Cyclone.Sports Blog

Game 7 Preview: Baylor

11/6/2020

4-2 Iowa State takes on 1-3 Baylor on Saturday night at 6 PM (CT). The Cyclones are coming off a blowout win against Kansas and look to keep the momentum and move up in the ranking as the #17 team in the country. Listen to the podcast:

Iowa State

What to Watch for: Secondary and Overall Improvement

With a Baylor pass heavy attack, Iowa State's secondary will get tested once again. They have continued to improve each week, and we have seen the emergence of a star in Isheem Young. The whole team will look to improve as they have huge tests upcoming after their bye as they will see both Texas and Kansas State, both towards the top of the Big 12.

Baylor

FInding a Running Game

Charlie Brewer has had success throwing the ball for the Bears, however a run game has not come to surface. Baylor does not have a running back over 200 yards yet this season and will need to keep a balanced attack against a talented Cyclone defense. John Lovett leads them in carries with 36, tallying 125 yards on those carries.

Next Day Thoughts: Kansas

11/1/2020

Iowa State started fast, before showing some weaknesses in the special teams game. However, they quickly bounced back and dismantled Kansas. Heres the Recap:

Breece Hall had a huge game, and puts himself in the Heisman conversation. Purdy also found Kolar and Hutchinson for TDs as the pass game continues to come together. A late TD from Dekkers to Scates showed the future of Iowa State football. The play calling contined to be skeptical at times, and special teams continues to be an issue, however, it looks like Campbell has his team headed in the right direction.

Iowa State, who takes the top spot in the Big 12, and the number 17 spot in the AP Poll, turns to Baylor next week before their bye.

DB Myles Purchase Commits to the Cyclones

11/1/2020

Purchase, from, Cherry Creek High School in Englewood, CO, has committed to the Cyclones. The class of 2021 Cornerback has offers and interest from any major schools including Kansas State, Colorado State, Kansas among others. The three star recruit is the 142nd ranked CB in his class along with the 18th best player from Colorado. He stands at 5-11 and weights 170, a solid size for a DB.

He committed to Matt Campbell and the Cyclones Saturday Night:

HOME □□ @CycloneFB pic.twitter.com/1XRicW9z73
— Myles Purchase (@MylesPurchase) October 31, 2020

Game 6 Preview: Kansas

10/30/2020

Iowa State comes in off a heart breaking loss to #6 Oklahoma State. The Cyclones were plagued by mistakes in that loss, and look to fix some of those against sub par Kansas early on Saturday. Iowa State has both Kansas and Baylor ahead before their bye leading to tougher games in Kansas State and Texas.

Main Stories:

Finding Brock Purdy another Receiver:

With Purdy mainly throwing to Hutchinson and the two tight ends, another receiver must emerge for the Cyclones. Joe Scates has shown promise along with last year's red zone target, Sean Shaw Jr. Teams are able to sit on the Cyclones main receivers, making it hard to convert on these 3rd downs. The rough offensive line also contributes to this, with the lack of time to throw for Purdy.

No Pooka Williams Jr.

Kansas running back Pooka Williams Jr. has opted out of the season due to health concers which means Kansas number one weapon and best player will not be on the field. This is huge news for the Cyclones as Pooka had a huge impact last year for the Jayhawks against the Cyclones.

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.

Listen to the Podcast

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.

Listen to the Texas Tech Podcast:

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

Listen to the preview Pod:

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

Listen to the TCU Preview Podcast

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.