The Reaction:
Well, shit.
It’s sad. Not in a this-program-should-be-better-than-this way (it shouldn’t be better than this, this is great, it’s wonderful that the program is this good right now), but in the way where this was supposed to be the year, and there are a lot of impending graduates on this roster, and it was a home game, and, well, everything else. This was an opportunity for Iowa State to take a sizable step forward as a program. The step was not taken.
On the field, it was turnovers and field position. Iowa State vastly outgained the Hawkeyes, something that was true even before the frantic comeback attempt and something rather independent of the turnovers, given ISU was more efficient on yards-per-play both through the air (5.9 vs. 5.0) and on the ground (3.2 vs. 1.7). Iowa State was not the better team. But only because of the turnovers.
There were plenty of turning points in the game, but Brock Purdy failing to connect when he had Xavier Hutchinson in single coverage on that deep ball early in the second quarter stands out. Even an incompletion there would have been fine, but a big play could have busted things open and put some wind in the sails of a Cyclone defense that was playing remarkably good football. Instead, it was an interception, Iowa marched down the short field and scored, and ISU was scrambling from there.
That isn’t to put the loss solely on Purdy’s shoulders. He was under pressure all game, and he has his limits. But it was a manifestation of two big problems. One is a little questionable in its definition, and that’s Iowa State’s failure to seize the moment yesterday. This may be more luck than anything else. The other, though, is more concrete. Iowa State’s failure these last two weeks to hit receivers deep (or hit receivers deep with some consistency) is letting teams stack the box against Breece Hall, which is in turn leading to performances like each of Hall’s so far. That’s something that, if it comes around, could make Iowa State a much better team on offense, which has been the weak spot these last two weeks.
I suppose one bright note is that Iowa may also be on the rebuild soon. They’ve thankfully never taken the step past the fringe of the top ten in the last 35 years or so. Even a rebuilding Iowa State might have a chance next year.
The Big Picture:
This does nothing to change Iowa State’s chance of making the Big 12 Championship except demonstrate that it’s perhaps a little lower than we thought. There’s a lot of season still in front of these guys, and a lot of season there for the taking. It would be denial, though, to say this isn’t disappointing. The reasonable goals this year were to make the Big 12 Championship and to beat Iowa. One of those is already out the window.
Relevant Results:
Texas lost badly at Arkansas, relieving fears of outstanding competition in the race to take on Oklahoma at season’s end. ISU still has its work cut out for them, but Texas looks more like its recent self than the machine it appeared capable of being in beating Louisiana-Lafayette.
Next Week:
The guys go to Vegas to play UNLV. Should be big favorites. Will need to bounce back quickly, though.
