Iowa State’s Benjamin Brahmer (18) points forward after getting a first down during the Cy-Hawk game Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. © Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
Iowa State fans celebrated a big win on Sunday and will get to take a breath now with the week off.
Let’s muse.
The Cy-Hawk is back in Ames and Iowa State’s got the week off
Saturday’s game was something special for the Cyclones. I’ll try to not regurgitate anything that I wrote in my postgame takeaways article here, but give that a read for more from this one.
I thought the defense showed more potential than anyone realized going forward this season.
In that piece, I referenced Darien Porter, who may have played the best game of his career, as well as Myles Purchase’s play on the defensive side.
The same is true for freshman linebacker Cael Brezina, who made his Iowa State debut while running the communications for the defense in the absence of Caleb Bacon. He totaled five tackles and had an assist on a tackle for loss in a big moment.
Throw in Beau Freyler and Jeremiah Cooper – two all-Big 12 talents that have proven to rise to the occasions in big games.
I’m leaving out a slew of names that had played some of their better games of their careers on Saturday in Iowa City. The execution was nearly flawless for the unit in the second half, which is where I’m going with this.
Domonique Orange certainly fits that category, and probably Jacob Ellis, too.
If Iowa State can get that from these guys, especially the younger ones that tend to improve more as a season goes on, this could turn into one of the most memorable defenses in my lifetime. I look forward to diving deep into the numbers later this season.
I think Jaylon Jackson showed a lot in this game in limited touches.
I sent a tweet or two about him on Saturday – in five carries, Jackson totaled 26 yards and finished with 5.2 yards per carry. Jackson was shifty, turning two-yard rushes into five, six or seven. When Iowa State hits the field again with Arkansas State, I hope he gets some more touches. There’s potential there.
Iowa State is back in the top 25 for the first time since 2021, ands that’s a big deal with the upcoming opponents on the table. The Cyclones should be double-digit favorites in each of their next three games.
I’ll leave you with this: It has now been 2,194 days since Iowa last beat Iowa State at Kinnick Stadium.
Around a chaotic week in the Big 12
Boy, did Oklahoma State get some breaks in that game. The Cowboys escaped with a 39-31 win over Arkansas in double overtime Saturday. They got back into the game in the fourth quarter on a muffed punt, missed a field goal in overtime and still got it done. It’s at least a good result for the Big 12.
The Cowboys did however lose star linebacker Collin Oliver to an injury, which will sideline the standout player for what could be the rest of the year. Mike Gundy said he thinks it’s a season-ender. He had 73 tackles and 6 sacks last year for the team, and Saturday had this pass rush that forced a pick.
Arizona survived another scare. For the second week in a row, the Wildcats were battling a lower level opponent further into the game than is comfortable. Northern Arizona went into halftime with a 10-6 lead. Arizona took the lead on its first drive of the second half after forcing a 3-and-out, eventually winning 22-10.
There were mixed reviews all around on Arizona over the off-season – and now we’re heading into week 3 and still don’t really know what to think about this team. Friday night’s matchup between the Cats and No. 17 Kansas State will be one to watch.
I still think KSU is a real contender in this league despite the close game it played against Tulane this weekend. Avery Johnson’s 15-23, 181-yard, 2-touchdown performance seems solid, but I haven’t had a chance to go back and watch that one.
Speaking of teams we don’t know what to think of, Houston was hanging around with Oklahoma this weekend after being ran off the field by UNLV in its season opener.
It’s too early to tell what Oklahoma will do this season, and the Sooners very well could have overlooked Houston, but it was without a doubt a redemption performance for the Cougars. They take on Rice and make a trip to Cincinnati before the Cyclones come to town.
Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo runs the ball like his life depends on it. The Sun Devil ran for 262 and picked up another 35 receiving. Sam Leavitt showed some athleticsim and grit despite an ugly 10-20 69 passing yards line. He rushed for 68 yards and had both of ASU’s offensive touchdowns.
The stadium was pretty dead after ASU took its 27-3 lead in the third quarter, and they let Mississippi State back into the game. At one point, a MSU wideout ran by three linebackers on his way to a score.
ASU escaped, and Skattebo iced it. They may have a test up next on Thursday against a Texas State team that steamrolled Jeff Traylor and the UTSA Road Runners – a real G5 power that is rebuilding after the last few seasons.
Cam Rising’s got injury trouble again with a hand injury that could limit him in the next few weeks. Utah was rolling against Baylor until Rising left the game. They face Utah State this week, but travel to Oklahoma State for week 4.
Illinois took down Kansas and sent the Jayhawks out of the top 25. I was surprised KU didn’t stick to the ground game more. Quarterback Jalon Daniels threw three picks and Illinois was able to get away with the win.
There was a bit of a fluky muffed punt that Illinois recovered in its own end zone – and apparently the rules changed on these because they credited Illinois with a touchback and it got to keep possession of the ball. I’m not a fan of that one, but let me know what you think.
Elsewhere in college football
The biggest upset of the day was in Cheney, Washington.
The Drake Bulldogs got paid $285,000 to play a road game at FCS power Eastern Washington and walked away with a double-overtime win. It pales in comparison to the $1.4 million that Northern Illinois got for playing Notre Dame, but EWU has over 60 scholarships more than Drake. Todd Stepsis and the Bulldogs are favorites to win their conference again and make a return trip to the FCS Playoffs.
If you would have told me as a kid that a crowd of Nebraska fans would be cheering on the Cyclones from Memorial Stadium…
Husker fans enjoyed yesterday’s Cy-Hawk result pic.twitter.com/kienCvjXGe
— Jackson Pence (@JacksonLPence) September 8, 2024
Alright, it’s the bye week now. Sit back and take a breath.
