Iowa State and Arizona are entering this weekend’s competition as a clash of undefeateds that will propel the winner forward in the race to Arlington. Both teams are coming off a bye week from games that were fought and drawn out. Iowa State beat an annoying Arkansas State team and their ridiculous waterfall, while Arizona fought all the way to the end of regulation against a struggling Kansas State team.
Iowa State
Carson Hansen is the player to watch this week. Iowa State has shown that there is a timeshare
in the backfield, but Carson is currently the primary back. Out of the running back room, Carson currently holds 54 attempts for 252 yards while also recording seven receptions for 46 yards. The interesting note, however, is that he has not yet scored a single touchdown this season, while his partner in crime, Abu Sama, has scored two. But when we look at the numbers, Carson is obviously the go-to back and has 298 total scrimmage yards to Abu’s 193.
The primary thing that interests me is that Arizona is currently ranked 30th in the FBS for rushing defense, only allowing 96 rushing yards per game with an average of 3.4 yards per carry. In contrast, Iowa State is averaging 161 rushing yards per game, with an average of 4.5 yards per carry. However, that average also includes a notable outlier from the South Dakota game, where Iowa State ran for 223 yards. Carson Hansen also finally got his first career 100+ rushing yard game against Arkansas State, which could be the confidence boost he needs to boost this rushing attack forward into conference play. With the conference knowing how good Rocco Becht is, they will be daring Matt Campbell and Taylor Mouser to plan for a rushing attack. Carson Hansen will need to respond and punish teams that do not account for him.
Arizona
The Desert Mildcats have their star quarterback firing on all cylinders and have seen excellent performances so far this season. The redshirt junior is currently 46-out-of-78 (59%), 712 passing yards, six touchdowns, and no interceptions. He is averaging 237 yards per game and is currently on track to finish the season with yet another 2,800+ passing yard season.
Fifita is not known to be a scrambler or to beat you with his legs, but he has three rushing touchdowns (two against Kansas State), with his longest run being 15 yards. With Iowa State’s “bend, don’t break” mentality on defense and Fifita’s experience, it’s hard to say if he will try to force an issue that isn’t there.
