clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

First Look: Iowa State Cyclones

In five days, Baylor is headed to Ames, Iowa for a primetime matchup with the Cyclones of Iowa State.

If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

David Purdy
vs.
7/6 BAYLOR (3-0) at NR/NR IOWA STATE (1-2)
Sept. 27, 2014 | 7:20 p.m. CT
Ames, Iowa | Jack Trice Stadium (55,000)

TV: FOX
Listen | Gametracker Gametracker | Game Notes Notes | Tickets Gameday Central

OPPONENT: Iowa St. Cyclones
ODB GAME HUB:
Baylor Bears vs. Iowa State Cyclones 2014
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
: Cyclones.com
CYCLONES MEDIA GUIDE: Click for .pdf
CYCLONES DEPTH CHART: vs. Baylor
LAST MEETING: 71-7 Baylor win in 2013 | Baylor vs. Iowa State 2013 Game Hub
LAST GAME (for ISU): 20-17 win over Iowa
SB NATION BLOG: Wide Right & Natty Lite
SPREAD: Baylor -21.5 (Open: Baylor -23.5)
TV COVERAGE: FOX
WEATHER FORECAST: High Saturday of 80F, low Saturday night of 55F. Clear skies throughout. Low winds.
BAYLOR UNIFORMS: Unknown, but Baylor just went full Stormtrooper for Buffalo and is unlikely to repeat.

SBNation Iowa State Preview
BaylorBears.com Preview
Bears vs Cyclones coverage

A Word about WRNL

For just the second time this year, Baylor is playing a team that also has a blog here on SB Nation: Wide Right & Natty Lite. It is a wonderful blog run by great folks that love their school just like we do ours.  My expectation is that should you make the short internet trek over there, you'll represent us well while doing so and refrain from malicious trolling.  That is their home as this is ours, and they deserve your respect.

Iowa State's 2014 Schedule

After their win a week ago that claimed them the 2014 Cy-Hawk Trophy, the Cyclones stand at 1-2 on the young season with losses to KSU and North Dakota State.  Neither of those is one to laugh at; KSU probably should have beaten Auburn this past week in Manhattan and North Dakota State has won every FCS championship in recent memory.

August
North Dakota St. Bison Saturday, August 30 2014 loss 14-34 coverage
September
Kansas State Wildcats Saturday, September 06 2014 loss 28-32 coverage Tickets
@ Iowa Hawkeyes Saturday, September 13 2014 win 20-17 coverage Tickets
Baylor Bears Saturday, September 27 2014 8:00 PM EDT coverage Tickets
October
@ Oklahoma State Cowboys Saturday, October 04 2014 12:00 PM EDT coverage
Toledo Rockets Saturday, October 11 2014 3:30 PM EDT coverage
@ Texas Longhorns Saturday, October 18 2014 8:00 PM EDT coverage Tickets
November
Oklahoma Sooners Saturday, November 01 2014 12:00 PM EDT coverage Tickets
@ Kansas Jayhawks Saturday, November 08 2014 12:00 PM EST coverage Tickets
Texas Tech Red Raiders Saturday, November 22 2014 12:00 PM EST coverage Tickets
West Virginia Mountaineers Saturday, November 29 2014 12:00 PM EST coverage
December
@ TCU Horned Frogs Saturday, December 06 2014 12:00 PM EST coverage

A year ago, Baylor welcomed Iowa State to Waco and utterly dominated the game, surrendering only the late TD against the #2 defense, scoring over 70 points (including a kickoff return that just added insult to injury in the last minute of the game) and racking up over 700 yards of offense.  Sam Richardson started that game for ISU before yielding to Grant Rohach, and both are now back this season as a junior and sophomore, respectively.  Richardson is the undisputed starter so far this season and has thrown for 591 yards on 66/98 passing with 3 TDs and 3 INTs.

Injury News:

One thing we need to get out of the way right now is the injury news for both sides.  Because I haven't paid tremendous attention to them, I'm going to have to reach out to WRNL for help on their injury situation, so check back.  I know they are missing WR Quenton Bundrage.  For Baylor, we obviously know a little more.

