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Quick look: Big-play Iowa State is bad news for Oklahoma's defense
Lightning never strikes twice — unless the target is Oklahoma’s secondary.
Kansas State dropped two thunderbolts on the Sooners in Saturday’s 38-35 upset at Owen Field.
K-State was a 28-point underdog, but the Sooners yielded 77- and 78-yard pass plays on consecutive possessions, and Oklahoma’s knees were wobbled. The Wildcats’ comeback from a 21-point deficit continued until Blake Lynch’s 50-yard field put OU on the canvas.
K-State’s offense is not a big-play, quick-strike offense. In fact, quite the opposite.
And yet, 232 of the Wildcats’ 400 yards of total offense — and 28 of their 38 points — came as the result of just four plays.
Brock Purdy
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What, then will Iowa State do to the Oklahoma defense when the teams meet on Saturday night in Ames?
Two weeks after getting stunned themselves in a 31-14 season-opening loss to Louisiana, the Cyclones handled TCU 37-34 on Saturday in Fort Worth.
Of Iowa State’s 423 total yards, 249 came on just five plays: a 75-yard touchdown run by running back Breece Hall, a 49-yard TD run by Kene Nwangwu, a 49-yard pass from Brock Purdy to Landen Akers, a 44-yard pass from Purdy to Joe Scates and a 32-yard touchdown run by Hall.
Now consider that all those big plays came against a TCU defense that is historically among the most sound of any in the Big 12 Conference.
Matt Campbell
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Coach Matt Campbell called it a “warrior’s effort by our team” — probably because the Iowa State defense also had to withstand a sea of TCU big plays: a 37-yard touchdown pass, a 27-yard touchdown pass, a 48-yard touchdown pass and a 31-yard touchdown pass.
TCU starter Max Duggan came back from a preseason injury to replace Matthew Downing with a 16-of-20, 241-yard, three-TD performance. So the Cyclone defense — also possibly the Big 12’s best in terms of fewest missed tackles and blown coverages — may be susceptible to Oklahoma’s dynamic passing game.
But for Oklahoma, this game has to begin with fixing its defense. Dominant for 2 1/2 quarters against Kansas State, the Sooner D was shell-shocked over the final 22 minutes and gave up 31 points on five straight possessions.
Purdy, a junior with 23 career starts, probably can’t wait. He threw for 211 yards and a touchdown against TCU, completing 18-of-23 passes. He was sacked twice, including one on which he produced the leading contender for bonehead play of the year: instead of taking the sack, he tried to the throw the ball away but lost his grip and floated it directly to TCU safety La’Kendrick Van Zandt, who sauntered into the end zone.
Purdy called it “like freshman me,” but Oklahoma doesn’t generate consistent pressure like TCU does, and he could have an opportunity to thrive.
Purdy got tight end Charlie Kolar back from injury (he caught five passes against TCU) but likely won’t have ace wideout Tarique Milton available. Campbell said Milton is “week-to-week.”
But Purdy will have the Big 12’s leading rusher: Hall ran for 155 yards and three touchdowns against the Horned Frogs.
The Cyclones compiled 212 rushing yards against a TCU defense that excels in that area (six opponents failed to reach 100 yards in a game last season).
Meanwhile, Iowa State’s defense was great against the run, holding TCU to just 99 yards on the ground. That included nine tackles for loss and six quarterback sacks.
That’s another area Oklahoma needs to be wary: after two games, the Sooners are 50th in the nation (out of 72 teams that have played) in rushing yards per game (127.0) and 49th in yards per carry (3.64), and freshman quarterback Spencer Rattler has been sacked six times in the first two games.
“Some bad calls,” said Riley, “by me.”
The Sooners are reeling. They dropped 15 spots in Sunday’s Associated Press Top 25 from No. 3 to No. 18. Now, they’ll be on the road for an entire month.
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