AMES — It was all Cyclones on Saturday. Emphasis on the all.

No.14 Iowa State’s 48-3 win over UNLV not only moved the Cyclones to 2-1 on the season, but served as a necessary bounce-back after a 27-17 loss to Iowa the week prior where the offense struggled to create a rhythm — and keep the ball in their possession.

Saturday provided Cyclone fans a chance to catch their breath and watch the talent of 19 returning starters from a season ago put together a dominating victory on both sides of the ball to close out the non-conference portion of the schedule.

Offense bounces back thanks to its stars

Despite returning All-Big 12 talent across the board on the offensive side of the ball, Iowa State managed three touchdowns in its first two games — with one coming from backup quarterback Hunter Dekkers.

No such struggle was found on Saturday. And it was thanks to the Cyclones’ biggest offensive stars. Brock Purdy responded from his turnover issues against the Iowa Hawkeyes the week prior and lit up the scoreboard early and often.

The Gilbert, Arizona, native started the game 9-9 and finished his day 21-24 for 288 yards and three touchdowns. Coming into Saturday night, Purdy had yet to have a touchdown.

“We believe and have great belief in who Brock Purdy is,” Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell said postgame Saturday. “I think we were able to aid Brock Purdy in terms of everybody else doing their job this week as well.”

It was the first time Purdy threw for over 200 yards this season and the first since Dec. 19 in the Big 12 Championship vs Oklahoma. But Purdy was just one of many who had their fill of scoring against the Runnin’ Rebels.

Breece Hall cracked the 100-yard mark against UNLV and added two rushing touchdowns on his 21 carries. Hall set a school record with his scores, making it the 15th consecutive game he rushed for touchdown. Coming into Saturday, Hall had under 70 rushing yards in the Cyclones’ first two games.

Charlie Kolar had no touchdown grabs through the first two weeks. Purdy connected with his big security blanket four times for 69 yards and a touchdown on Saturday.

How about Xavier Hutchinson? The reigning Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year had himself a career day with 10 catches for a career-high 133 receiving yards along with two touchdowns.

“We played with the intensity and the sense of urgency I expected our football team to have,” Campbell said postgame Saturday.

The Cyclone offense walked into Allegiant Stadium on Saturday 8-26 on third downs through the first two weeks. They rarely needed to convert the chains and racked up 27 first downs in the win.

Defense continues to hunt

While the offense found its footing for the first time on Saturday, it was another typical day at the office for the Cyclone defense. 

Iowa State held UNLV to 23 yards on 18 offensive plays in the first half on Saturday and allowed one field goal in the third quarter for the Rebels’ only points. UNLV finished with 130 total yards.

It was a combination of pressure and aggressiveness that gave the defense energy and the offense the wind in its sails.

The Cyclones had three total sacks from Mike Rose, Gerry Vaughn and Eyioma Uwazurike on Saturday, making the season total for the defensive pass rush at nine sacks. That pass rush allowed Isheem Young to grab his second interception of the season as well.

Rose had seven total tackles, two for loss and one sack on the day to pick up where he left off in 2020 after winning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.

As a defensive unit, Saturday was the first time Iowa State has held its opponent under 300 yards of offense third straight game since 1999.

“They’re playing with a lot of confidence,” Campbell said of his defense.

Big 12 play begins

Unlike last season when Big 12 arrived two games into the calendar for the Cyclones, the conference slate begins Saturday like normal after a 2-1 non-conference finish. And it starts with a road test against the Baylor Bears.

The Bears defeated Kansas 45-7 to open Big 12 play on Saturday, another win to put head coach Dave Aranda’s squad at 3-0 to begin the year. Baylor went 2-7 last year and finished second to last in the conference.

Iowa State isn’t the only team in the conference with experience, as Baylor returns 17 of 22 starters from last season. But there are some new faces on and off the field for the Bears. Gerry Bohanon takes over at quarterback for longtime starter Charlie Brewer and gets a new offensive coordinator in Jeff Grimes to match.

Grimes joined the Bears this offseason after leaving BYU as its offensive coordinator, utilizing his patented ‘Reliable Violent Offense (RVO). Put simply, the system runs similar looks but can use lots of misdirection and change routes on a dime. 

Baylor’s running game has benefited through three games because of it, averaging 321 rushing yards at 7.2 per attempt through the start of the season.