Good Cop: Owen Slinde
Now, the Cyclones have looked great, in my opinion, the last few weeks, but it will be interesting to see how they play against the Bears after their bye week.
As the Cyclones will play away from Jack Trice Stadium yet again, I am hopeful this team is still on the rise.
We have seen the offense clicking the past few weeks and opening up the playbook as I had wished for, and the defense has done its job as they have for most of the season.
Rocco Becht has taken the role of a game manager and, honestly, in some cases, the one that dominates. We saw the emotion he had when he drew Cincinnati offsides in the red zone and to me, that showed his growth and passion. He started the year off quietly and we really didn’t see much, but I think now that he has gotten more comfortable with the playbook and his targets, it’s opened up more doors for him as well.
Jayden Higgins also had a huge game the last time we saw the Cyclones take the field. He had six receptions for 172 yards, his longest being a 75-yard catch and run.
Defensively, they are still getting those takeaways with two interceptions. I think they roll that over again this week in Waco.
This next stretch of games is important for the Cyclones if they want their season to extend a few extra weeks.
I think the Cyclones will march into Waco, Texas, and take down the Bears on their Homecoming.
Score Prediction: Iowa State 31, Baylor 14
Bad Cop: Cayden Storm
Coming off of their two best performances of the season against TCU and Cincinnati and a bye week, the Cyclones should feel good heading into Waco, Texas, for their matchup with Baylor.
Iowa State has completely turned its season around after a disappointing start and will find itself tied for second place in the Big 12. If they can finish strong over the next five games, they could have a chance to compete for the Big 12 championship.
The first matchup of this important stretch is Baylor.
Baylor has struggled this season, starting 3-4, but are winners of two out of its last three and looks to be figuring some things out.
Iowa State’s turnaround should be credited most to the offense.
Ever since the Ohio loss, where they only scored seven points, the offense has averaged 27.75 points per game and Becht seems to have completely settled into the starting role.
This is all great, but I still have some concerns. I believe that the Cyclones might be a little too reliant on turnovers.
Creating turnovers is important, but it is not something that you can count on going your way every game.
In their three conference wins, the Cyclones have won the turnover battle 8-0, which is encouraging, but in their blowout loss to Oklahoma, they had two turnovers compared to one from the Sooners.
I’m not saying that the Cyclones can’t continue to win the turnover battle week to week, but it would be interesting to see how a game plays out when they aren’t turning the other team over at such a high rate.
Iowa State also only has one win in Waco, Texas, in the Matt Campbell era, so the Cyclones will be looking to reverse that trend Saturday.
Despite the game being on the road, I think that coming off of their bye week, the Cyclones will edge out a victory against the struggling Bears.
