AMES – The first game of the Iowa State football season has come and gone. Behind an air attack led by quarterback Rocco Becht, the Cyclones took down North Dakota 21-3.
What should not have come as a surprise was that senior wide receivers Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins each caught a touchdown pass. What was a little surprising to me was that, more often than not, there was a lack of production from the other guys in the wide receiver room.
Eight targets turned into eight catches for Noel for 135 yards. Five catches for 75 yards came on all five targets to Higgins.
North Dakota State transfer Eli Green was the only other receiver to put up any notable numbers, with four catches for 44 yards. Beni Ngoyi did have one catch for 10 yards, but that was not what I hoped to see out of him.
Noel and Higgins are obviously going to be the biggest one-two punch on the Iowa State offense, and it became even more evident after Saturday’s performance. That was proven in the first two plays of the game.
On the first play of the season, Becht tested Noel in double coverage. Insane. What was even more insane was the fact that Noel reached around a North Dakota defender to reel in the pass.
“In my opinion, [Noel] has, from year one to year four, been one of the most complete football players we’ve had in the program during my time here,” head coach Matt Campbell said. “He looked like and elite player, one of the best players in the country at his position.”
One play later, Higgins burns a defender for an easy touchdown.
38 seconds. That’s all it took.
“I knew I had [Noel] on the post,” Becht said. “As long as that safety gave me enough time to let it loose and put a ball out there for him, I was going to do it.”
New offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser made this offense look elite and fun, especially for the limited time they had.
“[Mouser’s] aggressive,” Becht said. “He’s unique. We’re going to keep doing that all season.”
I have to agree with what Campbell and Noel said about Becht and his demeanor, poise and ability to lead the offense. He looked fantastic in game one, throwing 20-for-26, or 77%, for 267 yards and the two touchdowns. Not to mention his rushing touchdown on a QB sneak.
All eight of his targets to Noel were caught, as were his five attempts to Higgins. Becht did have trouble throwing to Green, but to be fair, it was their first game playing together.
The main thing that stood out from my perspective, especially after the first drive, was how efficient the Iowa State offense was when it had the ball. The Cyclones scored three times, and only had the ball for 22:09.
That 12 minute drive North Dakota had was definitely the longest drive I have ever seen, and it only ended in a field goal. I think that is a testament to the Iowa State defense and the bend-but-don’t-break mentality.
Yes, the defense did have its fair share of issues, mostly stemming from injuries to guys like Caleb Bacon and Will McLaughlin. There are a number of other guys who are dealing with injuries too, and that could be a big problem down the line.
For the season being just one week in, I am a bit worried about how the defense will stack up against better teams, especially since Iowa awaits the Cyclones next week.
I’m not going to lie, I am nervous for that game.
With the depleted linebacker core, North Dakota had no issues running through the Cyclone defense, ripping off 174 rushing yards spread across four running backs and quarterback Simon Romfo.
A quarterback spy was never put out during any defensive play. Once Big 12 play rolls around, that will have to change.
One would think that with how the Fighting Hawks ran the ball against the Cyclones, they would have scored more than three points. Well, they could have had six, but the missed field goal took away one of the, somehow, few chances North Dakota had to score.
I was impressed with the pass defense for the most part. Beau Freyler nearly had two interceptions, one did happen, and finished with eight tackles.
Jontez Williams held it down on the outside with a team-leading 11 tackles and had a pass breakup. I liked what I saw out of the sophomore and will be on the lookout for a great season from him.
“He almost had the pick-six,” Campbell said. “He is an elite performer.”
The third downs were excruciating to watch, especially in the first half. North Dakota went 8-for-12 on third down conversions in the first 30 minutes, but the defense tightened up in the second half, allowing three conversions on eight third downs.
Heading to Iowa next week, the pass defense needs to maintain what it did against North Dakota. The rushing defense needs to step it up, otherwise Iowa will run all over the Cyclones.
On offense, I would like to see Iowa State establish the run game and try to spread the ball more to other receivers. Reliance on Noel and Higgins is expected, but it cannot always be the answer.
“We are going to a beehive, you could say,” Noel said. “We’ll be ready to go.”
