Iowa State at Texas Tech: Recap and Rapid Reaction

Well, I hope your liquor cabinet is stocked, because if you're like me, you took to heavy drinking during the game and am now too drunk to drive to the store for more booze. Unfortunately, I don't know that there's a spirit on the market that can drink away the sorrows of the 2013 football season.

1-4

I didn't see that coming in August. To be honest, who did? 2-3 maybe, but not 1-4. With today's loss, a bowl game is nearly an impossibility, which is not to say that it was likely to happen before this game anyway.

After a measured, upward trajectory in games one through four, where the progress could be seen in both the stat sheet and on-field product, Iowa State took a step back in Lubbock today and there were few positives to take away from this game.

The score was incredibly deceiving as Iowa State was outgained 666-311. That's right, 666 yards. Looks like our old pal Satan didn't have our backs today. To make matters worse, Iowa State gave up 245 yards on the ground to the worst rushing team in the conference to the tune of 5.6 yards per carry.

Very little went right as the Cyclones turned in one of the more frustrating offensive performances to date. Iowa State was 5-18 on third down, completed only 38% of their passes and rushed for a paltry 3.7 yards per carry. It was a shit-tastic performance, but credit has to be given to the Texas Tech defense.

After watching that game, I can confidently say that Texas Tech is extremely deserving of their top-20 ranking and is easily the best team Iowa State has faced to date. The Red Raiders deployed a calculated, aggressive defensive scheme and Iowa State had no answer.

Defensively, without Jansen Watson in the line up, the Iowa State secondary didn't stand a chance. The middle of the field was open all day and Davis Webb picked apart the Cyclone defense as he racked up 415 yards passing in his first start.

Positive Takeaways

Well, how about Jarvis West? The junior jukebox, returned the first kickoff for touchdown since 2010, but it was the first kickoff return for touchdown that didn't come via onside kick since Troy Davis housed one back in the early McCarney days. West also came up big with several first down grabs and was ISU's most reliable receiving threat.

As far as other positives, Iowa State didn't turn the ball over, winning the turnover battle 3-0. Undoubtedly, the three turnovers helped to keep the score as close as it was.

Looking Forward

Iowa State continues its swing through the state of Texas, traveling to Waco to take on a hot Baylor team one week from today. Baylor has the top offense in the country and Iowa State hasn't won in Waco since 2004. So yeah, we're probably looking at 1-5 after next week's game.

As always, we'd love to hear your thoughts on today's performance and the season going forward.