Matt Campbell: Iowa State football looks to build off last week's success against Oklahoma this week

AMES — Iowa State bounced back from its first road loss of the season with a win at home against Oklahoma State on Saturday, but the Cyclones will face another tough challenge away from Ames this weekend.

ISU (2-2, 1-0 Big 12) travels south to face No. 14 Oklahoma (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

The Sooners hold the all-time series record with 79 wins to Iowa State’s seven. Oklahoma has won the last three matchups, including a 27-13 victory over the Cyclones in 2022. The last time Iowa State beat Oklahoma was a 37-30 win in 2020.

Saturday’s game will present another challenge to Iowa State, which looks to build off last weekend’s win.

“It’s a huge week for us to continue to move forward,” coach Matt Campbell said Tuesday. “How do you build on what you did well last week? How do you keep growing forward in some of the areas that we need to get better at?

More: Everything you need to know about Saturday's Iowa State vs. Oklahoma football game

More: Peterson: Iowa State's Rocco Becht and the entire passing game got a much-needed boost

“And then how do you handle a road game environment? We didn’t handle our first test, and you have another opportunity to get on the road in one of the great places of all time to play college football.”

Oklahoma’s dominance on both offense and defense

The Sooners rank in the top four nationally in both scoring offense (No. 4 at 46.8 ppg) and scoring defense (No. 2 at 8.5 ppg) and their 38.3 average scoring margin ranks second in the country.

That could present a challenge for Iowa State’s defense, which allowed Oklahoma State to put up 409 yards of total offense, the first time in 18 games that the Cyclones allowed an opponent to record over 400 yards.

As for the Sooners’ defense, Campbell knows how Oklahoma could impact this game.

“They create chaos on defense,” Campbell said. “They’re so multiple, they’re really talented and they are (a) high-pressure defense.”

Regardless of Oklahoma’s statistics, this could come down to ball security, which is something the Cyclones’ offense has done well this season.

Iowa State is one of 16 teams nationally, including three in the Big 12, that hasn’t lost a fumble this season. Rocco Becht has thrown just three interceptions and the offensive line has only allowed one sack through four games.

More: Mailbag: Is Iowa State's offensive outburst sustainable?

“Especially in a game like this, you’ve got to do a great job of protecting the football,” Campbell said. “You look at the games we’ve won this year and we’ve won the turnover margin. The games we’ve lost, we’ve either tied or lost the turnover margin. It’s hard to win football games here if that part of the football game fails.”

Oklahoma’s quarterback leads the Big 12

Dillon Gabriel is at the top of the conference with 1,227 passing yards and 12 touchdowns through the first four games of the season. He has completed 78% of his attempts, thrown just one interception and averages over 300 passing yards per game.

“He’s a kid that, elite precision,” Campbell said. “He’s a guy that knows what his answers are. He’s almost the offensive coordinator at times on the football field and can make all the throws.”

This year is different than seasons past for Gabriel, who is healthy after dealing with injuries in previous years. Campbell acknowledged that Oklahoma’s starting quarterback is playing at an elite level, and that was before talking about all the weapons Gabriel has around him.

Gabriel has options in three of the top 25 receivers in the Big 12.

More: Five numbers that tell the story of Iowa State football's win over Oklahoma State

Andrel Anthony has established himself as Gabriel’s go-to guy, hauling in 21 receptions for 371 yards but only one touchdown. Nic Anderson has four touchdowns and 223 yards on eight receptions, and Jalil Farooq has recorded two touchdowns and 204 yards on 10 catches.

Iowa State has its own quarterback on the rise

Rocco Becht was named National Freshman of the Week after throwing for 348 yards and three touchdowns — with zero interceptions — against Oklahoma State. It was a performance that, based on the statistics alone, Becht agreed was his best performance as the Cyclones’ starter.

The Cyclones will need another strong performance from Becht on Saturday, and Campbell believes that his quarterback’s performance in the Big 12 opener could give Becht much-needed confidence against Oklahoma.

More: Peterson: Register's Iowa State text group feeling hopeful, can't get enough of Rocco Becht

“Confidence, at that level and that position, it’s earned. You can’t breathe it into somebody, you can’t hope it into somebody, you have to earn it," Campbell said. "For Rocco…you saw him just continue to gain confidence and momentum.”

Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: After a win, Iowa State football looks to build momentum against Oklahoma