Iowa State strengths and weaknesses

[BWRhasnoAC]

Offense: At times anemic but has tons of talent. Run a lot of RPO's but haven't been keeping it for the QB run so our offense is somewhat 1 dimensional at times especially if you load the box. Like was said we have probably the best freshman RB in the country and Purdy is going to be in Heisman discussion next season. We tend to commit few penalties but they are always at the worst times and killing drives. Overall I give the offense a B, despite the fact they're the best offense in our school's history.

Defense: 3-3-5 stack is our base, bringing 3 on passing downs and keeping people in front of us dropping 8 generally into zone coverage. Our front 7 could play with any team out there, but our back end is somewhat weak against the pass. Typically we run almost like a double monster safety and they are used to keep outside contain past the defensive ends. They have been banged up which is why we have yielded more yards on the ground the last few weeks. I give the defense an A-.

Special Teams: Quite possibly one of the worst in the country. Kickers have been sporadic, and our punter blew his Achilles tendon before the season started, ironically the back up punter has been the best part of our ST. Typically we opt to fair catch both kick offs and punts, to minimize turnovers I assume but no one really knows why besides the coaches considering we have great return men. I give them a D and that is based on potential if we actually decide to return kicks.

Overall I would say Notre Dame should be favored and I wouldn't be surprised if they win. We are much better than our 7-5 record and the analytics back that up. I would say we should have beat Iowa and Okey State, so 9-3 is more indicative of what our record should be this year.

Happy trails and good luck. I hope we bury you!

 

[VeloClone]

NCAA rankings:

Total Offense:
ISU 21
ND 47

Total Defense:
ND 21
ISU 43

Talk about strength on strength...

This kind of comparison is why ISU fans get a little bit torqued off when ND fans feel that playing ISU is beneath them. Sure ISU lost 5 games, but the margins in those games were: 1, 1, 2, 7 and 10. When talking about strength of schedule ISU played 4 teams that were in the final playoff rankings:
#4 Oklahoma (L 42-41, ISU went for two with the final TD. Questionable no-call on the PAT attempt)
#7 Baylor (L 23-21, Baylor game winning FG in final seconds)
#16 Iowa (L 17-16, ISU blocker hit own return man in closing minutes. Iowa recovered to ice game)
#25 Oklahoma St (L 34-27, Purdy had a rare bad game with 3 picks in the 4th Q)

 

[VeloClone]

I don't know that much about Kmet except to say that I have heard from other sources that he is very good. ISU has so much wealth at TE that they often employ 3 TE sets to get some of their best players on the field and because so many teams have no idea how to defend 13 personnel unless it is a short yardage situation.

@TykeClone, based on your funny rating I'm going to guess you don't know what 13 personnel is - 1 RB and 3 TEs. If that isn't it, I apologize.

 

[CTTB78]

KenNotreDame,
With Purdy being the biggest threat ND will have to control, it comes down to the Irish's DL pass rush and blitz packages. If ND has good pressure it will have a major impact. If Purdy is able to operate in space, I like our chances.

 

[dosry5]

As you already know, Brock Purdy is the centerpiece of the offense. He has a solid receiver core with the three TEs I already mentioned - Kolar who is the best receiver of the bunch, Allen who despite probably being the slightest of the bunch is probably the best blocker and Soehner (SAY-ner) who is most likely of the three to line up as a fullback. All three can block, catch and run though so they are all threats in the passing game. It has been announced that Soehner will miss the bowl game due to injury though.

Wide ISUs three top targets are Pettway who plays bigger than he is, Milton who is the burner of the group, and Jones who always seems to get open and make the catch.

Someone already hit on Hall (RB) whose stats are a little misleading. A true freshman, it took a little while for him to grab the starting role, so his per game numbers don't grab your eye. Since he took over the starting role he has been very good. He made a true freshman all american team.

The OL is better than ISU has had in a while, but that isn't to say that it is a huge strength for the team. OL play has been dismal for a while so a serviceable line is an upgrade for us. That said, there is a good mix of experience and youthful talent there.

Special teams have been anything but. Our starting punter was lost before the season started and the walk on that took over has been surprisingly good. We struggled this season with place kicking. We have a walk on that is in his second season with the job and the heralded redshirt freshman couldn't take the job from him even when he struggled and has announced he will transfer. The walk on that has handled kickoffs has struggled at times as well. Our return game has been non-existent. Some of that is probably by design by the coaching staff, but probably because of deficiencies they see so they are going the low risk route. You will see a ton of fair catches. Our snapper is All American caliber, but when your PK struggles that has a limited effect on the game.

Why are you sharing all our secrets? What if this is really Brian Kelly you’re posting with? Ever think of that?

 

[KenND]

Total Offense:
ISU 21
ND 47

Total Defense:
ND 21
ISU 43

Talk about strength on strength...

