Nothing says “bounce back week” like playing the Kansas Jayhawks, right? Iowa State needed a bounce back game after how sloppy the game in Stillwater was, and Lawrence, Kansas was just the right remedy. The 0-5 Jayhawks have had a... well, a Jayhawk-style year, starting with an opening week loss to Sun Belt surprise Coastal Carolina, and an 0-4 start to conference play. On top of it, their star running back, Pooka Williams, opted out of the season. All in all, not a lot adding up for Les Miles and the Jayhawks, which Iowa State would look to take advantage of.

What Went Right

Hunter Dekkers

Okay, so maybe this isn’t the most *important* part of the win on Saturday, but Dekkers looked awesome. Sure, it was 2 throws, but come on. You’re telling me you weren’t impressed by that touchdown throw? That’s a beauty.

Excited for the future at QB for Iowa State. Hunter has an arm (this TD thrown into the wind), and the accuracy on this throw is picture perfect. A good start for the left-handed freshman. Looking forward to seeing his development from here.

Xavier Hutchinson

The freshman receiver came into the Kansas game as Purdy’s go-to wideout threat, often times lining up as the only WR in the formation, and boy has he earned it. Hutchinson has a touchdown in each of the last 3 games (including Kansas) and went over 80 receiving yards for the 2nd time in those 3 games. He’s had his fair share of targets with Iowa State running 3 tight ends frequently, and Brock Purdy isn’t afraid to try and fit it into tight windows when looking his way. Chemistry/Trust is the first step to being a great threat to an offense, and when you add on plays like this, it’s hard to not be excited about Xavier Hutchinson.

Breece Hall

BREAKING NEWS: AS YOU’RE READING THIS, BREECE HALL HAS SCORED ANOTHER TOUCHDOWN

Yes, you read that right. Breece Hall continued his dominant sophomore season with his second straight 185 yard game.

Like play-by-play announce Eric Collins said after the 58 yard score: “Oh what a glorious back this kid is.”

Right you are, Eric. Right. You. Are.

What Went Wrong

Special Teams

In other news, the sky is blue. Next.

Playcalling

The people are unhappy with Tom Manning calling the plays, and frankly, some of the decisions on Saturday were a little sketchy. Iowa State on back-to-back plays (3rd and 7 and 4th and 4) ran 3 yard slants. The first one, I sort of get. Try to break the 7 yards up into 2 plays instead of one, and maybe on 4th and 4, Hall should’ve gotten deeper on the slant, or Purdy could’ve waited? It’s hard to tell. Outside of that, on a 3rd and short, Purdy lined up under center, and tried to draw KU offsides. THIRD DOWN. Really? Breece Hall eventually took the handoff and picked it up, but on 3rd down you try to steal a conversion? Yikes. Then having to burn a timeout since it didn’t work? Even bigger yikes.

Weekly Grades

Offense: A-

Defense: A (nice to see takeaways again)

Special Teams: Do I have to put a grade here? (F)ine

Brocktober: Back to normal (13-2 since 2017 by the way)

Big 12: Back in the lead, baby

October 31st Game: Breece Hall-oween (Sorry, I’ll see myself out)