From the outset of the Cyclones’ second Big 12 conference game Saturday in Lubbock, Texas, the ISU defense struggled to stop a Texas Tech offense that ranked third in the nation in points and yards per game entering the matchup. 

The struggles presented themselves on paper as Iowa State (2-3, 1-1 Big 12) was defeated handily, 66-31, at the hands of the Red Raiders. 

From the first snap to the final whistle, Texas Tech never slowed down, punting only twice in the game and finishing nine of its 13 drives with touchdowns. The Red Raiders put up 776 yards, too, tied for the most against Iowa State in program history. 

The Cyclones’ new 3-4 defensive scheme didn’t assist in the dismal performance either and struggled to stop the pass — its primary goal — conceding 515 passing yards.

But it wasn’t as if Iowa State hadn’t prepared for the high-powered Red Raider offense that ranked third in the NCAA in passing entering Saturday. The Cyclones’ 3-4 defense was put in place particularly to slow down the heavy pass offenses in the Big 12.

The poor performance could be attributed to numerous aspects of the defense, but ISU coach Paul Rhoads placed the majority of the blame on the scheme still developing in its infant stages. 

“Have we recruited personnel-wise to the defense yet? No,” Rhoads said. “That’s the next piece that goes along with it. But the guys that we have right now are the guys we have for the next seven ballgames, so we have to make sure they play it better first and foremost.”

It was a wasted performance by running back Mike Warren, who broke the ISU freshman single-season rushing record with his third consecutive game of more than 100 rushing yards. His 245 yards Saturday, 10.7 yards per carry, led to the majority of the Cyclones’ 31 points, despite Warren never finding the end zone.

It was almost a flip-flop of a team ISU fans saw early in the season that struggled to run but excelled on defense. If the running game continues, and the defense returns to early-season form, it could mean a successful run for the Cyclones.

“If you can keep [running well], you can give your football team a chance,” Rhoads said. “That’s what we did today.”

The common theme for the ISU defense through five games this season and parts of last season has been the lackluster tackling to stop short- or medium-yardage plays from turning into explosive ones.

That was the case again against Texas Tech, as Iowa State allowed 8.9 yards per play. 

“We did not tackle well,” Rhoads said. “We’ve got to leverage them better, we’ve got to get off blocks better and we’ve got to tackle with urgency and immediacy. There were angles in that game that I thought were poor today.”

The defense certainly struggled, but part of it may have stemmed from the defense being overwhelmed. Texas Tech’s offense scored on almost every drive, but the ISU offense failed to keep up.

Considering the offense’s slow start, receiver Allen Lazard believes that was the root of the problems on defense.

“I think we actually put more pressure on our defense,” Lazard said. “They had a lot of pressure on them because they knew they had to get a stop for us.” 

The poor defensive performance doesn’t bode well for Iowa State considering its next two opponents — Texas Christian and Baylor — which ranked second and first, respectively, in the NCAA in total offense entering the weekend.

“The speed and pace aren’t going to slow down in the next two weeks,” Rhoads said. “And on paper, the next two opponents are better than this one.”

In addition to tackling, Rhoads said he wants his defense to focus on the perimeter run and pass coverage in the future. But for some of the players, the improvements need to come from just simply playing better. 

“We didn’t play well enough at all,” said safety Kamari Cotton-Moya. “We didn’t play well enough as we needed and it showed today.”