Iowa State needed something to jump-start an offense that kept stalling out in the red zone against Toledo. Quarterback Sam Richardson was seeing blitzes nearly every play, and the Cyclones were settling for field goals instead of touchdowns.

Both offensive coordinator Mark Mangino and Richardson saw what was happening: The Toledo defense was adjusting to the ISU offense before the snap count and sent more pressure if time allowed. So to start the second half the Cyclones went up-tempo to catch the defense off guard.

It worked to the tune of 28 points and 274 yards of offense — more points and yardage than the team produced in the entirety of their first game against North Dakota State where they only had 14 points and 253 yards.

“It was just a moment in the game where we thought we could go fast and we did that,” Richardson said.

With the best offensive production of the season and a career game from Richardson, the up-tempo offense is here to stay, right?

“I don’t think it will be something we continue to do for the rest of the season,” Richardson said.

That’s right. The offense isn’t adapting the up-tempo offense after their most successful game of the season. But that’s not because Mangino and coach Paul Rhoads are crazy. That kind of offense just is not going to work against everybody.

“It was good to us, it was successful, but it’s only something you use if you’re successful with it,” Rhoads said. “It can be a real detriment, especially to your defense if you’re not [successful with it], and you come off the field quite quickly.”

To be fair Rhoads isn’t throwing away the up-tempo offense either, saying the team will continue to implement it. Rhoads said the team practiced an up-tempo offense daily, before he decided it wasn’t the right fit and implemented what has been used most of the season.

“It’s something that’s been a part of what we’ve been doing every week but not on a large scale,” Rhoads said. “We had a selective group of plays that we used [against Toledo], and our kids went out and executed.”

Against a Texas defense that ranks top-10 in most categories for pass defense, the pass-heavy up-tempo offense may not see the field like it did against Toledo. Even the fastest and most powerful offense in the nation, Baylor, struggled against the Longhorns, scoring a season-low 28 points and mustering only 111 passing yards from Heisman Trophy contender Bryce Petty.

The Cyclones will likely resort to shorter passing routes, which gave them success against Toledo, and running plays to keep their defense off the field. After all, the longer the offense is on the field, the fewer chances the opposing team has of scoring.

With both running back Aaron Wimberly and wide receiver Jarvis West anticipated to return from injury, they will give the Cyclones even more speed to use against the Longhorns. Just don’t expect the offense to be running at that same speed against the Longhorns.