Iowa State’s quarterback situation was already unsettled. After Saturday night in Tucson, it got even messier.
Head coach Jimmy Rogers declined to label it a “quarterback controversy,” even after backup Connor Moberly took over in the second half of a 39-3 loss to No. 22 Arizona.
Rogers is still standing behind starter Jaylen Raynor, but the next move is no longer simple with No. 24 Oklahoma State headed to Jack Trice Stadium at 6 p.m.
Saturday.
“I’ve gotta watch the film,” Rogers told reporters after the loss. “I’m not gonna talk too much about the quarterback play.”
Raynor’s late first-half fumble helped trigger the switch, according to Rogers. Iowa State had driven to Arizona’s 38-yard line before the miscue, then went into halftime down 25-3.
“It’s kind of why it happened,” Rogers said. “You’ve gotta make smart decisions.
If we’re gonna be in this together, you gotta be able to - and Jaylen handled it awesome. He was in there cheering on ‘Mobes’ the whole way through it.
It doesn’t change my feel of who he is as a leader, or what he;’s capable of doing. We were just looking for a spark there.”
Moberly provided a few flashes, but not enough to change the outcome. He added a 14-yard run and went 7-for-17 for 63 yards, yet Iowa State was held without a point after halftime.
Raynor’s first half was more productive through the air. The Arkansas State transfer completed eight of 10 passes for a team-high 106 yards, but he also took a 21-yard loss on four carries and lost the fumble. His run of 43 straight starts - most of them with the Red Wolves - now hangs in the balance as Rogers and his staff sort through the week.
That decision won’t be made on Raynor alone. Rogers made clear the problems run deeper, especially with an offense that has been battered by injuries.
“Mobes has to be better, too, if he’s gonna get in there,” Rogers said. “Some of those were the mental errors (that) I was referencing before.
You can’t make some of the mistakes you’re making when you get your opportunity, but he’s still young and he’s gonna grow. But right now we’re looking for answers and I don’t want to paint it on one particular player, because we’ll watch this film and some of those decisions may be based off the errors of others around you.”
The receiver room has taken a major hit. Iowa State has lost four of its top six pass catchers, based on preseason expectations, to season-ending injuries, leaving the quarterbacks with even less room to get comfortable.
“There’s growth that has to be had with every player on this team,” Rogers said. “We’ve got to do a better job of obviously painting the picture for them to go out and execute and this is a team loss.
I feel for this. It’s on me as much as it is on anybody, and I’m the head coach.
We’re gonna grow and only get better, but we can’t sulk on this. We’ve gotta move on.”
That’s the task now, and it comes with another difficult opponent. Oklahoma State arrives with the Big 12’s top-scoring offense at 40.0 points per game, and this will be Iowa State’s fifth game against a top-25 team this season. It also comes on Halloween night, with the Cyclones hoping home-field energy can help them steady the ship.
“I know how well coached they are and if we don’t respond the right way, it may look like this,” Rogers said after the most lopsided loss of his Iowa State tenure. “So we have a choice to make. We’ve gotta flush our errors, but we’ve also gotta learn from our errors in order to grow.”
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