On Saturday, Iowa State football will look to make it an even 10.

The Cyclones haven’t lost in the month of October since 2017, and this week they’ll face off against Texas Tech in Lubbock, Texas.

“The attitude, the effort, the intent that they play with in all phases of the game is really fun to watch,” said coach Matt Campbell.

The Red Raiders are coming off of a close loss to Baylor — not unlike Iowa State’s matchup with the Bears earlier in the season.

Texas Tech has played well this season at home. In three home games — only one against a power five team — the Red Raiders are undefeated and have outscored opponents 128-48.

That’s a lot of points (just under 43 points per game to be exact) for a team that is only playing .500 football.

Texas Tech is 0-3 on the road, but the Red Raiders don’t have to worry about their road performance until Oct. 26.

For now, the Cyclones will have to find a way to beat them in Lubbock. They might be able to find production from the running back room again in the form of freshman Breece Hall.

“Breece was a tailback coming in here. He played tailback in a very similar offense of what we run here at Iowa State,” Campbell said. “I think that’s a little bit different for some of those other guys in the room.”

Hall ran for 132 yards and three touchdowns last week. It was an explosion for a position group lacking a true workhorse. Hall is not set in stone to be the main guy in the backfield, but the game against West Virginia certainly made him a favorite. 

On the other end, Iowa State had one of their best games of the year.

Early on, sophomore quarterback Brock Purdy threw a pass that ended up in the Mountaineers’ hands and was returned for a touchdown.

Only one other touchdown was scored by West Virginia, as the Cyclones’ defense showed why they are considered by some to be the best defensive team in the conference.

This defensive performance came with three of the Cyclones’ most effective defensive options injured — safety Greg Eisworth, linebacker O’Rien Vance and defensive end JaQuan Bailey.

Texas Tech will give the Cyclones a harder time than the Mountaineers could. The Red Raiders made a change at quarterback when Alan Bowman was injured earlier in the season. The new man under center is Jett Duffey.

Against Oklahoma State two weeks ago in an upset victory, Duffey threw for 424 yards, going 26-44 passing with four touchdowns.

Against Baylor on Saturday, Duffey threw for 363 yards on 31-42 passing with one touchdown. The Red Raiders lost in double overtime to Baylor.

“He’s an impressive guy to watch right now,” said Iowa State defensive coordinator Jon Heacock. “It’s been incredible what he’s done.”

Iowa State, however, is 4-2 and close to earning a ranking again. If the Cyclones handle Texas Tech on the road they could see themselves back in the top 25.

The Cyclones are, like Texas Tech, just finding their groove this the season.

The Red Raiders have been streaking lately and their offense has gotten them three points away from beating two straight ranked teams.

Defensive lineman Matt Leo is not worried about the high-flying offense.

“Even though they all play similar and are all athletic, we go in with the same approach,” Leo said. “That doesn’t change much when we go against different teams.”