Campbell said in his weekly press conference that we are the most athletic team Iowa State has faced this year. Didn't come off as coach speak.
It's nothing that your guys don't face in practice, but it will be a step up from Iowa - particularly on offense. We have 2 guys in Tennell Bryant and Malik Hornsby that will probably be the fastest players on the field.. Really hope we start getting them more involved this week.
I love the guy, but his press conferences are usually 100% coach speak. I'll tune in on occasion, but it's essentially the same press conference from week to week. That being said, you'll still be the most athletic team we've faced. Given that the first 2 teams were North Dakota and Iowa, I'm not sure that's a bold statement.
It'll be interesting to see how weather factors into the game. Rain and wind has a way to make anyone's prediction look silly. I think adverse conditions would favor us, but I'd rather watch a game where each team's strengths are on display. It's more fun. Campbell isn't focused on style points and if he sees he has an advantage with a ground and pound style, he'll take a boring 17-7 field position win.
In terms of your WRs, I'm struggling to remember the last time that ISU was beaten predominantly with stellar WR play. It's normally teams that are either run dominant or extremely balanced that give us fits. Our DBs may give up some underneath throws, but they are normally solid with downfield coverage. Our pass rush does a good job preventing long-developing plays through the air as well. Our defense is predicated by everyone doing their job. A bonus for us is that one of our DBs is a 6'4" state record holder in the 400m and is coming off one of his best games.