Texas Longhorns football preview: Saturday night game at Iowa State offers stern test
A win over the Cyclones would all but assure Texas a spot in the Big 12 championship game, but Iowa State coach Matt Campbell has led his team to three wins in the past fours years in this brief but bitter series.
No. 7 Texas (9-1, 6-1) at Iowa State (6-4, 5-2)
7 p.m. Saturday, Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, Iowa
TV/radio: ABC/1300, 98.1, 105.3 (Spanish)
Line: Texas is favored by 7½
Weather: Hittin' weather, as the old coaches used to say. Clear skies and temperatures in the 40s for most of the game.
Texas history: Iowa State
All-time: Texas leads 15-5
Last meeting: Texas 24, Iowa State 21 (2022)
Most memorable meeting: Iowa State 23, Texas 20 (2020). The words after the game stung even more than the loss for Longhorn nation; Iowa State star RB Breece Hall said the difference between the Cyclones and Texas came from “5-star culture vs. 5-star players,” which remains a rallying cry for Iowa State and summed up a decade of frustration for the Longhorns.
More: Bohls: There are lots of reasons for Quinn Ewers to return to Texas for more seasoning
Know the foe: Iowa State
Last week: The Cyclones amassed a season-high 443 yards of offense while rolling to a road win at BYU 45-13.
Players to watch: QB Rocco Becht stepped into the starter’s role when veteran Hunter Dekkers was dismissed from the team after pleaded guilty to underage gambling, and the redshirt freshman has thrown for 2,121 yards and 15 TDs on 62% passing while stabilizing the position. … Jaylin Noel, who leads Iowa State with 52 receptions, had six catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns in last season’s loss to Texas in Austin. … Safety Jeremiah Cooper, a sophomore from El Paso who missed the past two games, returns this week and has five interceptions, six passes defended and 35 total tackles.
Central Texas connections: None.
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When Texas has the ball
Texas must forge ahead without running back Jonathon Brooks, a Doak Walker Award finalist who suffered a season-ending knee injury late in last week’s win over TCU. Freshman CJ Baxter, who has 390 yards on 87 carries, is likely to get the bulk of the carries against a pioneering 3-3-5 stack defense that leads the Big 12 with 329 yards allowed per game. … Iowa State also leads the Big 12 in turnover differential at plus-9 and ranks third in the nation with 15 interceptions, but Texas starting quarterback Quinn Ewers has thrown just four picks on 246 pass attempts this season. …. The Cyclones’ secondary is especially stingy, pacing the Big 12 with 204.3 passing yards allowed per game and a completion rate of 53.8%, but Ewers is one of two QBs in the Big 12 — along with Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel — to complete more than 70% of his passes.
More: College football rankings: Texas football stuck at No. 7 after win over TCU
When Iowa State has the ball
The Cyclones rank just 94th in offense in the nation with 347.8 yards per game, but that’s by design for a team that likes to milk the play clock and limit the number of snaps in the game. … Eli Sanders leads a committee of RBs with 467 yards on 96 carries, but true freshman Abu Sama continues to get increased carries and earned the Big 12’s Newcomer of the Week honor after rushing for 110 yards and two TDs on eight carries against BYU. … The Cyclones’ offensive line has allowed a conference-low nine sacks, but Texas edges Ethan Burke (five sacks) and Barryn Sorrell (four) spearhead a resurgent pass rush that leads the Big 12 with 26 sacks.
The key matchup
Texas defensive tackles T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II vs. Iowa State guard Jarrod Hufford: Hufford raised some eyebrows earlier this week when he said Texas "gets all the 5-star recruits and have all the nicest stuff in the world, and they just think they don't stink. They're people that have such a high ego that needs to be checked." Hufford can usually back up his words; he’s a three-year starter and an Outland Trophy finalist, but Sweat and Murphy are the highest-rated DTs in the nation by Pro Football Focus.
How we're calling the game
Kirk Bohls: Texas, 31-28. I think Steve Sarkisian just found his killer instinct. The Texas coach can thank Iowa State lineman Jarrod Hufford for doing everything the Cyclones could do to ensure the Longhorns will not be flat in Ames. Maybe the Clones have something special in store for Texas, but I think the Longhorns might offer a parting gift of their own.
Danny Davis: Texas. If the Longhorns needed Iowa State lineman Jarrod Hufford's mouth as a source of inspiration, they are in trouble. Playing for a spot in the Big 12 championship game should be motivation enough, and I think they will get the job done.
Cedric Golden: Texas, 31-24. I don't like how the Horns are finishing games lately, but they seem to be living right. Until they show me different, I'm rolling with the Bevos overcoming another hostile road environment.
Thomas Jones: Iowa State, 26-23. The Longhorns have lived on the edge in recent weeks, and a lack of star power in the backfield after Jonathon Brook's season-ending injury could dim any CFP hopes.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Longhorns football preview: Game at Iowa State is a big test
