Recap: Cyclones Beat Down by Longhorns

Iowa State was not prepared for a motivated Texas squad, falling by a final score of 24-10. Sadly, the final score is not indicative of how much the Cyclones got dominated.

It was ugly all night long on offense for the Cyclones, and the defense wasn’t much better. Texas would score easily on their first drive, thanks to the legs of Tre Watson and Sam Ehlinger. Brock Purdy would start the game throwing the ball well, leading the Cyclones on a long drive before settling for an Assalley field goal.

The Cyclone defense then gave up a ten play, 94 yard touchdown drive thanks to absolutely lousy tackling and playing to keep everything in front of them. To make matters worse, the Cyclones could not get pressure rushing 3 men (a trend that continued all night), and couldn’t wrap up when they did get home.

Drops also plagued the Cyclones, including one that went through the hands of Landon Akers and was intercepted by Chris Brown. That turnover, thankfully, resulted in a missed Dicker field goal.

The halftime score showed Texas up 17-3, which meant that the Cyclones got to the half without David Montgomery and managed to still be within striking distance.

While #32 did make an immediate impact, the discipline and play of the offensive line negated any benefits of his return. The Cyclones mounted a 6+ minute drive, and were lined up to go for it on 4th and 4 deep in Texas territory only to have a false start lead to a missed Assalley field goal.

Texas made the Cyclones pay for their poor tackling and lack of pressure on the QB. Shane Buechele took over in the second half after Ehlinger left late in the second quarter from a big Greg Eisworth hit. Buechele lead the Longhorns on a drive that ended when Lil’ Jordan Humphrey embarrassed Prian Peavy en route to the end zone.

After that drive, the outcome was never in doubt. They Cyclones couldn’t tackle, the offensive line couldn’t stop a nosebleed, and Purdy played the worst game of his short career.

A garbage time DM touchdown made it 24-10, which was the final score.

The biggest game in Cyclone history will go down as also the most disappointing letdown in Cyclone history, which is impressive for a program that’s routinely let fans down for decades.

The Cyclones need to forget that this game ever happened, get healthy, and try to stave off a Kansas State team that needs one more win to become bowl eligible (gulp) next weekend in Ames.

An 8-4 regular season is still out there. Can the Cyclones bring it home?