Oklahoma football: Definitive guide to Oklahoma vs. Iowa State
Key matchups
Iowa State’s o-line vs. Oklahoma’s front seven: The Cyclones were expecting their offensive front to be a strength this year with four returning starters in their two deep up front.
Unfortunately for Iowa State the group looked pedestrian at best against Iowa. The Cyclones could barely slow down their in-state rivals up front, much less establish a line of scrimmage.
Still head coach Matt Campbell believes this group is capable of bouncing back and they could be a formitable opponent for a much-improved Oklahoma front seven.
The Sooners are coming off their best performance up front in a number of years against UCLA. Oklahoma registered 10 tackles for loss against the Bruins, thanks in large part to Neville Gallimore, who ate up UCLA true freshman center Christaphany Murray all day long. The Oklahoma linebacking group of Kenneth Murray, Mark Jackson and Curtis Bolton all look to be gelling as a unit.
The Cyclones didn’t exactly dominate in the trenches last year against Oklahoma, but gave standout back David Montgomery enough room to keep the team in third-and-manigable situations. They also kept Kempt’s jersey clean. Oklahoma will have to cause more disruption and be the aggressor on that side of the ball to have success as a defensive unit Saturday.
Oklahoma o-line vs. Iowa State front seven: The Sooners did not run the ball as well as they would have liked against UCLA last week. Kyler Murray finished as the game’s leading rusher with 69 yards on the ground.
With a season-ending injury to Rodney Anderson Oklahoma wants to establish itself in the trenches and push the Cyclones around, but it’s not something they were able to do last season in this game. No Sooner topped 100 yards rushing against Iowa State last season with Trey Sermon coming the closest at 18 carries for 90 yards.
Between last week and the team’s performance last year against Iowa State, the OU offensive line comes into the game with something to prove. Expect an angry, salty group ready to fire off the ball and engage.
True freshman linebacker Mike Rose looked like a stud last week for Iowa State, flying downhill and recording 11 tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass broken up, but the Sooners may be able to take advantage of his lack of experience this week with misdirection, motion away from the play and the zone read. If they can get Rose out of position they may be able to exploit some other matchups. Be on the lookout for jet sweeps, crossing running backs and tons of presnap shifts from Oklahoma.
Iowa State secondary vs. Oklahoma receivers: Iowa State cornerback Brian Peavy is as good a cover man as you are going to find in the Big 12. He leads the FBS with 37 career passes broken up, including a pair of passes defended against Iowa. Fellow cornerback D’Andre Payne is a senior and returning starter who might not wow with size or speed, but plays well within the Cyclones’ zone system.
The safety positions might be where the Sooners can find some mismatches. A pair of sophomores – Greg Elsworth and Lawrence White – made their first career starts last week and both will be tested in new ways against Oklahoma.
Against UCLA Kyler Murray showed patience in the passing game, scrolling through his progressions. If the Sooners can keep a clean pocket this could finally be the breakout game for Grant Calcaterra, who has been quiet through two contests so far for the Sooners.
It could also be another big day for CeeDee Lamb. Last week he caught virtually everything within his grasp – and a couple that by all logic shouldn’t have been. He’ll likely get lots of intermediate-range opportunities to beat the Cyclone’s zone coverage.