As of last week, it appeared that Baylor might get three of our four injured wide receivers back this week as well as RB Devin Chafin, who has missed all of the last two games.  According to Briles today, Chafin is about 75% ready to go as of today, while WRs Antwan Goodley and Corey Coleman are both about 80%.  Briles apparently believes both of the latter two will play, but has not said the same about Chafin. There is no new information about Clay Fuller, who is coming off a broken collarbone, and the lack of mention makes it appear that he is not expected to play this week, after all.

Now back to ISU, starting with their individual stats:

Quarterbacks
Passing
Rk Player Cmp Att Pct Yds Y/A AY/A TD Int Rate
1 Sam Richardson 66 98 67.3 591 6.0 5.3 3 3 122.0
2 Jarvis West 1 1 100.0 29 29.0 49.0 1 0 673.6
Provided by Sports-Reference.com/CFB: View Original Table
Generated 9/22/2014.
Running Backs/Receivers
Rushing Receiving Scrimmage
Rk Player Att Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg TD Plays Yds Avg TD
1 Sam Richardson 35 119 3.4 0 35 119 3.4 0
2 Aaron Wimberly 34 108 3.2 2 9 77 8.6 0 43 185 4.3 2
3 Devondrick Nealy 19 64 3.4 1 7 57 8.1 1 26 121 4.7 2
4 Jarvis West 15 137 9.1 1 15 137 9.1 1
5 Allen Lazard 9 143 15.9 1 9 143 15.9 1
6 P.J. Harris 9 55 6.1 0 9 55 6.1 0
7 E.J. Bibbs 8 71 8.9 1 8 71 8.9 1
8 Dondre Daley 7 53 7.6 0 7 53 7.6 0
9 Brett Medders 3 27 9.0 0 3 27 9.0 0
Provided by Sports-Reference.com/CFB: View Original Table
Generated 9/22/2014.

Richardson leading the way in rushing yards for the Cyclones is a bit of a red flag, since I'm not sure that's what most ISU fans would want.  Baylor fans who have paid any attention to this series at all in the past recognize Wimberly, since he apparently took advantage of the Brady Heslip exception to play 12 seasons at Iowa State.  He's a smaller guy at 5-9, 177 pounds that you have to keep contained on the inside.

