Offensive Players to Watch: Iowa State @ Oklahoma

Iowa State travels down to Norman this weekend to try and do the unthinkable and get another upset win against a highly ranked, highly talented roster. Last weekend gave me more questions than answers, but let’s go ahead and dive into this.

Iowa State: Wide Receivers

I can’t pick a singular receiver to highlight since I jinxed the poor kid the last time I did that, so why not just jinx the whole room?

Rocco had himself a day against OSU’s shotty passing defense. He went 27-for-38, 348 yards, and three touchdowns.

Jaylin had an impressive performance after recovering from the food poisoning he suffered during the Ohio game. Daniel Jackson has been receiving more reps and targets in recent games having more receiving yards this game than his last three seasons as a Cyclone. In one of my recent articles, I had Jayden Higgins as a rising player after the Iowa game, but was not the focus in this game. Oklahoma State’s defense struggled to handle our shockingly new (not really) offense.

The run game was still nonexistent until later in the game, but our passing was surprisingly on point except for a few errors here and there. I’ don’t anticipate any changes to the playbook or play-calling when we play in Norman, but Nate Scheelhaase better change the quote from trying to establish the run to open the pass and use his best Missy Elliott impression and put it down, flip it and reverse it.

Oklahoma: Dillon Gabriel

Dillon Gabriel began his career at Directional Florida. Unfortunately, he suffered an injury that ended his 2021 season after the first three games. The 2020 Maxwell and Davey O’Brien Quarterback of the Year awards semi-finalist became Venables’ safety net after rumors surfaced that Caleb Williams was going to follow Lincoln Riley to USC. In his second season at Oklahoma, Dillon has already accumulated 1,227 passing yards (11th nationally), 78 percent completion (6th nationally), 12 passing touchdowns (5th nationally), one interception off 118 attempts, and sacked three times. With five receivers above 100 yards receiving this year and having a combined 11 touchdowns, Dillon will have plenty of options to throw the ball to.