If Iowa State is going to sort out its offense, the bye week may be the perfect place to start.
The Cyclones come out of Friday night’s 24-10 loss to eighth-ranked BYU sitting at 3-3, and the problem is obvious: the offense is near the bottom of the Big 12. That puts coach Jimmy Rogers in a spot where a quarterback change at least has to be on the table before the Oct. 24 trip to Arizona.
Exit Jaylen Raynor?
Enter Connor Moberly?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Either way, Iowa State has six conference games left and still has some winnable ones on the board, including Oklahoma State, Cincinnati, UCF and possibly Kansas State. But if the offense keeps sputtering like it did in Provo, even the softest matchup is going to feel like a grind.
Friday was ugly from the start. In the first half, Iowa State managed only 48 yards and averaged 2.0 yards per play.
Fourteen of its 24 snaps went for 1 yard or less, and the average third down was third-and-12. BYU kept bringing pressure, and the Cyclones had no answer.
The defense kept the game from getting away early, but only just. BYU led 14-3 at halftime, and Iowa State’s own numbers told the story: 3.6 yards per play and 3.6 yards per rush. That’s not enough to threaten a team like BYU, especially when the Cougars are ranked eighth and sitting near the top of the Big 12.
Raynor has had moments this season, including a sprint-out short touchdown pass in the fourth quarter Friday. But there have also been plenty of signs that the jump from Arkansas State to the Big 12 has been a rough one.
Against BYU, he was 7 of 12 for 23 yards in the first half and added 15 rushing yards on four carries. Through six games, he’s 84 of 148 for 1,001 yards and has rushed 51 times for 166 yards.
That’s why the conversation around Moberly keeps hanging around. During the preseason, the competition was described as close, and Rogers made sure to praise him.
“I’m so proud of Moberly,” Rogers told reporters during the preseason. “He’s done an unbelievable job, and really has an unbelievable talent.”
The bigger issue, though, may not be the quarterback alone. The play-calling was hard to pin down Friday.
One week Iowa State leaned on screen passes and quarterback draws, and in the 45-42 win against West Virginia it opened things up. Against BYU, it looked far more conservative.
Trickeration one week, predictable the next.
And Iowa State did have chances to make the game closer. BYU had two punt returns go wrong.
The Cougars were 0-for-3 on fourth down. They also failed to score twice on plays around the 5-yard line.
Still, Iowa State’s best player, Aiden Flora, never really got going until a few second-half runs. That was a sharp contrast from the previous week, when he had five touchdowns against West Virginia’s defense.
There was at least one flash of life late, when the Cyclones finally pushed the tempo with about six minutes left and trailed by 11. On a fourth-quarter snap, Flora looked to pass, couldn’t find anyone, cut back left, and got a block from Raynor before turning it into a 21-yard gain to the BYU 47. It was Iowa State’s longest play of the night.
It just raised the obvious question: where was that earlier?
Maybe the answer lies in the procedural penalties that cropped up at the worst times. Maybe it was BYU’s defense, which is top five in the Big 12 and handled its business like the best team in the league.
Whatever the explanation, the Cyclones are still searching. Rogers will have the bye week to decide whether to keep rolling with Raynor, give Moberly a shot, or stick with what he has. But unless the offense finds something soon, Iowa State is going to keep making every Saturday harder than it needs to be.
In Other News...
Iowa State Heads Into Bye Week With One Alarming Problem
Iowa States first Big 12 road test of the season brought a harsh reality check, as the Cyclones fell 24-10 at No. 8 BYU and were outplayed in just about every phase. The offense never found a rhythm, the defense spent too much time under pressure, and the final numbers told the story clearly: 200 yards gained, 506 allowed.
With a bye week now offering a breather, the focus shifts to the kind of fixes that do not show up in a box score but can decide a season. Head coach Jimmy Rogers and linebacker Carson Willich both pointed to communication and mental sharpness as priorities, and Iowa State enters the break knowing the next stretch will say a lot about whether this loss was a stumble or something more concerning. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Keeps Getting The Kickoff Slot Fans Dread Most
Iowa States home crowds have told a pretty clear story over the last four seasons: the later the kickoff, the better the turnout. Night games have produced the strongest average attendance and the highest sellout rates, while morning starts have consistently lagged behind, a pattern that says as much about fan habits as it does about the atmosphere inside Jack Trice Stadium. For a program that leans heavily on a loud home field, the timing of kickoff has become a bigger part of the equation than it might seem at first glance.
This season has only sharpened that contrast because the Cyclones have not had a single night home game, even though the numbers point to that window as the most reliable way to pack the place. It leaves Iowa State in the familiar spot of waiting on the television schedule and hoping the next assignment lands in the slot fans prefer least, even as the data suggest the programs best crowds are still tied to the lights. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Heads Into Bye Week With One Frustrating Offensive Problem
A Friday night in Provo gave Iowa State another reminder that the bye week is arriving at a useful time. BYU pushed the game with a mix of downfield shots and bold fourth-down decisions, and the Cyclones spent much of the night trying to find a rhythm on offense. A late touchdown at least kept the score moving, but it did not change the larger picture of an attack that never quite settled in.
For a team trying to hold its spot in the Big 12 race, the week off now carries some real weight. Iowa State will get seven days away from the game action after the BYU loss, and the biggest issue sitting on the list is an offense that has to look sharper when conference play moves on. The break offers a chance to reset, but it also leaves the Cyclones with a clear problem to solve before they come back. [Read more 🡒]