The Iowa State Daily’s Sam Stuve delivers the good news for Iowa State football fans as “Good Cop” and Jack Shover plays devil’s advocate as “Bad Cop.”

This week, Stuve and Shover will dissect Iowa State’s upcoming home game against Louisiana-Monroe after the Cyclones’ loss versus Iowa the previous week.

Good Cop – Sam Stuve

After looking at how Louisiana-Monroe and Iowa State stack up on paper, I’ve got a feeling this game will be a lot like what we saw between Iowa State and Akron last season, although I do believe the Cyclones will score more than they did against Akron. 

The Cyclones defeated Akron 26-13 in an emotional game last season. 

However, the Cyclones cannot afford to overlook the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, especially after how they played offensively in week one. Last week, the Warhawks proved they can hang with a power five program as they went on the road. Their only loss was to the Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee, Florida, 45-44 in overtime. 

The Warhawks forced three turnovers against the Seminoles and only coughed up the ball once. I do not see the Warhawks being able to do that against the Cyclones this week.

What the Cyclones need to do better against Louisiana-Monroe is finish drives where they are in their opponent’s territory with a score. 

In the game against Iowa, sophomore quarterback Brock Purdy fumbled the football in the red zone while the Cyclones were winning in the second half. They had a holding call against them that offset a pass interference call against Iowa, which would have put the Cyclones in the red zone with two minutes left, trailing by only one point.

Let’s also not forget the muffed punt at the end of the game to seal the Cyclones’ defeat. However, I see the Cyclones responding well against the Warhawks.

Iowa State should have a better game offensively and should be able to have a running game. 

Louisiana-Monore will be able to keep the game close for three quarters, putting up two touchdowns. However, I see Iowa State scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put the game away and cover the spread (18.5).

Prediction: Iowa State 35, Louisiana-Monroe 14

Bad Cop – Jack Shover

Louisiana-Monroe may not be a Power Five opponent, but the Warhawks sure have the potential to knock someone off from one of those conferences.

In its last game, ULM went toe-to-toe with Florida State and ended up only losing by one point in overtime, 45-44. The Seminoles may not be the team they were several years ago, but they still have talented players and provide one of the best home field advantages in the country.

The fact that ULM was even able to compete with Florida State at that level is impeccable for a squad that went 6-6 last season.

Iowa State is coming off of a low-point early in the season after the heartbreaking loss against Iowa, where a Hawkeye punt went off the back of Datrone Young for an easy fumble recovery by the Hawkeyes.

Expect Iowa State to be sluggish coming out of the gates, especially considering this is an 11 a.m. kickoff. ULM will be able to take advantage of the slow start against Iowa State, and you can bet they will have a well prepared game plan since this past weekend was a bye week for ULM.

The Cyclones are arguably the best team ULM will face this season — no offense to Florida State — and the ‘Clones can expect nothing less than 100 percent effort from ULM. The Warhawks have a balanced offensive attack and were able to both pass and run the ball effectively against Florida State.

Quarterback Caleb Evans went 23-38 for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Josh Johnson ran for 126 yards and a touchdown while averaging 4.8 yards a carry.

If the Cyclones aren’t ready, they could find themselves with an embarrassing loss for the second week in a row.

Prediction: Iowa State 13, Louisiana-Monroe 17