Three Things We Learned Against Baylor

Iowa State picked up their 7th win of the season on Saturday at Baylor. It was tough sledding right away as Iowa State was late arriving to the stadium due to an accident on their way. Once the Cyclones found their footing it was greener pastures ahead. Here are three things we learned during the win on Saturday.

Zeb Noland Is a Talent That Needs Work.

This should be a surprise to no one. Zeb Noland is young and talented. His skills were made well known before he tore his ACL in fall camp last year. Noland has been thrown into the starting role since Kyle Kempt has been banged up. He hasn’t necessarily hindered the Cyclones chances of winning, but his day at Baylor was up and down. Noland finished Saturday completing 50% of his passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns but many plays were left on the field that allowed Baylor to hang around for much longer than they should have. Noland will grow with more experience. These last two outings certainly hasn’t hurt him. He will be a fun Cyclone to watch grow over the next few seasons.

We All Love David Montgomery

Duh. David Montgomery eclipsed the 1,000 yard rushing mark on Saturday. He did it in normal fashion, running over defenders and escaping tackles all afternoon. Then came late in the 4th quarter. Iowa State was driving to put Baylor away, when Montgomery was tackled awkwardly and things did not look good. Cyclone Nation collectively displayed their concern for what the future was about to tell us. Matt Campbell has said that Montgomery should be good to go. Whether that is this coming Saturday or in the bowl game, he will be back this season and all of Cyclone Nation is a little bit happier.

This Team Must Love Adversity

All season long we have seen the Cyclones face some sort of adversity. Whether it is the quarterback situation following Jacob’s leave of absence, Kempt’s injury, or Iowa State arriving to the stadium late on Saturday due to an accident on I-35, the Cyclones seem to pull through. Normally, this sort of things could derail a team from the get go, but this Iowa State has battle adversity all season, seeming to even thrive in it. Saturday at Baylor was certainly no different.