Oklahoma football: Definitive guide to Oklahoma vs. Iowa State
A 1-0 start to Big 12 play and a 16-game road winning streak are both on the line when Oklahoma football travels to Iowa State this weekend.
As if that wasn’t enough, vengeance is also on the table.
Lincoln Riley may have downplayed the importance of this week’s game against Iowa State to the press, but the most recent episode of OU DNA at Soonersports.com let out a poorly-kept secret.
Oklahoma has been counting down the days for another shot at Iowa State.
“We’ve been waiting for this one for a long time,” he told his team in the locker room after the Sooners’ 49-21 win over UCLA. “We’ve been waiting on this for about 12 months.”
“They’ve got something coming,” someone can be heard shouting from the background.
The Sooners haven’t forgotten their 38-31 loss in Norman or the subsequent flag plant from an Iowa State player after the conclusion of the game. Despite an early kickoff on the road, there will be no lack of motivation on the part of the Sooners.
So what can we expect when Oklahoma football takes the field against Iowa State this weekend?
The known unknown
The Cyclones didn’t do much to impress on offense last week in a 13-3 loss to rival Iowa. They gained only 188 total yards including 19 rushing, so without an offensive rythmn, it’s hard to get a good feel for what Iowa Sate wants to do on that side of the ball.
On defense we’ve only seen the Cyclones play against the Hawkeyes’ ground-oriented, run-first attack this season, which doesn’t give us much of an idea on how they will attack a wide-open, Big 12 style group like the Sooners.
Still, there is a known element with a Matt Campbell-coached team from the Sooners’ previous two run ins with the Cyclone head coach. In some ways it’s the same plan you see from veteran coach Bill Snyder and Kansas State year in and year out.
Iowa State will try to limit big plays, chew up the clock on offense and pounce on any mistakes its opponents hand out.
Last year that meant dropping eight into coverage and keeping Baker Mayfield’s recievers in front of them. The Cyclones bent, but didn’t break, allowing more than 500 yards, but just 31 points – the Sooners second-lowest output of the year.
On offense it meant intermediate passes and zone reads, taking advantage of missed tackles and blown assignments and playing keepaway from the high powered Oklahoma football offense.
Quarterback injury
Last year Iowa State quarterback Kyle Kempt played lights-out against the Sooners, throwing for 343 yards in a shocking performance against the Oklahoma defense. But Kempt’s status is in jeopardy this week after he left the Cyclones’ loss to Iowa with an injured ankle.
Still Zeb Noland is a decent backup who turned in solid performances last season against both Oklahoma State and Baylor. We’ve also seen Oklahoma struggle against backup quarterbacks in the past, including last year against Iowa State when Kempt stepped in for the much-maligned Jacob Park. No matter which quarterback takes the field it will be a chance for the Sooners to chip away at a past narrative.