Christian Royston, Sports Editor (2-3)
Iowa State 24, TCU 21
The Cyclones are coming off a tough 30-point loss to Oklahoma. Although a blowout loss was tough to watch, it was not too unexpected. Oklahoma is one of the top teams in the Big 12, rivaled only by Texas. So even though Oklahoma did put up 50 points on Iowa State, I’m not going to read too much into it.
Iowa State’s offense has been improving each week as the confidence of the team as a whole looks to be rising. The Cyclones were even keeping up with Oklahoma in the early minutes of the contest in Norman, Oklahoma. If the offense continues to improve at a drastic rate, it could be enough to counteract the defensive woes.
The Cyclones have flipped their strengths over the last two weeks. It feels weird to watch the Cyclone defense give up nearly 100 points in two weeks after locking down teams to few scores in each of their past contests. Along with the recent struggles, the Cyclones will have their work cut out for them as they host TCU.
Although TCU has fallen a bit since making it to the National Championship game a year ago, the team has the talent to cause problems. However, I think the signs are pointing to an Iowa State victory on Saturday.
TCU is coming off a tough loss to West Virginia, while Iowa State is playing in honor of Jack Trice. It will be a close game, but I see Iowa State handing TCU yet another three-point loss.
Logan Shanks, Assistant Sports Editor (3-2)
Iowa State 27, TCU 21
The Cyclones are back where they were after the depleting road loss against Ohio, in search of a get-right game at home in Big 12 play. What’s different about this scenario is the problem heading into the Oklahoma State game, the Cyclone’s inconsistent offense, has made major strides especially in the run game and the confidence in Rocco Becht who has emerged as the talented prospect he was touted as coming into Iowa State.
TCU, much like Oklahoma, has weapons all across the board that will keep the Cyclone defense on their toes all game long. While they are coming off their worst performance of the season against the Sooners, allowing over 500 total yards, Iowa State’s talented secondary matches up well against a Horned Frogs offense that focuses on airing the ball out.
I believe that this will be a battle between two defenses that are coming off poor performances and are looking to prove themselves again. The still-developing offenses will trade off punts for a majority of the game, but in the end, it will come down to who can put together the best drives late in the game.
The Cyclones are at an advantage playing at home on Saturday, as they have outscored their opponents 77-49 and have allowed 20 second-half points in their three games at home. The atmosphere should be unique as the Cyclones dawn throwback uniforms for the Jack Trice Legacy game, honoring the passing of the university’s most historic and impactful figures.
Pavle Markovic, Sports Reporter (4-1)
Iowa State 28, TCU 17
The Cyclones are coming off of a brutal loss, in which they were only down by one point in the game against the Oklahoma Sooners five minutes into the second quarter. It then seemed like Iowa State took its foot off the gas, as Oklahoma took full advantage of the Cyclone’s faults in the 50-20 loss.
Now they face off against a TCU team that is looking to bounce back as well following its loss to West Virginia. The Mountaineers stormed back to take the game away from the Horned Frogs on the road, holding TCU to zero second-half points.
Iowa State’s defense will have to prepare for yet another dual-threat quarterback in Chandler Morris. Morris has been a major problem for opposing defenses as he’s already thrown for 1,400 yards and rushed for 235 on the ground. The Cyclones have however been good at keeping opposing quarterbacks in check when it comes to running the ball as they haven’t given up more than 60 total yards on the ground to rushing quarterbacks.
The offense for the Cyclones will look to make a quick turnaround after what seemed to be a promising start fell quickly in a game that got out of reach way too fast. Quarterback Rocco Becht will need to find ways to drive down the field quickly against a Horned Frogs defense that only gave up 142 yards through the air in their loss against West Virginia.
This game will certainly be an enticing game to watch under the lights with both teams looking to get back on track. I have Iowa State doing just that in an 11-point win at home over TCU in the Jack Trice legacy game.
