Iowa State defeated their second top 5 team of the season on Saturday. The Cyclones downed TCU 14-7 in a defensive battle. Fans in Ames partied well into the morning on Sunday, and now we have the #14 ranked team in the AP Poll.
Since some of you are still getting over you hangover and need a cure, here are three things that we learned in Saturday’s win.
Iowa State’s defense is legit
For the second straight week, Iowa State’s defense held a top offense to virtually nothing. TCU came into the game on Saturday averaging 466 yards of offense, and Iowa State held them to 306 total yards. The Horned Frogs were also averaging 41 points per game, and Iowa State didn’t allow the TCU offense in the end zone once.
What was once a liability for Iowa State has quickly became their strength. Iowa State’s defense has been carrying this team for most of the Big 12 schedule, and with some of the struggles by the offense, it will have to continue to do so. Don’t look now, but the Cyclones defense is not to be messed with.
Offense has plenty of room to grow
While TCU’s defense certainly is tough to play against, Iowa State’s offense has plenty of room to grow. The Cyclones had plenty of chances to put the game away completely, but mistakes were made, whether it was penalties or plays not being made. The run blocking is still struggling to take off. Right tackle Bryce Meeker also went down with an injury, giving the offensive line more adversity to overcome.
Luckily, Iowa State’s offense did enough in the first half to allow the defense to hold on, but that can’t be the recipe for success moving forward. The offensive line will have a chance to take a step forward with one of the nation’s worst rush defenses in West Virginia next week.
Iowa State can win the Big 12
Boy, this is really weird to type, but I like it. As we sit right now, Iowa State is in a tie for first place with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and TCU. If the season were to end today, Iowa State would be making the trip to Dallas to play in the Big 12 Championship. Iowa State will be in every game the rest of the season with a great chance to win out. As we know, anything in college football can happen, and there is a lot of football left to be played.
With that said, this Cyclone team can compete with anyone. They control their own destiny to get to Dallas. Should they reach that point, they can most certainly win the whole dang thing.