Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads says a big part of their 0-4 start in the Big 12 race is the competition. The Cyclones suffered their second straight blowout loss on Saturday with a 58-27 loss to Oklahoma State. “The last 4 teams we have played are 15-2 in the Big 12 Conference…4 of the top 5 teams we’ve played in our first 4 games,” Rhoads says.
The Cyclones have given up 129 points in the last two games and Rhoads says the defense needs to prevent the uptempo offenses in the Big-12 from getting momentum. “Defensively you get them out of rhythm, you stop them by the first plays in the possession. You allow them to get a first down, you allow their tempo to show up,” Rhoads explains.
Iowa State visits Kansas State this weekend. The Wildcats are 3-4 overall and posted their first league victory with a 35-12 win over West Virginia. K-State coach Bill Snyder who says the Wildcat defense is making progress, not anything that is overwhelming, but gradual progress.
Snyder says they’ve started eliminating the big plays and he says while the gave up some big plays in their last game, the numbers are coming down.
Iowa State is 1-6 overall.