The pressure, once again, is on.
***
Whom:
Iowa State vs. West Virginia
When:
1:00 PM Cyclone Time
Where:
Morgantown
Weather:
50’s, rainy, not a lot of wind.
How to Watch:
That Big 12 Now/ESPN+ dealio.
The Opponent:
West Virginia isn’t great, but they aren’t far from being 6-1. They lost to Maryland, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech by a combined twelve points. They beat TCU without too much trouble last weekend. Their only big loss came at Baylor by 25 earlier in the month. In other words, they’re competitive. Jarret Doege is still the quarterback. They’re a bit better through the air than on the ground. Defensively, they’re much better on the ground than through the air.
The Numbers:
Iowa State’s a 6.9-point favorite by SP+, and a 7.5-point favorite in the market. The over/under’s at 48, so the implied score’s something like 28-20, Cyclones.
What Iowa State Needs to Do:
The Cyclones control their fate in the Big 12 even if they lose to Oklahoma, which is a great spot to be in, and something they want to keep. To do that, they’ll need the defense to do its thing, and the offense will likely need to do its thing, which is mostly just playing low-mistake football.
Just because WVU’s better at defending the run than the pass doesn’t mean Iowa State can’t rely on the run. The rushing attack’s good enough to make an impact. That said, Brock Purdy will probably need to make some throws, which is something he can do, especially with the receiving corps he has. Good hands out there, even if it’s wet.
Other Games of Interest:
Oklahoma hosts Texas Tech in their weekly dalliance with disaster. Texas is at Baylor. Kansas is at Oklahoma State. Iowa State wouldn’t mind Baylor losing theirs, given the head-to-head situation there.
Iowa, who’s still of some interest even outside of the rivalry, is at Wisconsin. To be honest, even if you’re one of the Cyclone fans still dreaming on a playoff berth, I don’t think Iowa winning is to your benefit. They’ve got the head-to-head. In the Cyclones’ lone dream scenario (two-loss Big 12 champion), you want Iowa to not have won the Big Ten or to have three losses. You need something that puts you ahead of them. Losing to Wisconsin makes their likely best-case a 10-2 finish without a Big Ten title game appearance.
Iowa State Thoughts:
It’s a take-care-of-business-on-the-road game, and because this is the Big 12 and the opponent isn’t Kansas, that’s hard. Big game! They’re all big games.
