Week 12 of the college football season is here and despite there not being a ranked matchup this weekend in the Big 12, there is still plenty on the line with conference play in full swing. One of the most important games of the weekend took place in Ames, Iowa as the Iowa State Cyclones hosted the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Iowa State is fresh off a rough loss to Kansas while Cincinnati is coming off a tough loss of their own against West Virginia last weekend. This game ended up being a little sloppy at times but in the end, Iowa State walked away with a 34-17 victory. Here are my top three takeaways from the game.
Iowa State’s Second Half Surge
Despite the score being tied at halftime, things were looking a little bleak for Iowa State. The defense struggled to stop the run, and the offense had just 114 total yards of offense in the first two quarters. But something changed at halftime because Iowa State looked like a different team in the second half.
In the second half, Iowa State’s defense buckled down and only allowed Cincinnati to convert one third down attempt in the final two quarters of the game. Sure, they still made some mistakes, but it didn’t cost them points like it did over the last two weeks.
Most importantly, the offense finally found their rhythm. The run game got going as the Cyclones ran for 128 yards compared to the 24 yards they had in the first half. Rocco Becht looked a lot better as well, leading multiple touchdown drives. In fact, Iowa State had a total of five possessions in the second half and four of them ended with points. The only drive they didn’t score on was due to a fumble. I know things were a little rocky at first, but this team looked completely different in the second half of this game.
Cincinnati Collapsed
The first half of this game wasn’t great for the Bearcats but at least they were tied going into halftime. But this team got totally outplayed and outcoached in the second half as Iowa State outscored Cincinnati 24 to 7. Brendan Sorsby couldn’t get anything going through the air as he went just 11/19 for 65 yards on the evening. The Bearcats had to lean on their run game, and it only led them to seven points.
Meanwhile, the defense looked gassed in the second half because Iowa State started ripping off runs they weren’t able to get in the first half of this game. And while Cincinnati didn’t turn the ball over three times like they did last week; they found a new way to shoot themselves in the foot with the 13 penalties they had. After a hot 5-2 start to the season, the Bearcats have now dropped three in a row as they continue their journey to become bowl eligible.
Iowa State Keeps Their Big 12 Hopes Alive
I know the Cyclones will need some help to make it to Arlington but winning on Saturday was a big step in the right direction for this team. After losing back-to-back games, this team desperately needed a win to get back on track. Iowa State is now tied for third place with Arizona State in the Big 12 and only one spot behind Colorado who ended up beating Utah earlier on Saturday.
The biggest thing for this team is to focus on the task at hand. They can’t get caught up in tiebreaker scenarios or worry about what Colorado and BYU are doing. Iowa State has two games left against Utah and Kansas State to end the regular season. All they need to worry about is taking care of business and letting the rest take care of itself. And who knows, maybe Colorado will trip up over the next two weeks and then all of a sudden, the Cyclones are right back where they were a couple of weeks ago. After all, this is the Big 12 and anything can happen.
