Deja vu
Iowa State came into the CyHawk Game rolling after a 55-7 blowout win over South Dakota, and looked to finally exorcise their demons by finally taking down the Hawks in Ames for the first time since James White won it in triple OT back in 2011.
What Went Wrong
Pass Defense
Alright, alright. I hear you. Iowa State held the Hawks under 100 passing yards for the second year in a row. Sounds good, right? Unfortunately for the Cyclones, the 83 yards allowed to Mark Gronowski was nearly double what the South Dakota State transfer
mustered up against Albany. The Cyclones will need to be much better moving forward in the secondary if they want to continue what is looking to be another magical season.
Kick Returns
Alright, I’m going to pretend that the picked up kick catch interference was correct (it wasn’t) here. Regardless of that play, the Cyclone kick returns were abysmal on Saturday. For starters, that shouldn’t be a situation that you’re in in the first place. A cluttered landing spot for the kick return is a “get the hell away from it” situation, and, while Townsend was in for Aiden Flora who was out for the game, it’s something that should be relatively known. Beyond that, calling for the fair catch on a kickoff return and letting the ball bounce first, puts the ball dead at the spot, not a touchback, which set Iowa State up at their own 3 yard line in a 13-13 game late in the 3rd quarter. That’s not ever a position you want to be in, and again, with Flora, that probably doesn’t happen, but it was a situation the Cyclones found themselves in and despite a 12-play, 53-yard drive, the Cyclones got 0 points.
What Went Right
Rocco Becht
Rocco for the second time this year (Kansas State) didn’t have remotely close to his best game… And yet, for the second time this year, he made every single play when it mattered and put his team in a position to win the game. I don’t know what the football version of Bill Raftery’s “Onions!” is, but whatever it is, you can almost guarantee that if Rocco gets the ball late, it’s coming.
Becht, up 3 against Kansas State got the ball back with 6:23 to go and never gave it back, then, two weeks later got the ball in a tie game with 8:14 to go and took it all the way down to 1:52 to go with the lead and giving the ball back to an Iowa offense that did nothing down the field. Notably, on that final drive, the Cyclones were 3-4 on third downs, and the one they didn’t get, he took the ball and got it to the middle of the field to make Konrardy’s kick just a little easier. This team has all the confidence in the world in Rocco Becht and for good reason. Even the throws that fell incomplete were mostly on target and in rhythm. He’s got “it” ladies and gentlemen. If you don’t know, now you know.
Gabe Burkle
Benjamin Brahmer is probably still the “best” tight end at Iowa State… but this dude Gabe Burkle is making serious noise. 10 catches for 149 yards and a TD so far through 3 games, and with this catch, gave Rocco and Konrardy a chance to do what they do best.
Tipped at the line, off Townsend’s hand, right into the outstretched arms of #84. There’s a new TEU in town, folks. And it’s led by The Killer B’s.
Kyle Konrardy
I’ll step aside here and let the Godfather take it.
Weekly Grades
Offense: C
Defense: A-
Special Teams (excluding Konrardy): D+
Konrardy: 54
Game-Winning Drives: Purdy Rocc Solid
Business: (Metro) Boomin
