It was safe to say that no one expected Steele Jantz to do what he did in the first half today against Tulsa. 

Jantz put the first points on the board with 7:51 left in the first quarter, hitting Josh Lenz on a 43-yard deep post for a score that seemingly showed he is a different quarterback than he was a year ago. Lenz said he is “definitely a different Steele” this year. 

“I think I saw a lot of things better with Steele Jantz today and a lot of people in Jack Trice Stadium saw the same thing,” said ISU coach Paul Rhoads. “I saw a very composed quarterback. I saw a quarterback making good decisions. I saw a guy who had the look in his eye on the sideline.”

After a Tulsa’s Brentom Todd tackled Jeff Woody in the end zone for a safety on the first play of the next drive, Tulsa then scored on the next two drives to make it 16-7.

Jantz then scored on the next two drives — once on a quarterback keeper five yards out and another on a touch pass to H-back Ernst Brun. Then Jantz orchestrated a third drive in the second quarter that ended in an Edwin Arceo field goal from 30 yards out to make it 17 straight points scored for Iowa State for a 24-16 lead going into the half. 

In the first half, Jantz was an efficient 22-of-30 for 240 yards with two touchdown passes and one more on the ground. The second quarter numbers, however, show where the momentum shifted. 

At the start of the second quarter, after a catch by Tulsa’s Bryan Burnham, ISU linebacker Jake Knott forced a fumble that was recovered by Durrell Givens. After that play, the Cyclones (1-0) never looked back. 

In the second quarter alone, Jantz went 16-of-20 for 165 yards and two scores. Jantz never put up numbers as efficient as that last year, where his completion percentage was 53.3 and he threw more interceptions than touchdowns. 

“In the offseason and before the game and during the game, I tried to remember that it’s mental and that’s where it all starts,” Jantz said. “Certainly I tried to be smarter about it and more composed, and I felt like I did a good job with that, but you know you still have to continue to get better.”

Defense rallies after second quarter momentum swing

After the Golden Hurricane had scored on two straight drives and capitalized off an ISU turnover, they had the ball again to begin the second quarter. ISU linebacker Jake Knott then forced a fumble which was recovered by Durrell Givens ignite the team and shifted momentum. 

“[It was] really a momentum changer,” said coach Paul Rhoads. “A play we needed and a play we had to have, a play that we capitalized on as well. That’s a big part of it that we probably haven’t done as much in the past. A year ago, we did not give our offense fields like that to work with. We gave it to them and we took advantage of them multiple times today, and it ended up with points.”

Jeremiah George continued to impress the coaching staff with his first start at middle linebacker. Though he only tallied six total tackles, he said he was pleased with his performance in his first start.

The coaching staff was very high on George’s play too, as they have been since spring ball. 

“He’s a pivotal player for us, allowing us to do a lot more things with three linebackers on the field,” Rhoads said. “Talk always centers around A.J. [Klein] and Jake [Knott] and he needs to be a part of that conversation because of his rise in play. We don’t give out an award, and I’ve said it before, if we did he’s the most improved player on our football team in the last eight months.”

Quick Hits

Iowa State came away from the game without any major injuries. Left guard Ethan Tuftee left the game with a knee injury, but returned. 

“I think we’re coming out of it pretty healthy,” Rhoads said. “A lot of cramping, bruises. Nothing serious from the medical staff as I left the locker room.”

Running back Jeff Woody was the only player to miss a significant amount of playing time and did not play in the second half with a right ankle/foot injury. Woody finished the game with only two carries. 

Rhoads indicated Woody would be fine, adding that “you’d have to do quite a bit to keep him off the field.”