Iowa State Preparing For Oklahoma State 'Personnel'
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Oklahoma State travels to Ames, Iowa on Saturday to take on Iowa State in Jack Trice Stadium to begin conference play. Just last season, the Cowboys hosted the Cyclones, winning the matchup 20-14. The score may look similar this year. Both teams are going to struggle to move the ball and complete drives.
Last week, the Cyclones put up seven points against Ohio and the Cowboys put up seven points of their own against South Alabama.
One of the glaring storylines for the Cowboys this season is the inability to name a starting quarterback. Instead, they've rotated three quarterbacks, those being Alan Bowman, Garret Rangel and Gunnar Gundy. None of the three quarterbacks have been able to set themselves apart from each other, and it's hurting the offense.
Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell knows what he's preparing for when playing the Cowboys.
“The one thing about [Mike] Gundy’s offense, he has certainly had a pretty consistent theme of what he’s tried to do,” Campbell said. “They’ve got great wide receivers, they’ve always had great tailbacks and really all three of the quarterbacks have got experience."
The quarterbacks have struggled to get the playmakers the ball in a position to succeed. There's a lack of flow and rhythm in these games, and if they can get into one, the offense might actually look solid.
“I think you’re more prepping for the scheme and who is running the scheme than certain personnel. …It’ll be a really great challenge for us on defense," Campbell continued.
The running back combo of Jaden Nixon and Ollie Gordon has serious potential to swing this game in the direction of the Cowboys, but not without a proper amount of touches. Again, the Cowboys have lacked rhythm. The running backs consistently getting touches could bring momentum and help get the ball rolling for the Cowboys.
Again, as Campbell highlighted, the Cowboys' offense is going to rely on getting playmakers the ball, including wider receivers Jaden Bray, De'Zhaun Stribling and Brennan Presley.
The Cowboys have more than enough playmakers to be a good team and win this game, but properly distributing the ball and getting offensive momentum will be the biggest factor in this game, especially as it could be a slugfest and offer seldom points and touchdowns scored.
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