Iowa State isn’t typically thought of as an elite football school, but in 2020, the team turned a lot of heads. Going into their Big 12 championship matchup on December 19th, the team was well within the top ten of the College Football Playoff Ranking, sitting at 6th nationally.
This season marks the program’s first top-ten finish since 2002.
The Cyclones lost narrowly to Oklahoma in the title game, 27-21, sinking to No. 10 nationally. Disappointing as the loss may have been, Iowa State still earned a shot at a Fiesta Bowl against the Pac-12 champion Oregon Ducks in early January.
This season, the Cyclones offense has been explosive in the ground game. Sophomore Iowa State running back Breece Hall leads the nation in rushing with 1,436 yards, 19 touchdowns at 5.9 yards per carry. The Wichita, Kansas native rushed for over 100 yards in all but three of the Cyclones 11 games of 2020.
Throughout 2020, the Ducks have struggled to stop the run, surrendering massive chunks of yardage to UCLA’s Demetric Felton and Oregon State’s Jermar Jefferson, to name a couple. They’ll face their most effective rushing opponent yet in Iowa State, despite limiting USC to 38 rushing yards on 28 attempts in the Pac-12 Championship.
Although the Cyclones’ offense puts emphasis on the run, their system isn’t one dimensional. Junior quarterback Brock Purdy has thrown for 2,594 yards and 18 touchdowns this season while adding four more with his feet. Junior wideout Xavier Hutchinson leads the Cyclones in receiving, tallying 726 yards and four touchdowns on the year.
Interceptions from Purdy have been a vulnerability for Iowa State. He has nine this season, three of which came in the Cyclones conference championship loss to the Oklahoma Sooners.
The Ducks secondary has been better game by game, most notably in the Pac-12 Championship, limiting a star-studded USC receiving core and picking off Trojans quarterback Kedon Slovis three times.
If the Oregon defense is able to replicate its success in the passing game while making it hard on the Cyclones’ ground attack, the underdog Ducks will have a chance at bringing home a second straight New Year’s Six bowl victory.
Ranked third in the Big-12 in total defense, the Cyclones will stand as a sizable test for first-year starting quarterback Tyler Shough and the Oregon offense.
Linebacker Mike Rose leads the conference in both tackles and interceptions, with 90 and four, respectively, while defensive end Will McDonald leads in sacks, with nine and a half on the year.
Depth up front, accompanied by a talented group of linebackers has allowed Iowa State to be effective run-stoppers throughout the season. Iowa State ranks 10th nationally in rushing defense, allowing only 104 yards per game, but their most prevalent defensive shortcomings lay in the secondary. Iowa State sits second to last in the Big 12 in passing yards allowed, with 2,622 through the 11-game slate.
The Fiesta Bowl showdown between the No. 25 Ducks and the No. 10 Cyclones could be significantly closer than the rankings may depict.
Oregon will walk into State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona as an underdog, but with the right gameplan, they may well leave victorious.
