Know Your Opponent: Week 2 Iowa State

The Hawkeyes will host their rival Iowa State in week two

There will be a much different feel this year when the Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones match-up at Kinnick for the Cy-Hawk series. The Hawkeyes have a chance to be a ranked in the top-15, while the Cyclones will be trying to avoid their 10th losing season in the past 11 years. Iowa State has just one winning season since 2006 – a 7-6 finish in 2009.

Iowa State hasn’t been to a bowl game since 2011 and 2012, in which they lost both and finished 6-7 both seasons. Their eight wins over the past three seasons has been laughable, and has been a big reason why the Iowa and Iowa State rivalry was nicknamed El Assico last season.

The Hawkeyes outlasted the Cyclones in week two last season as Iowa won 31-17 in Ames. After Iowa State led 17-10 at halftime, the Hawkeyes shut out the Cyclones and scored 21 unanswered points in the second half.

It was one of the sloppiest and worst played game of the season for Iowa as they didn’t take the lead until 2:14 remained in the fourth quarter. However, a win is a win and rivals always put up a fight, no matter how bad they are.

C.J. Beathard threw for 215 yards and three touchdowns, although Jordan Canzeri‘s 124 yards and 5.2 yards per carry put the game away as his touchdown, with just over a minute remaining, put the nail in the coffin. Matt VandeBerg added 114 yards and a touchdown on nine catches, while Desmond King intercepted one of his eight passes on the season.

Week 2: Iowa Hawkeyes vs Iowa State Cyclones – September 10, 6:30PM CT, BTN

Offense

Sam Richardson and Joel Lanning split time at quarterback last season. Although, with Richardson graduated, Lanning will take over as the team’s full-time quarterback as a redshirt junior. While Lanning will be joined by Mike Warren, the team’s leading rusher a season ago, Iowa State lost three of their top-five leading receivers. In fact, half of the team’s 18 touchdowns through the air are no longer with the team for various reasons.

That could make the transition for Lanning much more difficult. The Cyclones have a balanced attack on offense, though, as they attempted 34.3 passer per game compared to their 41.5 rushes. Despite relying on their ground game, passing was a big part of the Cyclones offense. To put it in perspective, C.J. Beathard had 362 pass attempts on the season but Iowa State’s two quarterbacks combined for 406 passes.

For a team that completed just 57.7 percent of their passes and threw 12 interceptions compared to 18 touchdowns, it was a surprising amount. Their lack of fear to air it out should give the Iowa secondary more opportunities to intercept passes against Iowa State this season. Plus, Lanning only completed 55.7 percent of his passes, although his 10 touchdowns to four interceptions was a much better ratio than Richardson’s eight-to-eight.

With that being said, relying on running back Mike Warren would better suit Iowa State. Their 182 rushing yards per game ranked 53rd in the nation last season as Warren averaged an incredible 5.9 yards per attempt. That paired with his 1,339 rushing yards and five touchdowns gives him a résumé that warrants him being one of the most underrated running backs in the Big 12.

He only had three carries against Iowa a season ago, but I would expect him to be a focal point on offense as a sophomore after the true freshman saw at least 15 carries in each of the last 10 games. This is especially true when considering Joshua Thomas, who set an Iowa State freshman record with seven touchdowns last season, transferred to West Georgia and Joel Lanning was the team’s second leading rusher.

The Cyclones have a veteran offensive line that could support an option style offense. Mike Warren was one of the best freshman running backs in the league last season and the Cyclones would rather test their luck with an option offense than testing the Iowa secondary with an inexperienced quarterback.

Defense

Iowa State’s defense was not their strong suit last season. They gave up 32.7 points per game which ranked 97th in the nation. On top of that, the Cyclones gave up at least 30 points in seven of their final eight games. Also, Oklahoma State’s 35 points was the only time they held a ranked team to under 40 points.

After intercepting just five passes in 2015, they lost three of those interceptions and have a fairly inexperienced secondary. With opponents completing 61.1 percent of passes against the Cyclones’ defense and averaging 2.3 passing touchdowns per game, C.J. Beathard should be ecstatic facing off against the Cyclones defense after playing a weak Miami (OH) team in week one.

With that being said, Iowa State was able to get solid pressure on the quarterback. Despite Dale Pierson graduating, who had 13 sacks last season, they do bring back defensive tackle Demond Tucker. He also had 13 sacks last season and should be looking to impress NFL scouts with a strong senior season.

With a somewhat inexperienced offensive line for the Hawkeyes, Tucker could be able to hit Beathard a couple of times. Plus, the Cyclones forced eight fumbles last season, highlighting their tough defensive line from a season ago.

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When it comes down to it, the Cyclones were able to keep the Hawkeyes in check for about 58 minutes last year. Although, that was just Beathard’s second start and Canzeri averaged an impressive 5.2 yards per carry. Not to mention that LeShun Daniels Jr rushed eight times for 56 yards as the backup, a solid performance for the team’s star running back in 2016.

The Cyclones lost a lot from an average defense and shouldn’t be able to hold the Hawkeyes in check for much more than a quarter. If their pass rush doesn’t get to the quarterback then it becomes extremely hard for them to keep their opponent out of the end zone.

Prediction

In a rivalry, anything is possible. The Cyclones won’t be given a chance heading into this game as being on the road could be the extra boost Iowa needs to put the game away early. After losing much of their receiving core and defense, there are a lot of question marks surrounding the Cyclones. However, being able to play loosely with no expectations could be a blessing in disguise for Iowa State.

Unless Joel Lanning has the game of his life, the Cyclones don’t stand much of a chance. LeShun Daniels Jr and C.J. Beathard should have a field day while Iowa’s defense shouldn’t have a problem against an inexperienced quarterback.

With that being said, containing Mike Warren will assure the Cyclones don’t get any unnecessary hope. He and Daniels will face off for the title of the best running back in the state of Iowa.

When it comes down to it, though, Iowa’s a more well-rounded team and has more star power. Iowa won’t want to give any of the voters reason to doubt them this season. Not just beating Iowa State but winning comfortably will be key for the Hawkeyes as they’ll be heavy favorites in the Cy-Hawk series.

Prediction: Iowa 31 Iowa State 10

Projected Record: 2-0