Baylor’s hot start dooms Iowa State
By Michael O’Deay (@MOD70) Baylor’s high powered offense was on full display in the first half of the Bears 31-29 win. Baylor scored TDs on their first 3 drives. During those 3 drives Baylor dominated the Cyclone defensive line. Gerry Bohannon started the game 10-11 for 140 yards with 2 TDs in the air and he rushed for a TD. In the Bears last 8 drives he finished 4-8 for 19 yards. When the Cyclones started bringing the pressure, Baylor had no answer. Unfortunately, the hot start was too much for ISU to overcome. The two biggest plays of the day went Bears way. 1) Kickoff return for TD ISU kicked a FG to cut the deficit to 21-16, then there was the kickoff return for a TD, that increased the lead to 28-16. 2) Purdy picked off in the red zone This isn’t a knock on Purdy. This was a huge play made by Baylor’s 6-4 350 nose tackle Siaki Ika. Purdy had a clean pocket and a streaking Charlie Kolar, Ika stuck his big paw up, while being double teamed, deflected the pass that had TD Charlie Kolar written all over it, and it was intercepted. It was a key play in the game because at the time Baylor was up 28-23, if Kolar is able to reel in the TD to make it 30-28, Baylor wouldn’t have been able to recover. That’s my biased Cyclone loving opinion. The fact is after the Baylor took a 21-10 lead, their drive log was: 3 plays and a punt 1 play leading to the end of the first half 9 plays and a lost fumble 5 plays then a punt 3 plays then a punt 4 plays then a punt 4 plays and a FG 1 play and the end of the game Special teams gave up a TD, a long punt return, and missed a FG. Those plays hurt, however, ISU was the better team. If the Big 12 Championship is Baylor vs Iowa State, the Baylor students won’t be chanting over rated in the first quarter. That was absolutely obnoxious. They chanted it 9 more times. Yes I counted. With the loss the playoff dream is dead. One ESPN analyst has the Cyclones in the Alamo Bowl while the other idiot has ISU in the Liberty Bowl. My summary: The loss sucked. ISU should’ve won. The stretch to the OU game on November 20th is tough but winnable because ISU is still a great team. We can’t look past anyone, however, I believe ISU a great chance to be 6-1 in Big 12 play and 8-2 overall, with a solid chance to control their own destiny to get back to and WIN the Big 12 Championship game in Dallas. I heard complaints during the game that ISU should’ve sped up to have more of an opportunity in case the 2 point conversion didn’t work. Stop it. That was a perfect drive where ISU had the better team and the senior led offense that made plays when needed. Purdy’s pass that landed in Breece Hall’s hands to get it to a 4th and 1 looked like a throw away. Instead it was Purdy and Hall making plays. Purdy was calm, cool, and collected leading the offense down the field to get the TD. The two point conversion that was picked off wasn’t the best play, however, Baylor’s D was gassed. Had the 2 point conversion play worked, the Bears wouldn’t have been able to stop ISU in OT. The calls I’m hearing that the coaching staff called a terrible game. Stop it. I’ll agree it was a rough start. The coaches made adjustments and turned what could’ve been a Baylor blowout, (reference ISU football in the 90s) to a respectable game. We won every column on the stat sheet. I even heard people say it’s time to give up on Brock Purdy. Stop it. Purdy has 27 school records. While he has thrown some costly interceptions, his overall body of work as a 4 YEAR STARTER with a WINNING record at ISU proves he is a winner. I feel sorry for Kansas. Be a smart fan. Look at the whole body of work and know Cyclone Nation is just fine. These coaches and Seniors have built such a solid foundation. Cyclone Football is legit rising. Next up: Kansas limps to Ames Saturday. Kickoff is 6pm. ISU is close to their 3rd consecutive sellout, which would be a record. If you don’t have tickets, buy some and Pack the Jack. Get loud, be proud, and show the AP pollsters who voted us out of the Top 25 after a tough loss to a quality team why they were wrong. Dead Wrong.
Go Cyclones!