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Through their first six drives of the game, Iowa State had 46 total yards. On their seventh, the Cyclones had 75. That's the bad news. The good news is that the seventh drive came after Baylor had gone up 35-0 with about 8:00 to go in the first half due in part to three big turnovers by the defense and more than 300 yards of total offense.
So far, Seth Russell (and the offense as a whole, really) haven't been all that sharp in what can probably be described as a monsoon, but given those conditions, I can forgive them. Based on his first-half stats, Seth has now matched Bryce Petty's 2014 TD production at 29 passing, 6 rushing. It's his seventh game of the year.*
*As I was writing this, Seth threw his sixth interception of the year on what was basically an #armpunt. That was not a good play at all.
It's hard to be all that disappointed in a first half performance in which we outgained our opponent by 200 yards, finished with a 28-point lead, and created three turnovers. But I am. The offense has been ... mystifying in several senses, Seth hasn't played up to his standards (albeit, probably in large part due to the weather), and the defense showed a bit of a weakness late in stopping the run, which could easily rear its ugly head later this season.
A couple of interesting things that happened:
- On the last ISU drive of the first half, Aiavion Edwards came in for Grant Campbell. That's something to watch going forward.
- Andrew Billings, as expected, did not play in the first half and won't for the entire game. I consider that a good decision.
- ISU is missing Allen Lazard, after all. He didn't suit up for the game.
- Seth finished the first half with his prettiest throw of the day, but Corey Coleman just couldn't bring it in. Coleman has "just" 1 receiving TD in this game, but he has also been involved in the running game with 3 carries for 17 yards.
- Shock Linwood is over 100 yards again on 16 carries, including one that set up the late field goal try.
First Half Stats:
| Matchup |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 7 | 21 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 3-9 | 6-10 |
| 4th down efficiency | 1-1 | 2-2 |
| Total Yards | 135 | 377 |
| Passing | 11 | 186 |
| Comp-Att | 4-13 | 14-30 |
| Yards per pass | .8 | 6.2 |
| Interceptions thrown | 2 | 1 |
| Rushing | 124 | 191 |
| Rushing Attempts | 25 | 29 |
| Yards per rush | 5.0 | 6.6 |
| Penalties | 1-10 | 5-25 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 1 | 0 |
| Interceptions thrown | 2 | 1 |
| Possession | 15:22 | 14:38 |