Statistic National
Rank
Conference
Rank
Value National Leader Value Conference
Leader
Value
3rd Down Pct 88 7 0.378 Auburn 0.630 Baylor 0.592
3rd Down Pct Defense 108 10 0.489 Oregon St. 0.231 Baylor 0.240
4th Down Pct 80 7 0.400 11 teams tied 1.000 Baylor
TCU
1.000
1.000
4th Down Pct Defense 101 8 0.750 12 teams tied 0.000 West Virginia 0.000
Blocked Kicks Rutgers 4 Oklahoma St. 3
Blocked Kicks Allowed 1 1 0 83 teams tied 0 6 teams tied 0
Blocked Punts Maryland
North Texas
Rutgers
2
2
2
Oklahoma St.
West Virginia
1
1
Blocked Punts Allowed 1 1 0 112 teams tied 0 10 teams tied 0
Completion Percentage 20 2 0.670 Army 0.765 West Virginia 0.721
Fewest Penalties 14 3 14 Cincinnati 6 TCU 12
Penalties Per Game 25 3 4.67 Clemson 2.33 Kansas St. 4.33
Penalty Yards 26 3 136 Cincinnati 60 Kansas St. 92
Penalty Yards/Game 35 2 45.33 Tennessee 21.33 Kansas St. 30.67
First Downs Defense 45 7 64 TCU 23 TCU 23
First Downs Offense 112 7 56 Texas A&M 120 West Virginia 114
Fumbles Lost 14 2 1 13 teams tied 0 Kansas 0
Fumbles Recovered 83 7 1 FIU
Temple
Virginia
8
8
8
TCU
Oklahoma
Baylor
3
3
3
Kickoff Return Defense 8 2 15.30 Tulsa 12.25 Kansas St. 14.67
Kickoff Returns 113 10 16.00 Arkansas 34.13 Oklahoma 29.00
Net Punting 11 1 42.87 Utah 46.67 Iowa St. 42.87
Interceptions Thrown 59 5 3 9 teams tied 0 Baylor
Texas
Oklahoma St.
1
1
1
Passes Intercepted 106 9 1 4 teams tied 8 Oklahoma 8
Passing Offense 90 8 206.7 Washington St. 496.8 Baylor 416.0
Pass Yards Allowed 33 5 196.3 Stanford 66.0 TCU 112.5
Pass Yards/Completion 119 9 9.25 Georgia Tech 19.06 Baylor 17.58
Punt Return Defense 11 2 0.33 Purdue -3.50 TCU -1.00
Punt Returns 2 1 29.25 San Jose St. 36.50 Iowa St. 29.25
Red Zone Defense 108 5 1.000 Mississippi St. 0.444 Oklahoma 0.700
Red Zone Offense 62 5 0.833 18 teams tied 1.000 Oklahoma St.
TCU
1.000
1.000
Rushing Defense 107 9 221.0 Penn St. 49.5 Baylor 64.3
Rushing Offense 113 10 96.3 Wisconsin 359.7 Baylor 238.3
Sacks Allowed 66 5 2.00 Baylor
Texas Tech
New Mexico St.
0.00
0.00
0.00
Baylor
Texas Tech
0.00
0.00
Scoring Defense 86 8 27.7 Stanford 4.3 Baylor 9.0
Scoring Offense 104 8 20.7 Baylor 59.3 Baylor 59.3
Tackles/Loss Allowed 35 4 4.67 North Carolina St. 2.00 Baylor 2.33
Passing Efficiency 79 7 126.28 Oregon 211.28 Baylor 193.51
Passing Eff. Defense 55 7 120.34 Oregon St. 67.02 TCU 77.96
Team Sacks 49 5 2.33 Cincinnati 5.50 Baylor 5.00
Team Tackles/Loss 101 9 4.7 TCU 10.5 TCU 10.5
Time of Possession 113 9 26:51 Michigan St. 38:08 Kansas St. 32:17
Total Defense 86 9 417.3 Stanford 204.3 TCU 205.5
Total Offense 112 10 303.0 Baylor 654.3 Baylor 654.3
Turnover Margin 98 8 -0.67 Florida
Temple
Notre Dame
2.67
2.67
2.67
TCU
Oklahoma
1.50
1.50
Turnovers Gained 114 9 2 Temple 14 Oklahoma 11
Turnovers Lost 31 3 4 6 teams tied 1 Oklahoma St. 2

In addition to the above, Iowa State is #67 in FootballOutsiders' combined F/+ metric, where Baylor is now 11th.  S&P+ likes them significantly less than that, placing them 104th.  That's one spot behind #103, Buffalo.  The real problem for the Cyclones is their defense, which is ranked 105th by S&P+, whereas their offense is 78th.  That could be a problem against a team like Baylor fielding the #2 offense in the land.  That's in contrast to the absolute rankings above where ISU ranks 112th in total offense vs. 86th in total defense.  That defensive ranking is heavily influenced by the fact that the Cyclones give up an average of 221 yards on the ground.  The one place where ISU ranks highly is in punting.  There, Colin Downing is apparently a superstar in the making.

Question Time!

  • FIRST -- Assuming Antwan Goodley and Corey Coleman return, who do you start at WR in this game (2 WRs, 2 IRs)?  Assuming the same, who leads Baylor in receptions?  Yards? (Yes, this is a holdover question.  Still valid.)
  • SECOND --Who leads the team in rushing this week?
  • THIRD -- Ames at night.  U scared, bro?
  • FOURTH --Give me a turnt rating from 1-10 coming off the bye week.  1 is Mark Mangino at a salad bar.  I'll let you define 10 yourself.  Use gifs, if you like.
  • FIFTH --It appears that ISU is starting a freshman at RT in this game.  O/U on sacks for the entire Baylor defense: 4. 
  • SIXTH -- ISU has two guys named Sam Richardson on their roster.  Give me your best pitch for a buddy cop comedy starting both Sams Richardson.