Iowa State vs. Oklahoma: Preview and Prediction
Here is everything you need to know about the upcoming Big 12 match up in our Iowa State vs. Oklahoma preview and prediction.
Game Info
6:30 p.m. CST; Saturday October 3rd; Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, Iowa
TV: ABC (Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge)
Iowa State Radio: Cyclones Radio Network (John Walters, Eric Heft)
Oklahoma Radio: Sooners Sports Network (Toby Rowland, Teddy Lehman)
National Radio: Sirius/XM Channel 83
Spread: Oklahoma -7, plus get all your NCAA Football odds here
Fun Fact: Oklahoma owns a 76-6-2 (.917) all-time record against Iowa State and is 37-2-1 (.938) vs. the Cyclones in Ames. In the Big 12 era, the Sooners hold a 15-1 series advantage (7-0 in Ames).
Key Players
Oklahoma Sooners
QB Spencer Rattler
Rattler is not the reason the Sooners lost last week to Kansas State. But the redshirt freshman had some shaky moments down the stretch and his youth was on display as a leader. This was too be expected. Now he has to go on the road and while Jack Trice won’t be packed, as they’ll allow 15,000 fans in, but it will still be a prime time event on ABC, on the road in a tough environment, with the Sooners coming off a loss. That is certainly some pressure for a
Brendan Radley-Hiles
Radley-Hiles has gotten off to an incredibly fast start this season with seven tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack. He has been all over the field and appears to be coming into his own. He’s doubled in the nickelback/outside linebacker role and has excelled. With the way Iowa State can use Breece Hall out of the backfield, its great tight ends and mix in the wide receivers, Radley-Hiles will find himself busy on Saturday.
Key Players
Iowa State Cyclones
TE’s Charlie Kolar/Chase Allen
Kolar and Allen are the most unique weapons/duo in the Big 12 since so few teams use the tight end like Iowa State does. Kolar missed the opener and it showed, as Brock Purdy struggled at QB. He returned vs. TCU and had five catches for 27 yards as Purdy’s favorite security blanket. Allen has two catches on the season. Iowa State went from its tight ends having five catches in 2017 to 25 catches in 2018 to 75 last season. These two could be a match up nightmare for the Sooners.
DE JaQuan Bailey
Bailey is second in NCAA active career sacks with 22.0 and is fourth in career tackles for loss with 36.5. He tied four school records last week against TCU, tying ISU’s single-game sack mark with 3.5, giving him a school-record 22.0 for his career, plus the tackles for loss with 4.0, and breaking ISU’s all-time career record with 36.5. He’s a beast who can give OU’s offensive line fits on Saturday.
Key Storylines
Oklahoma Sooners
The Sooners need to protect Spencer Rattler on Saturday against Iowa State. It will be a tough environment for the redshirt freshman, and while OU has a strong offensive line, Iowa State has eight guys it can rotate on its eight-man front that can wear down even the best offensive lines. We saw last week against K-State when All-Big 12 center Creed Humphrey had to leave the game for OU, the offensive line started having issues. Humphrey is healthy, but the rest of the line need to be on top of its game. Also, OU needs to contain the tight ends and try to win the turnover battle. OU lost it to K-State 4-0 and DC Alex Grinch took responsibility for his defense not forcing takeaways, which has been a goal of Grinch’s since he got to Norman.
Iowa State Cyclones
The Cyclones will want to ride Breece Hall in the backfield as much as they can to set up some plays down the field. Kansas State averaged 18.6 yards per reception last week against the Sooners. Iowa State has the two strong tight ends, but a young group of receivers, and they haven’t show that explosion yet. But the chances will be there for Purdy, if he can get his stud running back to set up the passing game. The secondary will allow the Cyclones some chances, they will just need to connect. On the other side of the ball, rattling Spencer Rattler is his first Big 12 road game will go a long way to pulling off the upset.
Prediction
Oklahoma 38, Iowa State 35
As was just noted above, this game will be determined by the OU offensive line vs. the Iowa State defensive line. That’s the best match up to watch on Saturday. Iowa State is home, it’s Brocktober (ISU 10-1 since October 2017), and they still have great pieces in place. That being said, I’d feel better about ISU’s outright win if the Sooners weren’t coming off a loss. OU hasn’t lost two-straight back-to-back Big 12 games since 1998. That won’t start this week, but it will be a close game. These two teams have played games decided by 10, 7, 10 and 1 point the last four seasons.
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