Iowa State struggled in many facets of its 31-17 loss to Iowa on Saturday but on defense, the Cyclones’ troubles boiled down to one of the most fundamental football skills — tackling.

Tackling was one of the key reasons why Iowa State’s defense allowed 21 unanswered points and 232 yards, 159 through the air, in the second half.

“We tackled poor on Saturday,” said ISU head coach Paul Rhoads. “I think I talked about the arm tackling after the game. We were reaching a lot and not finishing all the way to the ball carrier with our hips and feet like you’ve got to.

“It was the number one thing that stood out to me poorly about the defense.”

The team’s inability to tackle also hindered the ISU defense in its effort to stop the Hawkeyes from breaking explosive plays. Iowa racked up three plays for 45-plus yards, which accounted for about a third of its offense Saturday.

Although the team racked up 77 tackles in the game, including seven for a loss with three sacks, it couldn’t consistently tackle when it counted the most — in the open field.

Mistakes will be multiplied against a strong Toledo team Saturday, a squad that beat No. 18 Arkansas during the weekend with 318 yards of total offense.

The Rockets’ offense will add more danger to their arsenal with the return of running back Kareem Hunt, who was suspended for the first two games of the season because of violation of team policies.

Toledo’s first game was cancelled, but Hunt is still slated to be on the field Saturday.

Hunt is averaging 7.9 yards per carry in his career after a 1,360-yard season in 2014, despite missing three games with an ankle injury.

“The kid’s a very talented, gifted, gifted back,” Rhoads said. “You don’t try to plan to tackle him with one guy. You try to get a number of people around him, and doing that with a football team that likes to move the ball around.”

Hunt and the rest of the Toledo offense will make tackling for the ISU defense paramount Saturday. 

Rhoads said in order to improve the tackling it will be important for the Cyclones to work on group tackling or “swarm tackling,” along with implementing the proper tackling form. 

“It’s the team emphasis,” Rhoads said. “Just not allowing the reaching of the arms and not letting people not hustling to a play.”

Limiting the amount of times the Cyclones have to bring down Rockets in space will also contribute to a more successful defensive effort. Rhoads is running 7-on-7 drills during practice this week to force his players to make group tackles, hoping to encourage surrounding a play rather than chasing it down.

But linebacker Jarnor Jones isn’t completely focused on group tackling. He feels like the team needs to work more on one-on-one tackles in the open field.

“That will be one of the big key concerns going into this week,” Jones said. “I think we will definitely focus in on tackling and open-field tackling and individual tackling; not so much of a group tackle … but more of a one-on-one tackle.”

Linebacker Jordan Harris, who has been dubbed the biggest hitter on the ISU squad, hasn’t had a problem tackling so far. He is second on the team with 16 tackles, good for fourth in the Big 12.

In practice this week, he also wants the team to improve in the tackling department. He isn’t going to do it with his words, but instead will give his teammates examples of what proper tackling looks like. 

“I try to show them,” Harris said. “If they see me hit somebody, then they’ll know that how we have to do it like that. If they come and ask me, I’ll show them how we do.”