Iowa State Cyclones Survive Near Upset Against Arkansas State Red Wolves

The Iowa State Cyclones survived a tight game against the Arkansas State Red Wolves

Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

As somewhat expected, it was a tough game for the Iowa State Cyclones in their first road game against the Arkansas State Red Devils. 

Due to numerous factors, Week 3 always felt like it was going to be a challenging game for the Cyclones despite being a large favorite. Iowa State was coming off an emotional win over their rival the week prior, and this was the fourth game in as many weeks. Furthermore, it was well over 100 degrees on the field, making it a challenging physical game. 

When being such a large favorite, making sure a lesser opponent doesn't believe that they can compete is important. Unfortunately, the Cyclones didn't put them away early, and this was a Red Devils team that clearly believed that they could hang with Iowa State. 

Coming into the matchup, Iowa State knew that they were going to have to focus on stopping a couple of key offensive weapons. Arkansas State quarterback Jaylen Raynor lived up to the hype as a player to watch out for in this game. The junior was effective both on the ground and through the air but ultimately didn’t have enough to pull off the upset. 

Cyclones Survive

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Even though Iowa State was able to win the game, it wasn’t an overly exciting victory for the team. Neither the offense nor the defense was great in this one, but with it being a tough game in terms of scheduling, they should be happy that they came away with a win. 

This was clearly a Red Wolves team that came into this one prepared and gave the Cyclones their best shot. Moving forward, there is going to be a lot that Matt Campbell will be able to work on going forward. 

On offense, the team moved the ball rather well, but they didn’t do as strong a job as they should have in finishing drives. Furthermore, quarterback Rocco Becht threw his first interception of the season. 

The ground game for Iowa State was an encouraging sign for the offense. The duo of Carson Hansen and Abu Sama did well, but this was an offense that should have done a bit more against a poor opponent. 

Iowa State will be heading into their much-needed bye week to get some rest before a big showdown against the Arizona Wildcats. The Wildcats were able to defeat Kansas State in Week 3 and are starting to emerge as a threat in the Big 12. Even though it wasn’t pretty, the Cyclones are now 4-0 on the campaign.