Well said here. This is precisely why everything looks SO HARD for Iowa State. Every first down is a fight for our life. Many passing plays require perfect precision from Dekkers, and when it gets it off, he BARELY gets it off, because of course the D-Line are closing in fast. WR's are rarely "schemed open" Run lanes are only open for a split second, requiring elite playmaking from our backs.
It is actually quite bizarre watching our offense and then watching most other offenses - Iowa State makes the game SO MUCH HARDER on itself with its schemes (lack thereof). Rarely does ANYTHING come easy. Rarely is there a WR wide open by 10 yards. Rarely is there a giant running lane. Rarely is there a misdirection that has EVERYONE fooled. Rarely are we gifted a big play where we've confused the defense and we've got a sure touchdown. And when it does actually happen, our guys lock up and freeze because they are so used to every single play being a total grind, every single play KNOWING that the defense knows exactly what play you are running! A perfect example is the X drop against Texas. He froze, he glitched, he had the yipps - whatever you want to call it - In that moment, in that split second, he could not believe he was wide open for a touchdown. And all that stress of having to be 'perfect' on every single play caused him to drop that ball. I truly believe that. He didn't calmly catch the ball and walk into the endzone because he's literally NEVER put in that position.
This is why the Iowa State offense sucks.