Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma football: Storylines surrounding OU-Iowa State game

By Chip Rouse

Nov 20, 2021; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Justin Broiles (25) and linebacker Nik Bonitto (11) tackle Iowa State Cyclones wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson (8) during the first half at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 20, 2021; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners defensive back Justin Broiles (25) and linebacker Nik Bonitto (11) tackle Iowa State Cyclones wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson (8) during the first half at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oklahoma football heads to Ames, Iowa, this weekend for an 11 a.m. Saturday morning kickoff with the Iowa State Cyclones.

Neither team has finished lower than fourth in the Big 12 standings in four of the past five seasons, and Oklahoma was Big 12 champion in four of the five years. Yet, as things currently stand, the Sooners are tied for eighth with one Big 12 win in four games, and Iowa State is still looking for its first conference win. Who would have thought this two months ago?

Oklahoma has won 24 of its last 25 visits to Iowa State. But that one loss was on the Sooners most recent visit Ames, in 2020. Before a virtually empty stadium with attendance restricted because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Cyclones upset the 18th-ranked Sooners 37-30. The same two teams met again that season, however, in the Big 12 Championship game. Oklahoma won that one 27-21 to capture its sixth consecutive conference crown.

Both teams have had a week off to prepare for this game. The extra time off can help or hurt you, but in the Sooners’ case it has provided the opportunity for Brent Venables and defensive coordinator Ted Roof additional time to work on some of the defensive issues and also to get healthier on both sides of the ball.

Plenty has been written about the potency of the Oklahoma offense with quarterback Dillon Gabriel at the controls and the stout nature of Matt Campbell’s Iowa State defense. That will be the key battlefront in this game, but the game will be decided by which team’s weakness (Oklahoma’s defense and Iowa State’s struggling offense) prevails over the other.

Other storylines connected with the OU-Iowa State matchup on Saturday

  • Iowa State has just three wins against Oklahoma since the 1961 season: 33-31 in Norman in 1990, 38-31 in Norman in 2017 and 37-30 in Ames in 2020.
  • Oklahoma has won 29 of its last 34 true road games and has scored at least 30 points in 37 of their last 39 true road games.
  • Oklahoma enters the game with Iowa State with the country’s 23rd-best offense (471.9 yards per game). The Sooners are going up against an Iowa State defense that ranks 9th in the country in total defense (289.7 yards per game).
  • Iowa State has yet to win a Big 12 game this season. All four of the Cyclones’ losses, however, have been by seven points or less.
  • The average margin of victory in the last six games between these two teams is 6.3 points.
  • Oklahoma true freshman defensive end R Mason Thomas was previously committed to Iowa State before flipping to Oklahoma less than two months after Brent Venables was hired as the new Oklahoma head coach.
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