Iowa State vs Bye Week Preview

2014 Bye Week I: Iowa State (1-2, 0-1) vs Bye (0-0, 0-0)

Time: Never

Location: Ames, IA

Line: Push

Television: None

Radio: None

Bye Week Notes - Get some rest

Bye Week SBN Site: There are other games to watch!

When We Last Left Off...

Cole Netten was driving the dagger through the hearts of Hawkeye fans everywhere, and Kirk Ferentz chewed his gum.

Bye Week last played when they beat Kansas three weeks ago. They immediately vacated their win due to an NCAA investigation into their use of illegal scheduling tactics.

The Series

Iowa State is a dominating 0-0 all-time vs the bye week.  There was that one time the coaches recruited all week and left the players to their own devices, but the loss showed up in the 2011 Texas game.

Iowa State Offense

Mark Mangino got his offense clicking last week in the 2nd half against Iowa, and has ordered a practice regimen of repeating that script exactly throughout the bye week.  The team is still looking for applicants to fill the role of Reggie Spearman being beat by DeVondrick Nealy.

Bye Defense

The defense is salty with no points allowed throughout the year, and no doubt provides a stiffer test for this offense than Kansas will.

The Stats

6 - Reggie Spearman's number, and the amount of steps Nealy beat him by on that wheel route.

The Match Up

I like Iowa State's chances here.  Bye week's defense is just slightly denser than air and shouldn't impact Sam Richardson's ability to throw the ball much.  The 7 on 7 drills this past summer served as good prep for Bye and I expect the E.J. Bibbs to finally have a breakout week.

Bye Offense

Bye represents the first team that Iowa State sees this year that isn't built around a power running game.  As a matter of fact, Bye keeps their offensive plans close to the vest and puts nothing on tape to break down.

Iowa State Defense

Wally Burnham's defense had their best game of the season last week and he has hired Greg Davis to serve as a consultant on how to make defenses look better than they are.  This was after a bidding war with Bye regarding Davis' service.  Bye pulled out late in the negotiations after it realized that doing nothing is better than watching Jake Rudock freak out in the pocket.

The Stats

0 - The amount of touchdowns Bye has scored this year, which correlates strongly with the amount Iowa State's defense gave up in the second half last week.

The Match Up

Burnham is going to coach his defense to smother Bye as much as they can.  Bye's similarity to air makes it tough to bring down, so I expect the defense to hug it out and keep Bye trapped as much as possible.

Special Teams

Cole Netten is salivating over all the opportunities Bye will give him this week, and the kick return team is happy to finally have a chance to run some balls upfield.

WRNL Beer Pick of the Week

Well it is Octoberfest season, so that opens you up to all sorts of beers such as Left Hand's Oktoberfest (ok), Surly's Surlyfest (very good), New Glarus' Staghorn (orgasmic), or the easy to find but "meh" inducing Sam Adams Octoberfest.

As for me, I'll be in Ames all day Saturday for a bachelor party, so it's likely Coors Light after Coors Light.

Final Analysis

This match up has been tough to evaluate.  On one hand I think Bye will be more dangerous than Brandon Scherff was in the second half last week, but on the other I think they'll fold in half like when Mitchell Meyers hit Rudock.

Then again the only other defense to give the Iowa State offense this much space will be Kansas' and I think this is the week that Mangino finally runs the triple option statue of liberty reverse pass inside his own 20.

BYE WON'T SEE IT COMING!

Final Score

Iowa State 0

Bye 0