Three Things We Learned: Oklahoma State

Keep Rocco Cooking

We have been saying it for weeks and it finally happened. Iowa State opened up the passing game and let it fly on Saturday. Rocco Becht threw for 348 yards and 3 touchdowns against Oklahoma State, all while being quick on his decisions and, most importantly, accurate with the football. Those are great signs that this young quarterback is in command right now.

Not everything was down the field. You even got to see some quick throws that basically were an extension of the run game, since we still can’t run the ball effectively. This is going to have to be the way Iowa State operates until the offensive line finds some sort of footing in the run game.

The Defense Is Human

For the first time in 18 games the Iowa State defense gave up over 400 yards of offense. 140 of it came on two plays where Iowa State either had poor angles or Caleb Bacon found himself on an island against a receiver he had no business covering. Credit to Oklahoma State for making the plays and exploiting some weaknesses on the Iowa State side.

This defense certainly is human and has some things of their own to work on. Mainly angles in their tackling lanes and keeping contain on the outside which has been a problem this season and at times in seasons past. All in all, I am not really worried here unless it becomes a major trend. The Cyclones played complimentary football on Saturday and the defense was picked up for once.

Is Daniel Jackson Better Than We Thought?

Over the course of the last two games Daniel Jackson has picked up 155 receiving yards and two touchdowns. What has been impressive is his route running ability and getting open. If Iowa State truly is going to keep throwing the ball 40-50 times per game, they are going to need consistent play from the wide receivers and the Cyclones have certainly gotten that from Jackson over the last two weeks. That will be a omething to keep an eye on going into Norman on Saturday.