Randy Peterson
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October 31, 2024
Iowa State is starting the most important five-game stretch in its 132 years of football – but wherever you turn, we’re trying to sort political truths and untruths. I’ll get to a smidge of that later, but first things first:
Saturday starts a closing stretch that could define the Cyclones’ 2024 football season.
Yes, define, and if you don’t believe me, here’s what the boss told reporters during his regular press conference Tuesday.
“Whether you’re 5-2, 4-3, 7-0 – it kind of goes out the window,” Matt Campbell said. “The reality is you’re defined by how you play in November. You want to be in a position to be in the mix. The fun thing for us, is if you look at our nine years . . . we’ve been in this moment. In this wheelhouse.
“We’ve got enough guys that have been through some of those good times and bad times. We’ve got scars and wisdom of what’s allowed us to play good in November at times, and what’s not allowed to play how we need to.”
The program Campbell leads is 7-0, heading into a 2:30 p.m., game (ESPN) against Texas Tech (3-2, 5-3) at Jack Trice Stadium. After that, it’s against Kansas at the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium, back home against Cincinnati, at Utah and at home against Kansas State.
Nine of the 16 Big 12 teams have two conference losses or fewer, including unbeatens Iowa State and BYU. Kansas State and Colorado have just one loss.
Chaos at the top? And then some, including this collision course of unbeatens sprinting toward what they hope is the conference championship game. They don’t play each other during the regular season, and that’s too bad. I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it – all conferences should be aligned so that everyone plays everyone during a season, like when the Big 12 was 10.
By the way BYU, which is off on Saturday, finishes the season at Utah, home against Kansas, at Arizona State, and at home against Houston.
If the Cyclones and Cougars keep winning, then the winner of their championship game automatically goes to the College Football Playoffs. Lose, and then one-loss Kansas State and Colorado could muck up the standings, and trigger conference championship game tiebreaker fireworks.
That’s why, for Iowa State, this five-game stretch is an all-timer. To Campbell’s credit, he and his staff have raised the bar to where we’re talking College Football Playoffs, instead of bowl eligibility.
Campbell and his staff deserve praise for building a program that includes turning a bunch of three-star recruits into stars, and in some instances, into pros. His Cyclones are to the point right now, where they haven’t always had to play flawlessly to win. That must stop now. How many more times can the Cyclones turn slow-start deficits into second-half wins?
It’s time Iowa State starts and finishes fast. That time is Saturday.
“My biggest chase is how do we finish the season,” Campbell said. “What kind of team do we become through the month of December?
“We’ve done a lot of firsts here, and that’s all awesome, but the reality is, you’re defined by how you finish, and what you do to finish this thing out.”
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THE RED ZONE
First down: Colorado's Travis Hunter, clearly the best player in college football, was the first player to ever win Big 12 Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week awards, for what he did against Cincinnati. He broke up four passes, caught nine passes for 153 yards, scored two touchdowns and played 132 snaps – 71 on offense and 61 on defense. That statistical line brought back memories of what Iowa State’s Joel Lanning did in the stunning 38-31 victory at third-ranked Oklahoma in 2017. As a linebacker, the two-way senior had eight tackles, a game-changing fumble recovery and a sack. As a quarterback, he passed for 25 yards and rushed for 35 more.
Second down: Did you catch Texas Tech kicker Reese Burkhardt lifting his jersey to expose a t-shirt with a hand-written “Trump 2024 MAGA” on its front, after he scored a Red Raiders touchdown on a fake field goal. I wonder if he’ll have that same shirt when he’s at Jack Trice Stadium Saturday afternoon? I also wonder how much NIL money Trump supporters paid him to do that? Or did Burkhardt give the campaign a freebie?
Third down: A day later, how about the Brock Purdy interview after the 49ers beat Dallas on Sunday? Teammate Nick Bosa popped into the interview wearing a "MAGA" hat. "Alright, Nick Bosa with a message there," reporter Melissa Stark said. A day earlier,
Fourth down: This quote from Campbell Tuesday was impactful. “I still think our sport is still is about team,” he said, “and we live in a world that’s not about team anymore, which is unfortunate. Society and collegiate athletics certainly used to be about team. Here, team still matters. That emphasis on team is what we’ve always sold here. We haven’t waivered from that.”
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TEXAS TECH at IOWA STATE
2:30 p.m., ESPN
Randy Peterson: Jon Heacock’s defense must be at its best. Texas Tech tailback Tahj Brooks is No. 3 nationally with 132.1 rushing yards per game. Quarterback Behren Morton is 20th nationally with 2,063 passing yards. He has thrown 17 touchdown passes, and just three interceptions. Iowa State’s bye week return starts with a classic strength vs. strength during what could be a moist afternoon. Rocco Becht will be passing into the nation’s No. Last (134th) pass defense. Iowa State 38, Texas Tech 24.
