And we went 3-1 in those games, and were leading with 1:30 left in the game we lost. I'm sure Skatebo will have a nice game. But the only stat that matters now is W/L.
Arizona State Matchup
- Thread starter werdnamanhill
- Start date
See, I'd agree the issue is Leavitt is very mobile. And we saw UCF, a very one dimensional offense, and Cincinnati, both rush for a crap ton of yards.
Now, the Iowa State fan in me says that was without Will and Jack and our LBs are a lot better now. But, we have not been great agains the run, even one dimensional teams. So while I traditionally agree, them having a mobile QB whose also capable of throwing... granted, without his primary target... IDK.
It's a tough game. Very winnable. But also very tough.
Was KSU the only game that ISU was relatively healthy at LB?
They held Johnson and Giddens in check overall imo.
Cincinnati we were semi-healthy, though to be fair, also Will's first game back and Jack's first super major minutes.
Yes, the rush defense was better, which was awesome, versus K-State. But we are going to need Malik back and also, hopefully a close to 100% JR in order to win , I think. Obviously if Brezina could be back that would also be huge. Offensively, Barrett/ Brahmer . If we are at 40% or better in terms of that happening... I think we have pretty decent chances.
If not... it might be a dog fight
FWIW, Malik's backup Tashawn James had the highest PFF grade on our entire defense vs KState. We won't be completely devoid of options, and I expect James to be chomping at the bit to show he's ready to step into an increased roll.
We saw this with Beau Freyeler at the end of the Cheez-It bowl season vs Clemson, as you will recall he was behind Isheem Young playing sparingly, who transferred to Ole Miss for a payday and more exposure.
Though not the same situation for Malik as he's hurt, not transferring. The situation may be similar in the sense that we might have a young guy in James who has played quite a bit and certainly took his lumps along the way, who might now be coming into his own and hungry to prove it.
Best case scenario IMO we get a mix of Verdon and James and we get the best of both, but we might be OK if James can play like he did against KSU, if Malik can't go.
It would be nice to have at least 1 safety that has 2 arms to try and tackle this top 10 back.
Right On!
I had only visited the State of Iowa twice and never been on Campus until I started school at ISU. I loved every single minute of being in school and living in Ames. Additionally, I have maintained friends from that time that I still see regularly when I pop into to town on GameDay and tailgate with them. Iowa State and Ames truly are Magical Places. I am lucky that I found Iowa State University, or did it find me at the 1978 Hall of Fame Classic @ Legion Field?
Last edited:
Those guys probably ran all over ISU in 4th quarter
Manhandled? KSU had more yards than ASU (not much but still) as mentioned KSU held Cam to 2.9 ypc, while KSU as a team averaged 6.2 ypc. Most importantly KSU had 3 turnovers to ASU's 1. Hardly manhandled. If Rocco plays well I think ISU wins by 10+
Not saying they can't do it, but if ASU is going to score 27, they better score 20 in the first half.
We all know how good Heacock is in the second half, but i went thru it this season and figured up the opponent's second half points.
Ndsu 0
Iowa 7
Ark St 7> Iowa St up 45-0
Houston 0
Baylor 7
WVU 6> 1 minute left Iowa St up 28-10
UCF 14> 7pts off a pick 6
Tech 13
KU 14> 7pts off pick 6
Cincinnati 7
Utah 15> 8 pts off punt block
KSt 7
So if you take out the end of game meaningless pts, and the pts that were not the defense fault, that's 62 pts over 12 games. An Avg of about 5 pts per second half.
Of course this is only great for the ASU game if the special teams and Rocco can avoid huge mistakes.
Oddly enough, no team has made a field goal against Iowa St in the second half this year.
The turnover margin is basically a push...believe ASU is has 2 more turnover recoveries than us. There is a special teams edge to ISU...significantly better FG kicking, both in accuracy and distance, along with a near 5 yard better punt NET average. Also throw in a big difference advantage in penalty numbers and yards to ISU. Boils down stopping the ASU run and letting Rocco find the targets. I also like the low number of sacks by the ASU defense going along with a low number of sacks allowed by ISU...Rocco should have time.
They only have one receiver putting up those kinds of numbers? Weird.
After how our team looked in Memphis, why should fans show up to a bowl game? Bowls are dead. Use it as part of a vacation if you need it, but only if you're already looking at going to the area.
As sad as it is, I completely agree. I won't plan on attending a non playoff or B12 Championship game anytime soon. It was pretty clear to me that the Bowl game in Memphis was nothing more than a season finale scrimmage in the eyes of the coaching staff. I'm not saying we didn't try to win the game when we were on the field, but it was clear that we did not gameplan at all.
And if you throw Neal in from KU at #15 it's 6 of the top 15.... and Kiner in from Cincy at #21 it's 7 of the top 25. Let's just say we have faced a lot of solid running backs this year.
Anyone else think it's odd that the line shifted from ISU -1 to ISU +2 even with the news that their top WR is out? And 63% of the bets are currently on ASU? Something feels fishy about that and is making me nervous.
Not really, the house wins a hell of a lot more than they don't.