This kind of comparison is why ISU fans get a little bit torqued off when ND fans feel that playing ISU is beneath them. Sure ISU lost 5 games, but the margins in those games were: 1, 1, 2, 7 and 10. When talking about strength of schedule ISU played 4 teams that were in the final playoff rankings:
#4 Oklahoma (L 42-41, ISU went for two with the final TD. Questionable no-call on the PAT attempt)
#7 Baylor (L 23-21, Baylor game winning FG in final seconds)
#16 Iowa (L 17-16, ISU blocker hit own return man in closing minutes. Iowa recovered to ice game)
#25 Oklahoma St (L 34-27, Purdy had a rare bad game with 3 picks in the 4th Q)

Every fan base has their share of insufferable douches. I would say that ND fans don’t really see playing ISU as being beneath them though. A lot of it breaks down into a couple of ways:

1. Fans were hoping for a more prestigious bowl like the Orange or Cotton. ND doesn’t want to join a conference, so the program is at the mercy of how the deal with the ACC is structured. It is laid out in such a way that the Orange Bowl was not an option, so it is what it is. That’s the price that you pay for being independent.

2. There is no upside in playing Iowa State. If ND wins, then no one cares because the narrative is that “ND is supposed to win”. A lot of fans would have rather played Texas because it would have been a much easier game, and the win over the “Texas” is perceived as having value, whether it be when ND recruits in Texas or whatever.

 

[simply1]

@TykeClone, based on your funny rating I'm going to guess you don't know what 13 personnel is - 1 RB and 3 TEs. If that isn't it, I apologize.

I prefer going with 13 players on the field if you can.

 

[simply1]

You'll probably score just before halftime no matter the circumstances.

 

[KenND]

KenNotreDame,
With Purdy being the biggest threat ND will have to control, it comes down to the Irish's DL pass rush and blitz packages. If ND has good pressure it will have a major impact. If Purdy is able to operate in space, I like our chances.

ND’s two best pass rushers won’t be playing, but there is still an ability to get to the QB. How confident are you in your OL?

 

[VeloClone]

Why are you sharing all our secrets? What if this is really Brian Kelly you’re posting with? Ever think of that?

If Brian Kelly is looking to us for tips, we have already won.

 

[ISUTex]

ND’s two best pass rushers won’t be playing, but there is still an ability to get to the QB. How confident are you in your OL?

Is Kareem out?

 

[VeloClone]

Every fan base has their share of insufferable douches. I would say that ND fans don’t really see playing ISU as being beneath them though. A lot of it breaks down into a couple of ways:

1. Fans were hoping for a more prestigious bowl like the Orange or Cotton. ND doesn’t want to join a conference, so the program is at the mercy of how the deal with the ACC is structured. It is laid out in such a way that the Orange Bowl was not an option, so it is what it is. That’s the price that you pay for being independent.

2. There is no upside in playing Iowa State. If ND wins, then no one cares because the narrative is that “ND is supposed to win”. A lot of fans would have rather played Texas because it would have been a much easier game, and the win over the “Texas” is perceived as having value, whether it be when ND recruits in Texas or whatever.

I see what you did there. It will probably work.

 

[KenND]

If Brian Kelly is looking to us for tips, we have already won.

I wish that I were Brian Kelly so that I could retire and let ND try and hire Campbell.

 

[KenND]

Is Kareem out?

Kareem will play, as far as I know. He has been banged up all year. ND’s two best pass rushers at the beginning of the season were Julian Okwara and Daelin Hayes. Neither will be playing due to injury.

 

[KenND]

I see what you did there. It will probably work.

What do you mean?

 

[coolerifyoudid]

Strengths: QB, run defense, few penalties, passing efficiency, tight ends, we don't get blown out

Weaknesses: we'll struggle with patient teams that are content with 4 yard gains, defending sure-passing drives going into halftime, will sometimes abandon the run-game a little too early, third down defense, field goals > 35 yards, the penalties we get are drive-killers, negative turnover margin (mainly due to several missed interceptions)

We have struggled to put a complete game together this year thus far, but we are finally at a point where talent and depth are not issues like we used to have. I think both side will try to disrupt the other's QB early to establish momentum and both offenses will play it somewhat conservatively to weather the initial storm. I could see it being 10-13 going into the half and then having it open up after halftime adjustments are made.

 

[VeloClone]

I wish that I were Brian Kelly so that I could retire and let ND try and hire Campbell.

Heavy on the "try". I'm not deluded enough to think that Campbell will never leave, but he has demonstrated that it isn't going to be easy to lure him away. He thanked our president and AD for getting his latest extension done so quickly so he could demonstrate to recruits that all of the rumors were just talk and he was definitely staying to continue building something here.

 

[bawbie]

Hey @KenND, what do you think this means for the bowl game?

 

[VeloClone]

What do you mean?

That line about Texas being an easier game will buy you a lot of good will with many posters here.

 

[MartyFine]