No. 25 Arizona wasted no time turning Saturday into a long afternoon for Iowa State.
Noah Fifita needed just 31 seconds to find the end zone, and the Wildcats kept pouring it on from there in a 39-3 rout at Casino Del Sol Stadium in Tucson. Arizona improved to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the Big 12, while the Cyclones dropped to 3-4 and 1-3.
The opening sequence set the tone. Arizona scored immediately on Fifita’s 71-yard touchdown pass to Mizell, then followed with a successful two-point conversion. From there, Iowa State spent most of the day trying to slow a game that had already slipped away.
Fifita was sharp throughout, carving up an injury-depleted Cyclone defense and completing 21 of his first 23 passes. He finished 27-for-34 for 308 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. His second scoring strike came in the fourth quarter, a 40-yard connection with Henry Gabalis.
“Yeah, he’s good,” Rogers said. “We’ve gotta play a lot better on defense in so many ways to have a shot in this.
The (six) penalties also killed us. We had multiple defensive PI’s to keep the sticks moving and then offensively we’ve gotta be much better than this to stick in tough games.”
Iowa State’s offense never found a rhythm, either. The Cyclones failed to pick up a first down on their first six third-down tries and finished just 3-for-14 on third down. They also managed only 52 rushing yards, their first time under 100 on the ground in 24 games, and averaged just four yards per play.
“We’re gonna have to trey to be a little bit more predictable,” Rogers said. “We rushed the ball 31 times for 52 yards, which is embarrassing.”
The quarterback situation added another wrinkle. Jaylen Raynor started and went 8-for-10 for 106 yards before coughing up a fumble late in the first half on a desperation pitch to tailback Aiden Flora as he tried to escape pressure.
Connor Moberly took over and handled most of the second half, finishing 7 of 17 for 63 yards while also rushing 10 times for 20 yards. The Southeast Polk High School grad replaced Raynor after the turnover.
Arizona’s defense never let the Cyclones breathe. The Wildcats ran 15 more offensive plays, piled up 477 total yards to Iowa State’s 221 and recorded a season-high four sacks.
Linebacker Sullivan Schlimgen was one of the few bright spots for Iowa State, finishing with a career-best 15 tackles, including two for loss.
Saturday’s defeat marked Iowa State’s first true blowout loss under Rogers, and its fourth against a ranked opponent this season. The Cyclones had previously fallen by three at No.
15 Iowa, by 14 at home against No. 10 Utah and by 14 two weeks ago at No.
2 BYU.
Rogers said the focus now has to turn quickly.
“Hats off to them,” ISU’s first-year head coach Jimmy Rogers said on the Cyclone Radio Network after the game. “We’ve got to grow.
We’ve gotta get better. We can’t hang our heads.
We’ve still got five games left, one at a time, and we’ve gotta respond and get healthy as much as possible and go out there and compete much harder than we did tonight.”
Iowa State returns home next Saturday for a 6 p.m. meeting with Oklahoma State (5-2, 3-1) at Jack Trice Stadium. Offensive tackle Jake Taylor said getting back to Ames should help.
“It’ll be good being at home,” offensive tackle Jake Taylor said. “It’s been a while.
So having our Cyclone fans behind us is gonna be huge for us. Nothing we can do besides learn from it tonight, tomorrow, and start preparing for those guys.”
In Other News...
Arizona Put Iowa State In A Spot No Big 12 Team Wants
A bye week was supposed to give Iowa State a chance to reset, but Arizona made sure the Cyclones never got comfortable. The Wildcats jumped out with multiple early touchdowns, putting the Cyclones behind before the game had a chance to settle in and leaving them to chase from the opening stretch.
The second half brought a quarterback change, with Connor Moberly replacing Jaylen Raynor in an effort to spark the offense, but Iowa State still had trouble finding a rhythm. Now the Cyclones head back home with Oklahoma State next on the schedule, and they are trying to turn a rough road lesson into something more stable before the Big 12 race tightens any further. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State May Have Found The Offensive Spark It Needed
Ryan Prather Jr. gave Iowa State exactly the kind of perimeter boost it has been looking for, scoring 25 points and drilling six of seven shots from beyond the arc as the Cyclones rolled past Northwestern 84-59 in an exhibition game. The approach looked familiar in the best way, with Iowa State leaning on paint touches to open up clean looks on the outside, while fifth-year point guard Tamin Lipsey returned for his preseason debut and added 14 points and seven assists to steady the offense.
The performance also had the feel of a deeper lineup finding its footing, with several Cyclones chipping in through rebounds, blocks and timely scoring as the group moved closer to its season opener. For a team that has been searching for a more reliable offensive spark, the exhibition offered a promising snapshot of what this roster can look like when the ball is moving, the spacing is there and the shots start falling. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Just Showed Why This Team Could Be So Dangerous
Ryan Prather Jr. gave Iowa State exactly the kind of spark that can make this team dangerous once the calendar turns toward tougher games. Coming off the bench at Welsh-Ryan Arena, he led the Cyclones with 25 points in a lopsided 94-59 win over Northwestern, while the rest of the group backed him with the kind of defense and shot-making that has become the programs calling card.
Iowa State was already in control by halftime after overwhelming Northwestern on both ends, then kept the game in hand even as the Wildcats found a little more rhythm after the break. The larger question now is whether this version of the Cyclones, with bench production and smothering defense both showing up at once, can keep stacking performances like this when the opposition gets better. [Read more 🡒]