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Iowa State football remains undefeated after a thunderous comeback against UCF on Saturday. Despite being down for most of the game, the Cyclones got a huge touchdown drive from Rocco Becht near the end of regulation to win, 38-35. Iowa State is now 7-0 on the year, and tied for first in the Big 12 with a 4-0 conference mark.
Despite the win, there are some issues moving forward for this team. Here are the most concerning issues for Iowa State after the comeback victory over UCF.
Iowa State's rush defense is the achilles heel of this team
Iowa State football has the best scoring defense in the Big 12, and the stats prove that. The team is only giving up 14.4 points per game.
Despite this fact, there are some problems. The Cyclones gave up a whopping amount of rushing yards to UCF. The Knights rolled to 354 total rushing yards in the game, gaining ground at will. Iowa State fans probably saw their heads spin, as the team gave up big play after big play to the UCF offense.
Central Florida had not one but two rushers post more than 100 yards rushing in the game. The leader was the talented RJ Harvey, who finished the contest with 196 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. The second rusher to get over the century mark is quarterback Jacurri Brown, who gained 154 yards and two touchdowns on just 13 carries.
Iowa State's rush defense coming into the game was near the bottom of the Big 12. The team was exposed however by the Knights, and nearly lost the game because they gave up all those yards.
The Cyclones have the next to worst rushing defense in the Big 12, per league stats. Iowa State is allowing 170 rushing yards a game, and only Oklahoma State is doing worse than that. That's clearly a major area of concern for a team that has a chance to make the Big 12 championship game. If this problem isn't addressed, it's doubtful the Cyclones make it to Arlington.
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There's another area of concern for this Iowa State defense moving forward.
Iowa State is struggling to take down the opposing quarterback
Iowa State is also struggling to get pressure on the quarterback this season. The Cyclones have picked up just nine sacks this season, per league stats. That again is near the bottom of the Big 12 conference.
In fact, only two other schools have fewer take downs of the opposing quarterback. Those schools are UCF and Texas Tech, and while the Red Raiders still have a shot to win the conference the Knights are essentially out of contention.
Iowa State football must do a better job moving forward in these two areas. The Cyclones now control their destiny, as the program is one of two undefeated programs left in the league. BYU is the only other undefeated squad, and the two schools don't play each other this regular season.
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell believes his team can correct any and all mistakes.
“I still believe that everything rises and falls with leadership, I really do. When you have great leaders, powerful things can happen. We’re fortunate because our walls have them,” Campbell said, per Iowa State Communications.
The only ranked team left on the Iowa State schedule now at time of writing is Kansas State. The Wildcats and Cyclones meet on November 30 in Ames for what should be an epic showdown.
Iowa State football next plays Texas Tech on November 2.
