Welcome to Senior Day, folks. It’s been a roller coaster of a season, and we aren’t done quite yet. Iowa State hosts Kansas this weekend, with both teams needing a win. Kansas is currently 5-5 (3-4) with its
back to the wall, trying to become bowl eligible since 2023 and a second winning record with Lance Leipold at the helm. On the other side, Iowa State is already bowl eligible (6-4, 3-4), but is facing the potential of a 4-game losing streak against Kansas. With only 8 quarters left to play in the regular season, Iowa State’s offense must find a rhythm to finish the season strong.
Iowa State
Since this is senior day, let’s go ahead and focus on the men in the trenches. Through the season, we have seen good, bad, ugly, and nonexistent offensive line play. With every year being hyped to be the best it ever has been under Matt Campbell, there are times when fans feel frustrated. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on who you talk to, we are losing a lot of experience on the line after this season, and I feel like it is our duty to give them one more shot to help Iowa State win against a pressure-heavy Kansas.
Come the final whistle on Saturday, we will be saying goodbye to James Neal III, Tyler Miller, Jim Bonifas, Tyler Maro, and Dylan Barrett, who combined share 105 games played on the line before this season. They might have been frustrating at times, but when push came to shove, they helped Iowa State in more ways than one become the team we are now.
Kansas
When I think of Kansas, there’s only one player that comes to mind for their offense, and that’s Jalon Daniels. Daniels has been at Kansas since 2020 (yikes) and is the player who really makes or breaks a game for his team. If Jalon is on point and protects the football, he’s one of the best quarterbacks in our conference. The issue is consistency and taking what the defense gives him, and not trying to force issues.
The past couple of seasons, Jalon’s ability to extend plays and be mobile, as well as an offense that plays to his strengths, helped him propel Kansas on a 3-game winning streak against Iowa State. There can be arguments about injuries for last year’s contest in Kansas City, but the fact is Jalon is a wild card. He’s going to make highlight plays.
Jalon is currently 175 out of 269, 2,190 passing yards, 21 passing touchdowns, three interceptions, 345 rushing yards, and three rushing touchdowns. Iowa State has a historic record of struggling to handle mobile quarterbacks, and he is the most mobile of all the quarterbacks this season (mobile, not a tank like Bear Bachmeier).
