The Iowa State Cyclones are staring at a big one this weekend, and the timing couldn’t be more urgent.
After dropping three of their last four against Utah, BYU, and Arizona, the sense around the program is that the season is starting to tilt the wrong way. That’s why Saturday night’s home game against Oklahoma State feels loaded. It’s a blackout at Jack Trice Stadium on Halloween night, and it carries the kind of weight that can’t be ignored.
What’s been dragging Iowa State down on defense isn’t just talent or effort. The real issue has been recognition.
The Cyclones have run into some tricky offenses, no question. Utah came with its two-quarterback rushing approach.
BYU and West Virginia leaned into the run. Even Bowling Green used screen passes and misdirection to keep Iowa State guessing.
Defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit has still done solid work with the group, but the trouble starts when the defense can’t sort out what it’s seeing early.
That has shown up fast in games. Iowa State didn’t allow a first-quarter point in its first two outings of the season.
Since then, the defense has given up at least seven points in the opening quarter, and it has happened multiple times with multiple scores. Against Utah and Arizona, the opponent was in the end zone on the first and second play of the game, respectively.
That kind of start matters even more for this Iowa State team because the offense hasn’t been able to bail anyone out. The passing game has struggled badly, and neither quarterback Jaylen Raynor nor Connor Moberly has been able to move the ball consistently.
So when the Cyclones fall behind, they’re forced to lean on the run. That’s a tough way to chase a game.
Head coach Jimmy Rogers has to get it corrected. Whether the answer is better prep from the first team or scout team offense, or more time spent in the film room, the Cyclones need a clearer handle on what they’re about to face before kickoff. College offenses at the FBS and Power Four level are built to confuse, and Iowa State has to be ready for that before the opening snap.
Right now, that lack of defensive recognition is Iowa State’s biggest problem. Until it changes, the Cyclones are likely to keep losing, and the margin may keep getting ugly.
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Iowa States Secondary Is Becoming A Problem The Cyclones Cant Ignore
Iowa States defense has given Matt Campbell enough good moments this season to keep the bigger picture from slipping away, but the cracks in the secondary have become harder to gloss over. The Cyclones have had stretches where the pass coverage held up and the pressure up front showed through, yet recent games against West Virginia, BYU and Arizona have brought the same issues back into focus, with opponents finding open receivers and points piling up.
The concern is not just one bad outing, but a pattern that keeps resurfacing when the competition gets more demanding. Injuries have thinned the cornerback group and kept it from building the kind of cohesion a defense needs in the back end, and the result has been a unit that has too often looked a step out of sync when Iowa State needed it most. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State's Ceiling Still Comes Down To One Massive Backcourt Question
Iowa States place in the national picture remains strong, with Joe Lunardis latest bracketology slotting the Cyclones as a No. 3 seed in the East Region and projecting a Round of 64 matchup with Harvard. The path looks manageable on paper, and if the bracket holds, Nebraska could be waiting in the next round, which only adds to the sense that this team has the kind of profile capable of making a deep run.
The larger question, though, still circles back to the backcourt and to Tamin Lipsey, whose eligibility for a fifth season remains tied up in a lawsuit in Indiana. For a team projected this high, that kind of uncertainty matters far beyond the headlines, because Lipsey is central to how Iowa State would want to navigate the biggest games of the season and how high the Cyclones ceiling can truly go. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Faces A Brutal Test As Injuries Keep Mounting
Drew Surges was back on the field for Iowa State wearing a protective club on his right arm, a reminder of how thin the Cyclones have become as the season grinds on. The safety had broken that arm earlier in the year, but his return gives a battered roster another body as the team tries to keep itself together through a demanding stretch and an upcoming matchup with No. 24 Oklahoma State.
Jimmy Rogers has leaned into the idea of resilience, and with good reason. Iowa State is working through a wave of injuries that has left it depleted at a time when the schedule offers little relief, so the focus has shifted to preparation and making sure the players available are ready for whatever comes next. Surges return helps, but it also underscores how much the Cyclones are asking of the guys still standing. [Read more 🡒]