Louisiana defended the Cyclones with man coverage and pocket pressure on every play. The Cyclones never found a rhythm and lost.
Okie State defended with man coverage and pocket pressure. The Cyclones never found a rhythm and lost.
The word is out on how to slow Purdy and Co. The job ahead will be scheming how to overcome blitz pressure.
Texas Tech's first nine offensive possessions, plays/yards, result:
3/7, punt
3/7, punt
7/34, punt
4/19, punt
2/2, half
5/10, punt
4/9, downs (at ISU 30)
3/7, punt
6/54, downs (at ISU 25)
That’s 38 plays for 149 yards and no points. 3.9 yards per play. 6 punts in 8 possessions, and 2 turnovers on downs. Against a team averaging 37 points per game. Domination.
If your defense can hold teams that far below their averages, you can win a lot of games.
Ignore the last two possessions as the were classic ‘Garbage Time’ results. Iowa State was in a 3 man rush Prevent, and in 19 plays across two drives rushed more than 3 exactly once, resulting in a sack.
The offense played their part by controlling the ball on long drives, and with the exception of some poor execution in the red zone had a Grade A day. Also winning football.
The biggest test to date is next in Stillwater. The Cyclones are definitely trending in the right direction.
CSJ staff spent 15 minutes after the game explaining to the less experienced members of the staff how difficult a nut Oklahoma has been for Iowa State over time. The Sooners don’t beat Iowa State, they thrash them. 56-3 seems like the median score in the series.
But sprinkled within the blowouts were near-misses that were more aggravating than the thumpings. A missed field goal as time expired to settle for a 7-7 tie. A 12-10 home loss on national TV. An onside kick returned for the winning TD. Going 0-3 against John Blake, who went 12-22 as OU coach. An uncalled DPI on a 2 point attempt for the win. And on, and on, and on.
Part of Cyclone fandom never believed that Iowa State could win the league because OU would always be in the way, but the final lock has been turned, and the door to a title path has been opened.
The only thing left is to walk the walk. Forward.
