Pretty good I'd say. The O-Line is shaping up to be the best we've seen in the Campbell era, sans the 2020 season, and they get some good push in the run game which is something we've maybe never seen. The RB room very good, and very deep, though I think would have some concern is J. Brock went down. Sanders and Silas are clearly more complementary type backs and I'd be concerned if one of them had to carry a full load or if it were down to just the two of them in a committee.
One thing that has frustrated me so far is the passing game, with the amount of throws to the flats, 4-5 yard outs, 8-10 yard crossing patterns and slants etc. When the blocking is there, these plays can appear 'explosive', but what I'd like to see if more downfield stuff. We know Dekkers has the arm. Is the issue in offensive scheme or in WR talent? X and Noel are really good in space, but not sure either of them are burners. Is the missing piece someone that can take the top off of a defense, or is it just not schemed to move the ball like that? I am fine with getting 7-8 yards per play, and the offense has a nice flow to it so far, but I'd like to see us tee up a few more home run opportunities. Final scores of 42-10 vs SEMO and 43-10 vs Ohio are great, but look around the conference a little bit:
Kansas beat Tennessee Tech 56-10
WVU beat Towson 65-7
Texas Tech beat Murray St 63-10
Oklahoma State has put up 58 and 63 in games this year
I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining, but it'd be nice to see a result like one of the above at some point, and I'm trying to figure out why we don't ever see it. 70-21 v.s Louisiana Monroe a few years back is the closest I've seen a Campbell-led ISU team get.
One thing that has frustrated me so far is the passing game, with the amount of throws to the flats, 4-5 yard outs, 8-10 yard crossing patterns and slants etc. When the blocking is there, these plays can appear 'explosive', but what I'd like to see if more downfield stuff. We know Dekkers has the arm. Is the issue in offensive scheme or in WR talent? X and Noel are really good in space, but not sure either of them are burners. Is the missing piece someone that can take the top off of a defense, or is it just not schemed to move the ball like that? I am fine with getting 7-8 yards per play, and the offense has a nice flow to it so far, but I'd like to see us tee up a few more home run opportunities. Final scores of 42-10 vs SEMO and 43-10 vs Ohio are great, but look around the conference a little bit:
Kansas beat Tennessee Tech 56-10
WVU beat Towson 65-7
Texas Tech beat Murray St 63-10
Oklahoma State has put up 58 and 63 in games this year
I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining, but it'd be nice to see a result like one of the above at some point, and I'm trying to figure out why we don't ever see it. 70-21 v.s Louisiana Monroe a few years back is the closest I've seen a Campbell-led ISU team get.