL season approaching, we decided to do a Podcast, predicting the stats of Cyclones in the NFL to help give an idea of what to expect from the players and maybe even some fantasy football help. Listen to the Podcast here:

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David Montgomery- Chicago Bears (RB)

Predicted Stats: 1,000 yards, 10+ TDs

Montgomery came into his rookie year with the Bears looking to split carries with Tarik Cohen after being drafted in the 3rd round. He eventually become the go to back for the bears and is looking to continue that this season. Montgomery totaled over 1000 yards last season to go along with 7 total touchdowns.

ALLEN LAZARD-GREEN BAY PACKERS (WR)

PROJECTED STATS: 800+ Yards, 5+ TDs

After bouncing around the league, Lazard finally found a home in Green Bay where he enjoyed a breakout season this past year. Lazard will look to build on his 500 yard and 3 touchdown season in 2019.