A lot can change in a year or two.

As if a global pandemic coming out of nowhere wasn’t obvious enough, life can change in an instant — sometimes for good and sometimes for worse. 

Fortunately for Iowa State football, it found itself some much-needed change close to two years ago in a road game against Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Oct. 6, 2018.

Iowa State came into the game 1-3 on the season, losing its first two conference games, and looked to be on another path of losing after going 5-4 in conference play the previous season.

And then Brock Purdy arrived.

Entering the game on the second series to replace Zeb Noland at quarterback, then-true freshman Purdy stepped onto the field to just do his job and prove he could run the offense. By the game’s end, he had done much more than that. 

Purdy went 18-23 for 318 yards and four touchdown passes, along with 19 rushes for 84 yards and a score to leave the Cowboys befuddled. Purdy and the Cyclones took down No. 25 Oklahoma State 48-42.

Oklahoma State Head Coach Mike Gundy and his staff admitted after the loss in 2018 they had no idea who Purdy was and had no game plan for his ability to run and take the top off the defense with his arm at the same time. 

What has Purdy done since that game? Oh, just break nearly every quarterback record Iowa State has.

Even with his junior season still in progress, he sits as the winningest quarterback in school history against league competition (14-5), with a win against every team in the conference. His wins over Big 12 opponents has translated into the junior quarterback holding 21 school records (game, season and career).

Purdy’s Records for Single Season (Five of his 21 total records)

• Most passing yards in a season (3,982)

• Total offense (4,231)

• Passing touchdowns (27)

• Touchdowns responsible (35)

• Completions (312)

And at the time of this column, he ranks in the top three and will likely finish first in every career record at Iowa State.

Career Passing Yards

1. Bret Meyer: 9,499 yards

2. Brock Purdy: 7,144 yards

Career Touchdown Passes

1. Bret Meyer (50)

2. Brock Purdy (47)

Rushing Touchdowns by a Quarterback

1. Joel Lanning (17)

2. Austen Arnaud (15) // Seneca Wallace (15)

3. Brock Purdy (14)

The stats don’t lie. Purdy has come a long way from his role of being the unknown third-string quarterback, and on Saturday against No. 6 Oklahoma State, Purdy will return to where his journey at Iowa State began for the first time.

This time, he’ll be seen as one of the biggest threats on the field as opposed to being one of the biggest question marks. 

“At this level, there is so much expectation, so much demand on him being what’s perceived to be his best all the time, and I think it takes a physical and emotional toll to play quarterback and play quarterback for a great length of time at this level,” Head Coach Matt Campbell said.

On Saturday when Oklahoma State and Iowa State meet in an early season battle for the top of the Big 12, Purdy will have to get close to his 2018 performance once again if Iowa State wants to take the next step it is looking for.

The question is, will he be able do it? 

Based on what I’ve seen so far this season, Purdy has been average. Now, obviously, a big part of his average stats and play are because of the outstanding play of his running back Breece Hall. Even still, Purdy’s numbers aren’t lighting up the Big 12 to start this year off.

His four passing touchdowns are tied for fifth in the Big 12 with recently injured Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson. Meanwhile, the other big-name quarterbacks in the conference, like Sam Ehlinger (16 touchdowns) and Spencer Rattler (13 touchdowns), are outpacing him by a good margin.

In all fairness, four games in is not a proper sample size to go off of, but it’s all I’ve got to work off of going into Saturday.

But if Iowa State wants a shot to hang with this high-powered Cowboy attack, it won’t be able to just run with Breece Hall all day. Purdy will need to show up and show out. And yet, throughout four games, he hasn’t done that yet, at least to the level we were used to getting in 2019.

I am not saying Purdy has been bad this season — far from it — but if Iowa State wants to get the “balanced offense” it is looking for and wants to have more than one threat on offense, Purdy needs to start stepping up. It can start on Saturday on another big stage.

In 2018, Purdy stepped on the field with no expectations, and the stage was small; some might say the stage was even there by accident. No one knew what would happen next.

But now, here we are: Iowa State and Oklahoma State are ready to battle in a top-25 matchup to decide who will sit in first place in the Big 12.

The stage is big. The stakes are even bigger. Can Purdy give Iowa State another big moment like he did in 2018 and continue to show his control of the program? We’ll find out on Saturday.