No. 2 Baylor a chance for Iowa State to test itself against the best

AMES - Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads had a recruit at his home the day after a loss to TCU and the conversation quickly steered toward what was next.

'Coach, who do you got this week?” the recruit asked.

Rhoads quickly replied, 'Baylor.”

For the third week in a row, the Cyclones will play a top-three ranked total offense in the country. As it's proved for its first six games of the season, No. 2 Baylor is deserving of its status as the No. 1 offense in the nation, and Rhoads got a simple 'good luck” from the recruit.

'I felt I needed it when he said it as much,” Rhoads said.

The Cyclones (2-4, 1-2) have gotten a taste of what the top Big 12 offenses are capable of in the last two weeks, but the Bears (6-0, 3-0) put up stats that are almost too outlandish to even be called video-game numbers. Racking up nearly 720 yards per game of offense and almost 64 points each week is enough to grab any teams attention and Iowa State is no exception.

A breakdown in all three phases of the game plagued the Cyclones in a blowout loss to Texas Tech, but players saw a glimmer of what could be possible in the first quarter of its loss to the Horned Frogs. Inconsistencies and missed opportunities snapped the team into focus during preparation for the Bears.

'I think those two losses actually increased our focus and it just gives us drive and motivation to not let that happen again and to stay focused,” said offensive lineman Jake Campos. 'With Baylor being the No. 2 team in the nation, they're going to be a good team so we've got to go out and give it our all.”

Iowa State is listed as a 37-point underdog for the road trip to Waco, Texas, as of Friday afternoon, but showed the ability to start fast when it scored 21 first-quarter points last Saturday. Consistency is everything - as it's been for the Cyclones all season - but the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with a College Football Playoff contender hasn't left Rhoads looking for ways to motivate his team.

'Motivation is always a challenge with 18, 19 and 20-year olds,” Rhoads said. 'I think it's less of a challenge with a team like this because they're the best. Statistically speaking, they're the best right now.”

The Bears are averaging 60 more yards per game (720) than the Cyclones have notched in their history (660 in 1949), but the JUCO-laden ISU defense isn't worried about the numbers. The chance to test themselves is what has been on their minds.

'It's a big challenge mentally, but if you're a football player and love competition, you'll be up for it,” said linebacker Jordan Harris. 'Our defense is up for it.”

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