Hlas: Iowa State Cyclones squander opportunity vs. Texas

AMES — Iowa State's football program still is a caterpillar, not a butterfly.

It thought it had a first-rate college offense entering Thursday night's game with Texas. But performance-wise and strategically, that unit cost its team a shot at a victory against the Longhorns at Jack Trice Stadium.

The die was cast on the Cyclones' third play of the night in their 17-7 loss, on third down and maybe a half-yard at the ISU 34. You have a running back named David Montgomery who has been, perhaps, your best player. He had been averaging 140 total yards per game. He had rushed for nine yards on the previous play.

But quarterback Jacob Park, lined up in the shotgun as usual, took a 5-yard sack. It was the first of four ISU yielded after surrendering just one over its first three games.

'A run-play option,' Iowa State Coach Matt Campbell called it later.

A tone-setter is what it was. The Cyclones weren't going to run this night, they weren't going to have the kind of effective balanced offense that put Iowa's defense off-balance three weeks ago in the Hawkeyes' 44-41 overtime win here.

They weren't going to use Montgomery.

'Obviously, nine carries is not what you want from a guy that critical to you," Campbell said.

Nine Montgomery carries, 49 passes. Twenty-five incompletions. Five out of six trips into Texas territory that netted nothing.

Campbell said what Texas did defensively was 'a good job of trying to take (Montgomery) out of the game early. We've got to continue to find ways to get him the ball.'

Or, more accurately, return to doing that.

The pass-run numbers would probably be mere statistical quirks had Park been the Park of the previous three games, and had the pocket not consistently collapsed on him. But those weren't the cases.

Clearly flustered throughout the night, a hurried Park often overthrew receivers. He was intercepted three times, which was three times as much as the first three games combined.

Two of the picks were overthrows to Hakeem Butler, who happens to be 6-foot-6.

'I thought Jacob got rattled a little bit because of the pressure he got,' Campbell said.

Oh yeah. On this night, Iowa State's offensive line simply was overmatched by a Texas defensive line that played great.

'They rushed three and were dropping back the other eight,' Cyclone receiver Allen Lazard noted, 'and they were getting good pressure.'

Maybe it's nitpicking, since both of the following examples ended up supporting what Campbell and offensive coordinator Tom Manning opted to do. But with Texas up 7-0 late in the first quarter, Iowa State punted on a 4th-and-7 at the Horns' 33 and late in the first half.

With under two minutes left in the half in a 14-0 game, ISU punted on 4th-and-10 at the Texas 36.

'We were playing good defense,' Campbell said.

'I think both worked out to our advantage.'

They did, and yet what if the Cyclones had gone for a first down on one or both plays? This team is better when it's aggressive.

But you've got to say this: Iowa State's defense played great. After an OK first half, the defense held the Longhorns to just three second-half points. It forced five holding penalties, three on one possession.

Texas had the ball for over 40 minutes. But instead of getting frustrated and worn down, Iowa State's defense got stronger until it was clear this game couldn't be won.

Joel Lanning, the senior who switched from quarterback to linebacker before this season, had 20 tackles. Many of those firmly planted Texas ball carriers in their tracks.

'I felt like I was getting drilled all night,' Lanning said. 'But I'm starting to see things a little more.'

Lanning credited ISU's defensive line, and with good reason. Those who had only seen it against Iowa would have been surprised at how much better it's playing.

But like the Cyclones' offensive output against the Hawkeyes, this defensive showing against Texas couldn't produce a win.

And, it was a brain cramp by an Iowa State defender that led to the Cyclones' eventual downfall, one that came way back on Texas' first drive.

Sophomore defensive end JaQuan Bailey sacked Texas quarterback Shane Buechele to force a 4th-and-12 at the Texas 17. But as he neared the sideline while his team's punt-return unit took the field, Bailey did a running somersault.

That went about as well as you would expect from a 260-pounder who clearly is no gymnast. He was fortunate he didn't hurt himself on the flip. But he got his ears burned, getting a deservedly scathing response from Campbell after Bailey was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.

It was an automatic first down for Texas. Nine plays and 68 yards later, the Horns had a touchdown and Iowa State was pushing uphill the rest of the game.

Campbell said he told the player his antic was 'selfish' and 'I expect better of you. … You can't put yourself above the team.'

But Bailey came back and played hard-nosed defense, as did his mates. If you'd been told Thursday afternoon that Iowa State would hold Texas to 17 points and 312 yards, you'd have said there would be hearty partying late Thursday night in Campustown.

But if you'd been told Iowa State, which had averaged 501 yards over its previous six games, would be limited to 256 yards? And a healthy Montgomery had taken just nine handoffs?

You'd have been correct when you'd given this reply:

Progress is clear, but for now, Iowa State football still is Iowa State football.