Because 1,200 words on Iowa State’s 38-21 victory over Tulsa on Thursday night are not enough to cover everything, here are some additional musings on what went down.
*** My Cyclone Reaction co-host Jack Whitver and I spent a lot of time talking about defensive ends Nick Kron and Cory Morrissey on last night’s postgame show. Now granted, Iowa State still has nine games to play on its 2013 schedule but if these two keep progressing like this, Iowa State’s defensive line could be a pretty formidable group next season.
Kron is a guy who I’ve always thought could be pretty good. He just seems like a ball hawk to me. Last night was a good example of that. The West Des Moines Valley product forced not one, but two Tulsa fumbles and as he put it after the game, was in the “right place at the right time.” Kron was being humble. Good players put themselves in the right place at the right time. I think that Kron will have a nice second half of his career at Iowa State.
(Other than the forced turnovers, go ahead and insert Cory Morrissey’s name into that Nick Kron analysis from above).
*** After re-watching the tape, chalk that up as Rodney Coe’s best game to date as a Cyclone. No. 9 was quiet, but effective.
***Jeremiah George led Iowa State with 12 tackles last night. That is the guy who I predicted to lead the Big 12 in tackles during the preseason. For the life of me, I cannot figure out what happened to George in week one vs. UNI. Nonetheless, he seems to have figured it out, which will bode well in the coming week’s for Paul Rhoads’ defense.
*** More from the tape, that might have been Jansen Watson’s best game as a Cyclone.
*** Speaking of Watson, Iowa State’s secondary had a serious case of butter-fingers last night. Catch the ball guys!
*** Speaking of catch the ball, how many of you screamed “pick up the ball” on Cory Morrissey’s second half fumble recovery. Visions of DeAndre Jackson in Lincoln danced through my head from 2005 after that one…
*** On Wednesday night’s radio show, I hooted and hollered for more Jeff Woody. The big dude ran for three touchdowns on Thursday night. Courtney Messingham or Ken Pope (to whome it may concern) – if you’re reading this, I am honored that you listened to me the way that you did. Give me a buzz if you need any other tips (wink, wink).
***E.J. Bibbs made a couple of impressive plays while scoring his first touchdown as a Cyclone on Thursday night. It was refreshing to see that the tight ends actually are going to be a part of Iowa State’s offense and at the same time, now we know why Bibbs was so highly sought after out of junior college.
***Quenton Bundrage was only targeted seven times (according to my unofficial math watching the replay) but it wasn’t that big of a deal on Thursday night. That’s because his classmate, Tad Ecby was rock-freaking-solid in Iowa State’s victory. That’s what I see when I watch Ecby play football. He’s a quality route runner who I’ve yet to see drop a football.
And what can a guy say about Jarvis West? It’s been a while since we’ve seen a guy create the separation that West did time and time again last night.
*** To wrap things up, here’s what I like most about Iowa State’s 17-pount victory. Texas’ hot and cold defense actually has quite a bit to prepare for leading up to next Thursday’s national televised tussle. The Tulsa win wasn’t perfect, but it was complete from the stance that we saw some quality quarterback play, a legit Big 12 running back, multiple receivers getting the job done and a tight end that should always be a threat.
The offense made some serious, serious strides.
My guess is that the Longhorns will enter the game as a 7-10 point favorite, which is typical for Iowa State vs. Texas.
If you’ve watched the Longhorns at all this season, you know that it is a winnable football game for Iowa State but at the same time, there is no question that the Cyclones will have to keep improving to slay Goliath on Oct. 3.
