With a final score of 13-3 in Iowa’s favor over Iowa State, one may think not a lot of notable plays and trends occurred.

Even with the low score, Iowa exposed Iowa State’s weaknesses. Meanwhile, Iowa State showcased its strengths, while exposing some of the Hawkeyes’ weaknesses.

Mike Rose steps up

Freshman linebacker Mike Rose thrived behind the stout Iowa State defensive line in his debut.

The Brecksville, Ohio, native tallied a game-high 11 tackles and a pass breakup. Even on plays Rose didn’t record a stat, No. 23 was flying from sideline to sideline.

While Rose earned praise from fans in the stands and on Twitter, Iowa State coach Matt Campbell took note, too.

“I think a lot of people today saw why [Rose] won the job,” Campbell said after the loss. “He is special. Again, you are talking about a kid and he has a lot of growing to do still.

“[Rose] is really talented, so we are really fortunate to have him on our team.”

Boom or bust

Another Cyclone making his debut, redshirt sophomore punter Corey Dunn, failed to get off to a hot start like Rose.

Dunn had a rough start kicking rugby style, a style consisting of side to side running before punting. Dunn utilized a more traditional style of punting by the end of the game.

In his first snap, Dunn and the Cyclones snapped the ball from the Iowa State 7-yard line. The ball popped off the side of Dunn’s foot, landing out of bounds.

The referee paced to the 21-yard line, resulting in a 14-yard punt. Fortunately for the Cyclones, Iowa State’s defense slowed down the Hawkeyes, and Iowa failed to convert a field goal.

In Dunn’s second attempt, the Australian improved, landing a 37-yard punt. Instead of building off his second punt, Dunn regressed.

The third punt netted 13 yards, putting Iowa at Iowa State’s 28-yard line. The Cyclones weren’t so lucky this time. Iowa converted a field goal, matching Iowa State’s point total.

For Dunn, the fourth time was the charm. He blasted his fourth punt 58 yards, flipping field position.

Dunn kicked his final four punts 35, 57, 36 and 43 yards. While Dunn worked out the kinks eventually, the punter strained Iowa State’s defense and prevented the Cyclones from being in ideal situations.

In a low-scoring game, field position provided a larger impact than normal. Dunn will be an important piece to keep an eye on moving forward.

Wretched offensive line play

Woof. The Iowa defensive line beat the tar out of Iowa State’s offensive line.

The Cyclone line looked solid on Iowa State’s opening drive, but in short-yardage situations, Iowa emerged.

The opening drive saw the Cyclones cruise to the 2-yard line for a first and goal. On first down, redshirt senior quarterback Kyle Kempt completed a pass to redshirt sophomore tight end Dylan Soehner for no gain.

On second down, the Cyclones mixed it up, running a package with junior running back David Montgomery at quarterback in the shotgun formation.

Montgomery ran it up the gut, gaining one yard in the process. The Cyclone offensive line failed to provide much push.

On third and goal at the one, Iowa State attempted a pass to redshirt junior Hakeem Butler that fell incomplete. 

On fourth down, Iowa State showed a heavy formation, resulting in a Hawkeye time-out.

A Josh Mueller false start ended any hopes of going for it on fourth down, but a serious problem for the Cyclones was revealed.

Throughout the Cy-Hawk game, fans were deprived of seeing many third and short situations for Iowa State (mostly because first and second downs were bad too).

Outside of the opening drive, Iowa State converted a third and five through the air, and redshirt junior running back Sheldon Croney Jr. converted a third and one (barely).

It’s true Iowa State likely won’t face too many defensive lines like Iowa’s, but it’s also true that the Cyclones have a long way to go up front.