Every week, the Iowa State Daily’s Sam Stuve will deliver the good news for Iowa State football fans as “Good Cop” and Jack Shover will play devil’s advocate as “Bad Cop.”

This week, Stuve and Shover will dissect Iowa State’s much anticipated homecoming matchup against Oklahoma State.

Good Cop:

Two of the best offenses in the Big 12 face off in Ames on Saturday as Oklahoma State takes on 23rd-ranked Iowa State. Oklahoma State has scored at least 30 points in all but one game this season, averaging 37 points a game, which is fourth in the Big 12 just behind Iowa State, who average 37.1 points per game. Oklahoma State is second in total offense with 518 yards per game.

Oklahoma State has two dynamic offensive weapons, redshirt sophomore running back Chuba Hubbard and junior Tylan Wallace. Howard leads the country in rushing yards with 1265 yards, and Wallace is first in the Big 12 and sixth in the country in receiving yards with 772 yards. 

The Cowboys are in the bottom half of the league in total defense, giving up 443.9 yards per game. However, the Cowboys are second in the Big 12 in sacks with 20.

In last season’s matchup, Iowa State’s then-freshman quarterback Brock Purdy made his first start, throwing for 318 and four touchdowns en route to a 48-42 victory in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

The last four matchups have resulted in both teams scoring at least 30 points, and that should be the case for Saturday afternoon’s matchup. 

Both offenses will be able to put points, but the question is which defense can get the most stops late in the game. I forsee Iowa State’s defense being able to do that. 

Iowa State will hold a four point lead heading into the fourth, when they’ll score two touchdowns and improve to 6-2 (4-1 Big 12) this season.

Prediction: Iowa State 48, Oklahoma State 31

Bad Cop

Iowa State scheduled a tough matchup in Oklahoma State for Homecoming Saturday.

The Cowboys’ defense isn’t anything special, but they do have some absolute stars on offense in Chuba Hubbard and Tylan Wallace.

Howard is the top running back in the conference and has accumulated 1,265 yards and 15 touchdowns. He leads the conference in both categories.

Iowa State has the second best rushing defense in the conference, but expecting the Cyclones to slow down Hubbard isn’t a realistic expectation.

Howard is a dynamic runner out of the backfield and has shown the ability to find holes in the offensive line and explode forward for big gains.

Iowa State will need to bring down extra help from the defensive backfield if they want to slow down Hubbard, which will open things up on offense for Wallace at wide receiver.

With redshirt freshman Spencer Sanders throwing him the ball, Wallace ranks first in the Big 12 in total receiving yards with 772 yards and second in receiving touchdowns with seven. Only CeeDee Lamb from Oklahoma has more receiving touchdowns.

Wallace isn’t a huge receiver standing at six-feet tall, but he is still a good route runner and has the ability to climb-the-ladder and catch balls over cornerbacks.

Iowa State doesn’t have great height at the cornerback position, so expect Wallace to pick on the Cyclones’ shorter cornerbacks all game long.

In this game, it will be Oklahoma State’s fourth ranked Big 12 offense, spoiling Iowa State’s homecoming.

Prediction: Oklahoma State 30, Iowa State 21