Iowa State Cyclones Have a Long Way To Go Getting Defense on Track

The Iowa State Cyclones defense is heading in the wrong direction with injuries mounting.

Cincinnati Bearcats wide receiver (4) is forced out of bounds by Iowa State Cyclones defensive back (31) in the second quarter of the NCAA football game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and Iowa State Cyclones at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Oct. 4, 2025. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones had been finding a lot of success on the defensive side of the ball heading into their Week 6 matchup with the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Through their first five games of the season, they had given up only 71 points, coming out to 14.2 per game. In the four games against FBS opponents, they gave up 64 points.

A 5-0 start was achieved in large part because of how successful the defense was. Alas, things fell apart against the Bearcats. The Cyclones surrendered 38 points in a loss, with injuries becoming too much to overcome.

On their first five drives of the game, Cincinnati came away with points. They scored four touchdowns and kicked one field goal, moving the ball with ease up and down the field against a banged-up Iowa State defense.

That has led to the Cyclones dropping considerably in the college football defensive stop rate rankings. A defensive stop is a stat shared by Max Olson of ESPN that measures success by forcing a punt, turnover or turnover on downs.

Iowa State heading in wrong direction of defensive stop rankings

Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Failing to accomplish that for five straight drives to start a game will certainly ding a team’s percentage. Iowa State is now ranked 46th in the country in the metric with a 65.4% stop rate. They are allowing 1.96 points per possession.

That is certainly a number that has to improve for the Cyclones to stay in the mix for a spot in the Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff. Alas, it will be easier said than done in some regard.

Iowa State’s secondary is in rough shape. Their top two cornerbacks, Jeremiah Cooper and Jontez Williams, are both sidelined for the campaign because of knee injuries. Replacing one starter in the defensive backfield is hard enough, but replacing two is going to be a major hurdle.

Some pressure would be taken off the secondary if the defensive line could get things going. That was a concern coming into the year and has proven to be troublesome through this point.

The Cyclones were steamrolled by the Bearcats on the ground, surrendering 260 rushing yards. Unable to rush the passer either, Brendan Sorsby threw for 214 yards on only 13 completions. He put a dagger in Iowa State when he connected with Caleb Goodie for an 82-yard touchdown.

If Iowa State showed anything last weekend against Cincinnati, it is that they have an offense that can generate points effectively. They will need that to keep occurring as long as the defense continues leaking oil in the fashion it did against the Bearcats.