Sep 14, 2019; Ames, IA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Nate Stanley (4) is tackled by Iowa State Cyclones defensive back Greg Eisworth (12) at Jack Trice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
AMES — Greg Eisworth played a noteworthy game in Saturday’s twice weather-interrupted 18-17 loss to Iowa.
But his personal efforts did nothing to assuage the pain caused by the gaffe-riddled defeat.
Nonetheless, the star junior safety notched a single-game career-best 15 tackles and garnered well-deserved praise from Cyclones head coach Matt Campbell.
“Geez, he, at times, looked like he was shot out of a cannon,” Campbell said after ISU’s fifth straight loss to the 19th-ranked Hawkeyes. “I think that’s the thing you just appreciate about Greg. What we ask Greg to do in our program, it’s not easy. And it’s not easy to do how he’s doing it, but I thought he was exceptional.”
Eisworth thwarted a couple third and short plays for Iowa and stressed that the team’s collective bond remains steadfast, despite a panoply of mistakes that framed Saturday’s loss.
“First we want to get to (Sunday),” the junior college transfer said. “Dissect tonight’s film and correct that and then Monday, we’ll hit the ground rolling, but one step at a time for us. We’ve got to figure out what we did wrong first.”
That’s evident on paper — and to the naked eye. But the mistakes that doomed several promising Iowa State drive, along with shaky third down defense, will jump off the screen.
“Tackling, in some situations, was tough for us,” Campbell said. “And then just consistency in terms of, you know, I thought, offensive football, we got into some really good flows and then shot ourselves in the foot a couple times. Those are all things for me that are correctable. That’s why it’s way more on coaching than it is (on) one pf those kids in the locker room. So we’ve got to do a better job and that will start with me.”
PURDY PRETTY, PRETTY GOOD — DESPITE A COUPLE MISCUES
Campbell said Brock Purdy played well Saturday despite losing a fumble inside the Iowa 20-yard line and missing tight end Charlie Kolar on a potential touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter.
“Geez, 24 of 34, ran the football for us,” Campbell said. “Again, I thought he did a great job. I thought he gave us every opportunity to win the football game.”
QUOTABLE
“We talked, as a team, and we picked everybody up. We believe in one another and wouldn’t want to play with anyone else. Our season, again, isn’t defined by what happened tonight.” — Brock Purdy
ETC.
Tarique Milton set single-game career highs in catches (eight) and receiving yards (144). That amount of yardage from a receiver is the fourth-highest for a Cyclones receiver against Iowa. … Deshaunte Jones is now 10th all-time at ISU in career receptions with 128 and ranks 18th in career receiving yards (1,322). … Sixty percent of Arkansas grad transfer La’Michael Pettway’s catches (three of five) have ended with a touchdown. … O’Rien Vance’s third sack of the season helped push ISU’s streak of consecutive games with at least one quarterback takedown to 14 — the second-longest such streak in program history.
