Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads says the Cyclones will face the Big-12’s hottest team this weekend when they visit Texas. After dropping back-to-back games to West Virginia and Oklahoma the Longhorns have won three straight and are 7-2 after beating Texas Tech on the road.
“Sometimes you hit that rhythm that I talk about at different points of the season. They’ve had a couple of tough losses in a row against good football teams, and they’ve bounced back and they are playing very well in all their phases, all their units,” Rhoads says.
The Cyclones stunned the Longhorns in their last trip to Austin in 2010. Rhoads says they played a sound football game and executed well after playing poorly and he says that was the most pleasing part that his teamed responded and played well and he hopes they do the same this week.
But Rhoads says most fresh in his memory is last year’s lopsided loss at home to the Longhorns when they were 3-0 and he says Texas came out in the first half “and just put it on us.”
Rhoads felt the linebackers played well in Saturday’s loss to Oklahoma but the loss of Jake Knott was evident. Jeremiah George replaced Knott in the lineup who is out after undergoing surgery on his injured shoulder. He says George graded out well productivity wise, but not in all of his execution in where he was supposed to be.
Texas coach Mack Brown is a frequent target of criticism from Longhorn fans but Rhoads says he remains one of the best coaches in college football who understands the game and how to manage the game.
Brown says the Longhorns expect a hard fought game as the Cyclones play a physical style. Brown says despite two bad games quarterback David Ash is having an outstanding season, and has played as well as any quarterback in the country.