After Iowa State’s seven-point win over Oklahoma last season, the Cyclones host the Sooners this year. The potential of another close game could be decided by a couple players.

Oklahoma: Trey Sermon

Oklahoma announced this week that running back Rodney Anderson will sit out the rest of the season due to injury. As a result, sophomore Trey Sermon will anchor the Sooner back field. Sermon shined during his opportunities as a freshman. The Georgia native rushed for 744 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 6.1 yards a carry. In the passing game, Sermon snagged 16 receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns. Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray provides a spark to the Oklahoma offense, but the Sooners can’t be one-dimensional. The Cyclone defense revealed a strength for Iowa State, meaning Oklahoma needs to find the cracks.

Iowa State: Brian Peavy

Outside of giving up late points, the Iowa State defense earned an ‘A+’ from the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk game. The Cyclones limited the big plays from the Hawkeyes. With a much more explosive offense entering the MidAmerican Energy Field at Jack Trice Stadium, the Iowa State defense must do that again. That starts with redshirt senior cornerback Brian Peavy. Iowa State — a double-digit underdog — will likely need to win the turnover margin. Iowa State consistently plays a clean game on offense. The Cyclones managed to fend off any turnovers until desperation time, but the defense failed to force any turnovers. If Peavy can snare an interception off Kyler Murray, the Cyclones could eke out a second-straight win over Oklahoma.