Iowa State Cyclones defensive back Malik Verdon (7) punches the ball out from Cincinnati Bearcats’ quarterback Brendan Sorsby (2) and forces a fumble during the first quarter in the week-12 NCAA football at Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
AMES — It’s not complicated, but it is a problem.
That’s the universal response when discussing the Iowa State defense’s susceptibility to big plays in the run game.
The Cyclones (8-2, 5-2) enter Saturday’s 6:30 game at Utah (4-6, 1-6) as the only Big 12 team that’s allowed a rush of 80-plus yards this season. They’re one of three conference teams to allow a 70-yard run and one of two to yield multiple 60-yard jaunts.
So what gives? Again, it’s complicated, but being down multiple starter-level linebackers helps explain why.
“We’ve got stuff there to clean up, and a couple of those things I didn’t probably help them any in some of the calls,” said ISU defensive coordinator Jon Heacock, whose unit leads the Big 12 in points allowed at 18.6 per game despite the run game woes. “Everybody watches the week before and, man, if they find a play that works, they run it against you. So you rep them out. We always do that. I’ve been doing that for 40 years. You’ve just gotta keep getting reps at it and recognize what’s going on.”
The Cyclones’ rushing defense has led the league in two of the past four seasons — and ranked among the top three during that entire span. So it’s a combination of inexperience at key spots and ill-timed moments of miscommunication that has pushed ISU near the bottom of the conference in that category. And while the rushing defense has foundered, the pass defense has become elite. The Cyclones rank third nationally in that regard, allowing a paltry 153.4 yards per game through the air, which helps explain how they remain a top-20 scoring defense.
Case in point: Last week’s 34-17 win over Cincinnati. The Bearcats rushed for a robust 287 yards but passed for just 66.
“I think (it was) everyone doing their job,” senior defense end Joey Petersen said. “I think in past weeks we’ve been trying to do too much, so falling back on that just doing your job (mentality); not trying to do your job and the guy next to you’s job. Believe in him and believe in everybody around you that they’re gonna do their jobs, and you do your job the best you can.”
Utah ranks last in the Big 12 in rushing touchdowns (6) and is 12th in rushing yards per game (138.5), but it will likely try to exploit ISU’s rare difficulty in curtailing the running game.
“It’s all about fits in this defense,” senior cornerback Darien Porter said. “We have to be able to fit our gaps and get guys to the ball. So (it’s about) making sure we’re where we need to be when we need to be there. Just doing your job.”
That’s clearly a common refrain — and as the Cyclones get healthier on defense, that task becomes easier. The return of defensive lineman Dom Orange last week gave that unit a big boost since he can make an impact at nose guard and off the edge.
“I love the guy,” Petersen said. “Just for him to have success, it’s a big moral boost for everybody — seeing a guy just come in and destroying out there.”
And it’s not solely on the defense to “do their jobs.” ISU excelled in all three phases in last week’s win over the Bearcats, and that’s a recipe that must be replicated to win at Rice-Eccles Stadium and beyond. Four of Utah’s six losses have come by a combined 18 points — and the Utes are 120-40 all-time at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
“We have to be very detailed, especially in that environment,” said senior wide receiver Jaylin Noel, who’s just 65 yards shy of a 1,000-yard season. “If we can be detailed and do our job, then we’ll be great. But if we’re not doing the small detail things, that’s (how) we fall in those (close) games. So I feel like we’ve done a good job this year of being able to be detailed in the moment, and make the plays in the moment, and that’s what’s brought us to 8-2.”