Chris Hassel:I’m worried about the rain in the forecast and Iowa State’s ability to stop Tahj Brooks. This one is another nail-biter. Iowa State 27, Texas Tech 21.
Chris Williams: I like the fact that Iowa State is coming off of a bye here. The quarterback spot has gotten headlines, but Tech has injury concerns in the secondary and on the offensive line. I think the Raiders will put up some points early but like Iowa State comfortably win late. Iowa State 45, Texas Tech 24.
Keith Murphy: Iowa State's Rocco Becht torches the weak Tech pass defense for three TD passes. It's a homecoming 8-0 party. Iowa State 42, Texas Tech 21.
Andrew Downs: The Cyclones come out of the bye with another slow start, but a dominant second half allows them to pull away and cover. Iowa State 34, Texas Tech 17.
Matt Van Winkle: Let Rocco cook. Texas Tech has one of the worst defenses in college football. Iowa State should have its way and cruise to the first 8-0 start in program history. Iowa State 42, Texas Tech 20.
Jake Brend:The rain in the forecast neutralizes Iowa State’s passing game, which is their biggest strength and Tech’s biggest weakness. The Cyclones overcome another slow start off the bye week and grind out a late win to go to 8-0. Iowa State 27, Texas Tech 21.
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WISCONSIN at IOWA
6:30 p.m., NBC
Peterson: New QB1 Brendan Sullivan. Home game. This game has intrigue written all over it. How will the Iowa fans who’d been calling for Sullivan for weeks, react if he doesn’t crack the nation’s No. 14 passing defense? Kaleb Johnson, the nation’s No. 2 rusher, must have a very good game for the Hawkeyes to win. Iowa 24, Wisconsin 21 (OT).
Hassel:Kinnick will be rocking with Badgers in town, Sullivan overtaking McNamara, and KJ2 chasing history. Iowa has enough on their side to come out on top. Iowa 27, Wisconsin 24.
Williams: My hunch is that our panel will be all in on the Hawkeyes after last weekend’s quarterback switch that was followed up by a scoring explosion. That’s probably the right side here. I wonder how much life was taken out of Wisconsin after falling short against Penn State. Iowa 27, Wisconsin 17
Murphy: The Brendan Sullivan era starts with a hard-fought win.Iowa 24, Wisconsin 21.
Downs: Iowa’s new-look offense looks new, and the defense (and Kinnick Stadium) rattles the Badgers. Iowa 31, Wisconsin 10.
Van Winkle: I think these teams are pretty evenly matched. This will be a classic Big Ten West game that comes down to the margins. Field position will be key in a low-scoring, down-to-the-wire game. Iowa gets a late defensive stop to win. Iowa 21, Wisconsin 20.
Brend:This is the biggest game left on Iowa’s schedule and I’m glad they have Brendan Sullivan in for it. I think what he does to open up the run game is enough to help Kaleb Johnson have a huge day that’ll be remembered as an iconic performance in this rivalry.Iowa 27, Wisconsin 20.
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(Alleged) Experts Sound Off
OHIO STATE at PENN STATE
Peterson: Penn State 20, Ohio State 17
Hassel: Ohio State 27, Penn State 20.
Williams:Penn State 27, Ohio State 24
Murphy:Ohio State 31, Penn State 28.
Downs: Ohio State 28, Penn State 14.
Van Winkle:Ohio State 34, Penn State 24.
Brend:Ohio State 17, Penn State 13.
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MINNESOTA at ILLINOIS
Peterson: Illinois 31, Minnesota 14.
Hassel: Illinois 20, Minnesota 13.
Williams:Illinois 21, Minnesota 20.
Murphy: Illinois 31, Minnesota 21.
Downs: Illinois 24, Minnesota 21.
Van Winkle:Illinois 20, Minnesota 14.
Brend: Illinois 30, Minnesota 20.
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OREGON at MICHIGAN
Peterson: Oregon 38, Michigan 17.
Hassel: Oregon 24, Michigan 16.
Williams:Oregon 34, Michigan 7.
Murphy:Oregon 38, Michigan 24.
Downs: Oregon 42, Michigan 6.
Van Winkle:Oregon 49, Michigan 20.
Brend:Oregon 31, Michigan 13.
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KANSAS STATE at HOUSTON
Peterson: Kansas State 38, Houston 20.
Hassel: Kansas State 24, Houston 14.
Williams:Kansas State 27, Houston 13
Murphy:Kansas State 35, Houston 21.
Downs: Kansas State 38, Houston 13.
Van Winkle:Kansas State 28, Houston 20.
Brend:Kansas State 21, Houston 9.
(Randy Peterson can be reached at randypete4846@gmail.com or at any Okoboji-area beverage/food establishment between the hours of open and close)