Happy Hate Week, Hawkeyes! Our frenemies in Ames are making their trek to Iowa City for a rare nightcap of the Cy-Hawk series. Coach Matt Campbell will be trying to avenge himself after the balloon of offseason hype was deflated within a few hours, thanks to the Fightin’ Farley’s of UNI. This will be Coach Campbell’s first visit to Kinnick. For his sake, he better hope it goes better than his predecessor’s. In 2010, the Paul Rhodes-led Cyclones received a 35-7 beatdown at the hands of AmeriStanzi, McNutt, Clayborn, and Co.
Last year, the Hawkeyes strolled in Jack Trice and after a lackluster first half, completely shut down the Cyclones en route to a 31-17 victory. It was an emotional week, as former Hawkeye and NFL player Tyler Sash passed away unexpectedly, as well as Hawkeye basketball legend Roy Marble losing a long battle with cancer. After a back-and-forth first half, the defense held the Cyclones to 66(!) total yards and 0 points on 7 drives in the second half.
How did Iowa State’s season go? Lol. Iowa State followed up their 2-10 2014 campaign with an impressive improvement to 3-9. They beat powerhouses UNI, Kansas and Texas (somehow). Following yet another loss to Kansas State, in which Iowa State lost in the most Iowa State fashion imaginable, coach Paul Rhodes was fired and the world lost a the most amazing air-guitar instructor ever.
Who played well for the Cyclones? Jauan Wesley had 4 receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown. Allen Lazard had 7 receptions. Kamari Cotton-Moya had 9 tackles and Dale Pierson had 2 sacks.
Who played well for the Hawkeyes? The entire rushing offense was great, racking up 260 yards. Jordan Canzeri torched the Cyclone defense for 124 yards and a TD on 24 attempts, LeShun Daniels added 56 yards on 8 attempts, and God CJ had 77 yards on 10 attempts. Desmond King had an interception late in the game that sealed the Cyclones’ fate.
Who is returning that gave the Hawks trouble last time? Cotton-Moya is probably their best player in the secondary. Meh. The bigger concern is Lazard. Obviously, the Cyclones entire offensive gameplan has to revolve around getting him the ball early and often. Desmond King said earlier this week that he is going to shadow Lazard. I’ll believe that when I see it for two reasons. One, the Hawkeyes rarely veer away from their basic defense (it has happened, but not often) and two, a senior like King is not going to blurt out the defensive gameplan. I think this is more gamesmanship by King than anything. And Lazard will win his share of battles against the secondary. He’s too good not to. The key for the Hawks will be to shut down the rest of the Cyclone attack and force them to become predictable and one-dimensional.
Highlights: Enjoy
Bonus Highlights: Here’s that 2010 game I referred to earlier.
One more for good measure: Marshal Yanda is a dangerous man.