The Iowa State Cyclones are home in Week 10 taking on the Arizona State Sun Devils in a match up between two teams trying to bounce back from a loss. The Cyclones are 5-3 and have lost three in a row after a 5-0 start to the season. Last week, it was a 14-point blown lead against BYU that ended with a 41-27 loss. Meantime, Arizona State fell to Houston at home, which was preceded by a huge win over Texas Tech.
Iowa State is favored by 7.5 points, and the over/under is set at 48.5 points. Here are two key players to watch in this game, followed by the top storylines for each team, and a prediction from Heartland College Sports.
Two Key Players to Watch
Rocco Becht
Rocco Becht has not been his usual self during this three-game losing streak. He’s thrown three touchdowns with four interceptions, with QBR’s under 50.0 in all three games. He’s also taken seven sacks over these three games. A critical pick six last week vs. BYU was the icing on the cake of a tough three-game stretch. Becht needs to turn this around to help Iowa State get out of this funk.
Jeff Sims
Sam Leavitt is going to miss the game, so that means back up quarterback Jeff Sims gets the start. Sims, who went 6-for-11 for 58 yards after Leavitt exited last week against Houston, will get the start under center. He also started a game this season vs. Utah and went 18-38 for 124 yards and rushed for 66 yards on a 42-10 loss to the Utes. Sims cannot sling it like Leavitt and this will turn Arizona State in a run-heavy offense (unless they have to play catch up, in which case this team will likely end up with a similar outcome to the Utah game).
Top Storylines
Iowa State’s Secondary Improvement
Iowa State has dealt with multiple injuries to its secondary and that unit has had a tough time the last three games. But, this can be their get-right game at home against a back up quarterback who isn’t known for his passing prowess. It will open up this team to focus on stopping the run, which they’ve been slightly better at than defending the pass this season. And I expect this side of the ball to have a big day for the Cyclones, especially with star wide receiver Jordyn Tyson a question mark for ASU.
Arizona State Needs to Force Turnovers
The turnovers have hurt the Cyclones in their three-game losing streak (5-1), and if the Sun Devils are going to give themselves a chance going into this game, they need to force a couple of big ones. As noted earlier, Rocco Becht has thrown four interceptions in his last two games. Arizona State is Top 5 in the Big 12 in fumbles recovered this year as well, so forcing and recovering one of those could go a long way to flipping this game on the road. That, along with special teams, are what helped BYU in their comeback last week, and could be the things that keeps ASU competitive on Saturday.
Prediction: Iowa State 31, Arizona State 20
I like the Cyclones to bounce back at home after letting one slip away last week against BYU. The Cyclones have problems on both sides of the ball that have been noticeable the last couple of weeks, however, Arizona State is not set up to take advantage of them. Even if star wide receiver Jordyn Tyson plays (he’s currently questionable), I don’t have confidence in Jeff Sims being able to get him the ball consistently to expose an inexperienced Cyclones’ secondary.
