Iowa State vs Oklahoma State Recap

Jared Barnett started the game by leading Iowa State to a quick touchdown and a field goal in the first quarter but faltered the rest of the way before Steele Jantz took over in the 4th quarter. In between the team managed eight three and outs and two turnovers.

Say what you will about the offense's inefficiency but the defense started off almost immediately giving up large chunks of yardage left and right. A 74-yard pass from J.W. Walsh to Charlie Moore early in the 2nd quarter drastically changed what adjustments the Iowa State defense had made and they were never the same in the passing game the rest of the way.

Despite Joseph Randle being limited early he finished with 151 yards on 24 carries with two touchdowns to help ensure that Oklahoma State came away from their Homecoming with a win and giving Mike Gundy career win 63, which moves him to first on the all-time Oklahoma State wins list.

For as good as Oklahoma State's offense was, the Iowa State offense was just as listless and lost for much of the game. Jared Barnett started three off five and completed a two-yard pass to Jeff Woody for the game's first TD (yes, official stats list the option pitch as a pass). After that everything proceeded to go downhill for the Cyclones. The offensive line again struggled to get the run game going and struggled at times to maintain blocks in the passing game. Iowa State was consistently in 3rd and long situations where Jared Barnett was taking seven step drops in the shotgun and short arming throws to his receivers at nearly every chance he got.

Despite the 341 yards that will show up on paper this game was nowhere close to feeling like that. A large chunk of those yards came with Steele Jantz at the helm and Oklahoma State in soft coverage. This could quite possibly be the worst offense the Cyclones have had since the debacle in 2003 when three different quarterbacks saw the field. The biggest bright spot for this offense was receiver Quenton Bundrage, filling in for an injured Josh Lenz, who caught four balls for 62 yards including a 35-yard strike from Barnett on the first play from scrimmage.

Baylor comes to Ames for a 6 PM kickoff next weekend in Iowa State's Cytennial Homecoming celebration. The defense will need to re-discover its pass rush and the offense will need to focus on... everything... for the Cyclones to get back in the W column and avoid a three game losing streak for the second year in a row.