AMES - Iowa State’s defense has plenty to clean up, but Jesse Bobbit keeps circling back to the same lesson: accountability has to show up on every snap, not just after the damage is done.
That message, oddly enough, is getting reinforced by Aiden Flora.
The Cyclones’ star tailback didn’t just give ISU a reminder of how thin the margin can be when he muffed a punt in last week’s 42-31 loss at Baylor. He also gave the defense a model for owning a mistake the right way.
“Afterwards, he says, ‘Ah, I might have lost us the game by muffing that punt,’’ ISU’s first-year defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit said. “Which is not true at all.
(But) that’s extreme accountability. That’s someone (who) understands that every little mistake, and every little lack of focus, or execution - no matter if he was run into or not - can make a difference.”
That kind of mindset is exactly what Bobbit is trying to hammer home as Iowa State prepares for Saturday’s 11 a.m. matchup with Cincinnati at Jack Trice Stadium. The Cyclones’ defense has been erratic, and the numbers reflect it: second-to-last in the Big 12 in points allowed per conference game at 37.8.
The Baylor game was the perfect snapshot of that inconsistency. Iowa State opened by forcing four straight punts, then watched the Bears score touchdowns on five of their next six possessions. Bobbit said the first stretch showed what the unit can be when it’s locked in.
“In those first four drives, I would say we saw every play that we were gonna see the rest of the game and the guys executed,” said Bobbit, who’s Washington State defense last season ranked in the top 26 in terms of both average points and yards allowed per game. “So I think the biggest difference is the consistency in your actions and then executing.
That takes discipline. That takes every single play realizing that my job matters and when I do my job, it’s one-eleventh of the 11 guys on the defense, and that’s gonna help us have success.”
Bobbit knows the swings are part of football. A special teams mistake, a turnover, a missed tackle - any of it can tilt a game. The problem comes when one error turns into three, and the whole thing starts to unravel.
That’s why the work, in his view, has to happen before Saturday ever arrives.
“At the end of the day, too, do we need to simplify what we’re doing?” Bobbit said.
“Do we need to slow down the teaching meetings? Do meetings need to be longer?
Do there need to be more walkthroughs? Whatever it is, we are working on that.”
Cincinnati won’t make the fix easy. Quarterback JC French IV brings a dual-threat package, with eight rushing touchdowns and a 15-to-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The Bearcats also have Cole Tabb, one of two Big 12 backs averaging more yards per carry than Flora.
So there won’t be much room for Iowa State’s defense to breathe as the regular season winds down, with a bowl berth and a winning season still in play.
“I think great players have the ability to get themselves to do things that they don’t want to do at times,” ISU head coach Jimmy Rogers said. “I said that to the team today - that’s what great teams do, too.
When they don’t feel like it, they’ve gotta go out and practice extremely hard and do the smallest things right, because that is the difference at the edge of how you compete. … So we’re not done yet.”
Flora, Rogers said, fits that standard because of more than just his production. The former walk-on has become proof of what hard work can lead to.
“I think when you have people on the team (who) are living proof of working hard and getting good things to happen to you - Aiden is that example,” Rogers said.
Rogers also said wide receiver Cody Jackson suffered a season-ending injury in the loss at Baylor. The Tarleton State transfer is Iowa State’s third leading receiver, and he’s one of five key ISU pass catchers lost for the season.
“(It) sucks,” Rogers said. “(He’s) a senior who just played his last game, unknowing, and I think it’s statement for the rest of the team of, ‘I don’t know when I’m playing my last game, so I’ve gotta play every play like it’s my last.’”
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For the Cyclones, the challenge is simple in theory and harder in practice: slow down the ground game and make Cincinnati lean on a passing attack that has been less effective, especially away from home. If Iowa State can do that, the matchup tilts in its favor, but if the Bearcats control the line of scrimmage, the game could turn into the kind of grind that leaves the outcome hanging late. [Read more 🡒]